Shamalat Cultural Center

Shamalat Cultural Center transforms an existing mud house on the outskirts of Diriyah into a contemporary cultural space through a careful balance of restoration and addition. Parts of the original earthen structure were preserved, while new interventions introduce gallery, artist-residency, darkroom and workshop spaces within and around the footprint of the former courtyard. Clad in warm white Riyadh stone, the new architecture remains deliberately distinct yet closely connected to the textures and memory of the historic fabric. The project stages a quiet dialogue between old and new, creating a place where cultural memory, contemporary artistic production and future generations can meet.