Profile: Wadi Hanifa Wetlands, Riyadh

Each day for the next couple of weeks, we will profile one project that has been nominated for the 2010 Aga Khan Awards for Architecture.

Today's project is the Wadi Hanifa Wetlands, in Riyadh:

Located in the middle of the Najd Plateau of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Wadi Hanifa (or Hanifa valley) is the longest and most important valley near Riyadh, a natural water drainage course for an area of over 4,000 square kilometres and a unique geographical feature in this dry region. Until recently, many segments of the valley had been exploited in an aggressive and environmentally destructive manner. In an effort to redress the balance between the resources of the wadi and the people living around it, the Arriyadh Development Authority has implemented a comprehensive development strategy, a programme of works that aims to restore and develop Wadi Hanifa as an environmental, recreational and tourism resource. Project works so far have included the introduction of landscaping, the conservation of the natural environment, the development of recreational areas for the people of Riyadh, the enhancement of agricultural land in the wadi and the creation of an environmentally sensitive wastewater treatment facility that provides additional water resources for the rural and urban inhabitants of the region.

Click here for more information on the Aga Khan Awards for Architecture.

Photograph © Aga Khan Award for Architecture  / Arriyadh Development Authority

Photograph © Aga Khan Award for Architecture  / Arriyadh Development Authority

Photograph © Aga Khan Award for Architecture  / Wael Samhouri

Photograph © Aga Khan Award for Architecture  / Arriyadh Development Authority

2010 Aga Khan Architecture Award Nominees Announced

This year's nominees for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture have been announced.  The nominees include a broad range of buildings, mostly in the third world.  Interestingly, this isn't one of those naval-gazing exercises that the architecture and engineering community so often engages in.  Instead, it rewards architects along with cities, construction firms, and other organizations responsible for turning great ideas into great buildings.

The winner will be announced in Doha in October, 2010.

Over the next couple of weeks, we'll profile one nominee each day here along with pictures of the project.

Click here for more information on the Aga Khan architecture award.

The full press release follows: