Pace, a Kuwait-based architecture, engineering, design and planning company, said it is working on the conceptual design of Noura Centre, which will be a distinctive landmark located directly opposite the newly-constructed Princess Nora Bint Abdul Rahman University for Women in Riyadh.

The Noura Centre, which will occupy an 180,000-sq-m site in the Saudi capital, will offer a gross floor area (GFA) of around 116,790 sq m, including both leasable and circulation areas.

The design stage to the issue of tender documents will be undertaken in five phases spread over 14 months, said  the statement from Pace, which is making remarkable strides in the Saudi market with some highly prominent projects in hand.

The project, which is still in the early concept design stage, promises to be a key shopping destination, and hopes to replicate the success enjoyed by major malls in the GCC such as The Avenues in Kuwait, one of the biggest shopping centres in the region, it stated.

“The idea behind the development of Noura Centre is to establish yet another new tourist destination in the GCC, such as The Avenues in Kuwait, in the capital city of Saudi Arabia,” stated Tarek Shuaib, managing partner of Pace.

“Given the potential growth of the Saudi market, huge investments are currently being made to develop the city into other business hub,” he added.

According to him, the data collection and conceptual design work are currently being carried out on the project, which is slated for completion in 2018.

The conceptual design has evolved from The Avenues, Kuwait’s largest mall. The retail component of the Noura Centre will comprise a shopping centre, food courts, anchor stores, prayer rooms, and public facilities, he explained.

"The building, which will sit on a raft foundation, will employ barrier-free architecture, which will include facilities for the handicapped,” he said. “It will be meticulously designed to provide the benefits, themes and effects that are expected of renowned centres of its kind,” he added.

According to Shuaib, the abstract ultra-modern design of the building will most likely depend on skylights for natural lighting.

The overall design concept of the building will be based on ensuring that it is environment-friendly. For instance, ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) membranes will be used for the roofing to bathe the mall with natural light, he observed.

“In terms of access, and just like the Avenues, the conceptual zoning and layout of Noura Centre may comprise a central axis route with facilities allocated and branching out along the sides,” added Shuaib.

Pace is the local architectural and engineering (A/E) consultant (architecture schematic and SMEP concept to tender) on the project while Gensler is the international architect (concept to schematic).-TradeArabia News Service