As Saudi Arabia's cities expand through increasingly ambitious cultural projects, Syn Architects has spent much of its practice looking at what predates that transformation. The practice's participation in the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale grew out of years spent documenting Najdi architecture, disappearing urban fabric, local materials and inherited forms of knowledge. For Syn, heritage becomes useful when it can be documented, tested and brought back into use.
This approach can be traced back to Shamalat Cultural Center, a 615-square-metre intervention on the outskirts of Diriyah. Originally an old mud house acquired and converted into a cultural hub by Saudi artist Maha Malluh, the project was developed through two distinct phases: restoration and addition. Parts of the earthen structure were retained, while a new volume was inserted within the footprint of the former yard and organised around remnants of the original adobe fence. Riyadh stone forms a deliberately contemporary backdrop to the textured mud walls. What matters at Shamalat is what the two phases allow the building to accommodate. The restored structure and new addition accommodate galleries, an artist residency, a darkroom and workshops, allowing the building to remain useful rather than becoming a static historical object.
