Seen as geologic formations rising from the land, the design for the KAFD Men’s and Women’s Portal Spas by WORKSBUREAU form great shade porticos beneath long cantilevered masses. Located in two of the civic Attractor beacons of the dense urban King Abdullah Financial District of Riyadh, the project also forms the gateway to the masterplan, framing the main park as it flows into the Wadi pedestrian artery. More images and architects’ description after the break.
As a multi-modal point of interface connecting a vast carpark below and a monorail station within, it acts as a connective concourse—yet offers a complete sensory departure to patrons of the Spa. Their asymmetric opposing slopes create a sense of motion and address the diverse scales of the built context. Hovering over a textured stone base, the bodies of the buildings are dematerialized by an ethereal perforated titanium rainscreen, a performance-driven jacket with dynamic ‘tessellate’ shading. The skin transforms interior and exterior character with time and seasons, while assuring guests’ privacy. It also becomes a ‘light event’ seen from the portal, and in the fifth elevation vantage.
