Bab Samhan Hotel
First large luxury 5 stars Hotel in UNESCO site of Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, recovering the ancient raw land village with 19 buildings for 32,000 sq.m., 134 rooms with 32 suites and 1 royal suite, conference center, 3 traditional Najdi restaurants, Spa with swimming pool, contemporary and traditional architecture, landscape with water features. Complete project from concept, master plan, final, executive and design review
Bab Samhan Hotel is the first luxury hotel built in Diriyah, the new tourist and cultural destination in Saudi Arabia.
The project consists of the rehabilitation and reuse of the ancient Najd village of Samhan, the gateway to the magnificent UNESCO site of Diriyah, to create a very large 5-star hotel. It consists of 19 interconnected buildings with a total area of 32,000 sqm and 141 rooms (including 32 suites from 60 to 70 sqm and 1 royal suite of 350 sqm), a conference hall, 3 signature restaurants inspired by the Najd cultural tradition, a luxurious spa and wellness center.
The hotel environment is cozy thanks to the human scale, to the presence of private areas and public spaces beutifully landscaped. The variety and richness of the architecture of Bab Samhan Hotel suprises visitors, recalling the traditional Najd character (genius loci) characterized by clustered buildings, sense of solidity and strength of opaque plastered walls, that change color depending on the sunlight, punctuated by triangular openings that light up at night.
Bab Samhan hotel integrates harmoniously with the facing UNESCO site of At Turaif and with the landscape of Wadi Hanifah. The north urban front has a formal character with alternating solid tower volumes and recesses where the accesses are located; it contains the public functions such as the lobby, the conference room, the restaurants, the spa, the main internal courtyard with a traditional outdoor café. The south-west village contains the standard rooms’ buildings, with internal courtyards, connected by narrow alleys along which run canals where the water flows slowly (“falaj”). The south-east village is the rehabilitated ancient part composed of interconnected historical buildings, it includes the suites that overlook the beautiful palm grove in front with fantastic views towards the UNESCO site.
UNIQUENESS OF THE PROJECT
It is the first reuse of a historic village in raw earth with the function of a Luxury Hotel in Saudi Arabia.
It is the first Hotel completed around the UNESCO site of Ad’Diriyah, part of a larger program of Diriyah Gate Development Authority to create the most important tourist-cultural site in the Kingdom with the creation of other Luxury Hotels and public cultural buildings.
WHY SAMHAN?
It is an example of contemporary architecture in a monumental historical context of extraordinary value that involved the construction of new buildings integrated with the restoration of other existing ones.
The coexistence between contemporary and traditional language was possible because the historic architecture of Najd is linear, essential, composed of pure volumes where the masses and sharp edges are emphasized by the strong sunlight and the effects of chiaroscuro.
COMPLEXITY AND RICHNESS
An extremely complex project that resolved the conflict between the need to preserve the historic village and introduce new technologies, systems and comfort typical of a 5-star hotel.
The Masterplan was designed maintaining the imprints of the original buildings and the Najd aggregate typology, the original layout of the pedestrian streets and the internal courtyards of the buildings.
SUSTAINABILITY AND INNOVATION
Raw earth is a fragile material that requires maintenance, but it allows for unique climate control and sustainable architecture suited to the local climate and has extraordinary thermal-acoustic insulation performance and exceptional aesthetic values.
CONSERVATION STRATEGY
The initial phases of the project included the topographic survey and 3D laser scan of the existing buildings, a careful analysis of their degradation, the definition of the interventions necessary for consolidation, integration of parts using traditional and new technologies. Together with historical aerial photographic images it was possible to reconstruct parts that had disappeared, where a concrete school had been built. The recovery included the reconstruction of the original urban layout, including footprints of buildings and the fabric of internal streets. The original topography was carefully maintained, with excavation for an underground garage only in the reconstructed parts and not under the restored ancient buildings, with levels that slope towards the south-east and consequent richness of the urban composition in compliance with the footprints of buildings, shapes, heights, original volumes.
The project offers tourists a unique and authentic experience of the Najd culture, a dive into history through the skilful rehabilitation of spaces, forms, architectures partly restored using raw earth-adobe, partly rebuilt respecting the original footprint of the ancient buildings.
Client
Diriyah Gate Development Authority (DGDA, owner)
Marriott (Operator)
Nuzul PIF (previous owner)
JDUR (previous PM)
Programme
Urban heritage
Architettura
Location
Diriyah UNESCO buffer zone,
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Activity
Complete design of Architecture, Structures, Systems, Interior Design, Landscape including Masterplan, preliminary, definitive, executive design, tender documents, Authority approvals, executive project review for construction
Size
134 rooms
18,000 sqm plot area
30.000 sqm GFA
3 Restaurants, conference room and meeting
rooms, SPA and wellness center
Team
Andrea Marenco Architettura, as AR&P Architecture:
Architecture, Masterplan, Landscape design
RINA Consulting s.p.a.: General coordination,
Structures and MEP design
ASAS Omrania: Architect of Record
Barbara Rossi – Project AB:
Hospitality consultant
SID: Interior Design
Myrtha Pools: Pool & SPA
Bosisio: Signage & Wayfinding
Studio Montanari & Partners:
Kitchen & Laundry
Year
2015-2018: Masterplan, Preliminary, definitive,
executive design, tender doc, Authority approvals
2020-2021: Executive project
review for construction
Status
Built
Inaugurated in January 2025
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Bab Samhan Hotel is the first luxury hotel built in Diriyah, the new tourist and cultural destination in Saudi Arabia.
The project consists of the rehabilitation and reuse of the ancient Najd village of Samhan, the gateway to the magnificent UNESCO site of Diriyah, to create a very large 5-star hotel. It consists of 19 interconnected buildings with a total area of 32,000 sqm and 141 rooms (including 32 suites from 60 to 70 sqm and 1 royal suite of 350 sqm), a conference hall, 3 signature restaurants inspired by the Najd cultural tradition, a luxurious spa and wellness center.
The hotel environment is cozy thanks to the human scale, to the presence of private areas and public spaces beutifully landscaped. The variety and richness of the architecture of Bab Samhan Hotel suprises visitors, recalling the traditional Najd character (genius loci) characterized by clustered buildings, sense of solidity and strength of opaque plastered walls, that change color depending on the sunlight, punctuated by triangular openings that light up at night.
Bab Samhan hotel integrates harmoniously with the facing UNESCO site of At Turaif and with the landscape of Wadi Hanifah. The north urban front has a formal character with alternating solid tower volumes and recesses where the accesses are located; it contains the public functions such as the lobby, the conference room, the restaurants, the spa, the main internal courtyard with a traditional outdoor café. The south-west village contains the standard rooms’ buildings, with internal courtyards, connected by narrow alleys along which run canals where the water flows slowly (“falaj”). The south-east village is the rehabilitated ancient part composed of interconnected historical buildings, it includes the suites that overlook the beautiful palm grove in front with fantastic views towards the UNESCO site.
UNIQUENESS OF THE PROJECT
It is the first reuse of a historic village in raw earth with the function of a Luxury Hotel in Saudi Arabia.
It is the first Hotel completed around the UNESCO site of Ad’Diriyah, part of a larger program of Diriyah Gate Development Authority to create the most important tourist-cultural site in the Kingdom with the creation of other Luxury Hotels and public cultural buildings.
WHY SAMHAN?
It is an example of contemporary architecture in a monumental historical context of extraordinary value that involved the construction of new buildings integrated with the restoration of other existing ones.
The coexistence between contemporary and traditional language was possible because the historic architecture of Najd is linear, essential, composed of pure volumes where the masses and sharp edges are emphasized by the strong sunlight and the effects of chiaroscuro.
COMPLEXITY AND RICHNESS
An extremely complex project that resolved the conflict between the need to preserve the historic village and introduce new technologies, systems and comfort typical of a 5-star hotel.
The Masterplan was designed maintaining the imprints of the original buildings and the Najd aggregate typology, the original layout of the pedestrian streets and the internal courtyards of the buildings.
SUSTAINABILITY AND INNOVATION
Raw earth is a fragile material that requires maintenance, but it allows for unique climate control and sustainable architecture suited to the local climate and has extraordinary thermal-acoustic insulation performance and exceptional aesthetic values.
CONSERVATION STRATEGY
The initial phases of the project included the topographic survey and 3D laser scan of the existing buildings, a careful analysis of their degradation, the definition of the interventions necessary for consolidation, integration of parts using traditional and new technologies. Together with historical aerial photographic images it was possible to reconstruct parts that had disappeared, where a concrete school had been built. The recovery included the reconstruction of the original urban layout, including footprints of buildings and the fabric of internal streets. The original topography was carefully maintained, with excavation for an underground garage only in the reconstructed parts and not under the restored ancient buildings, with levels that slope towards the south-east and consequent richness of the urban composition in compliance with the footprints of buildings, shapes, heights, original volumes.