CONSTRUCTION is under way on a high-end retail project in Saudi Arabia designed by Tariq Hajj Architects (THA), a full service professional design firm practising architecture, planning, interiors, and graphics in Saudi Arabia.

The Avenue Shopping Centre, which is currently being built over a 12,696-sq-m prime site in Al Khobar in the Eastern Province, is expected to see completion by mid-2014. The two-level facility offers a built-up area of 5,318 sq m and 5,618 sq m on the ground and the first floors respectively. The contractor on the project is Vinicea Contracting Company.

Tariq Hajj Architects last year saw the completion of three research and development (R&D) facilities, where the Saudi designer aimed to translate the spatial and functional requirements of the landmark developments into an architectural solution representing the clients’ corporate values.

The three buildings, located within the Dhahran Techno Valley (DTV) close to the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) and Saudi Aramco, comprise projects for Yokogawa, Honeywell and Baker Hughes.

Honeywell technology centre ... stunning architecture.

The first of these projects involved designing a second building (Phase Two) for Yokogawa within the DTV, the first one having been completed five years ago. This new two-level structure, completed in August 2012, sits on a 12,120-sq-m site adjacent to the existing building and is connected to it while bearing similar architectural elements. It offers a total built-up area of 4,217 sq m.

The second of the three R&D offices at DTV was Honeywell’s technology centre, the architecture of which reflects the core values of the company.

The building, which occupies a 12,689-sq-m site and provides a total built-up area of 6,941 sq m, was completed in May 2012.

Tariq Hajj Architects also designed a 4,692-sq-m technology centre for Baker Hughes on the basis of a concept the client has developed for implementation in various parts of the world.

The architecture set to reflect a “solid” and sophisticated appearance, according to Tariq Hajj, principal of THA, which produced all the necessary construction documents and detailing of the project that was completed in March last year.