Construction work is well under way on a mixed-use commercial and residential in the heart of King Khalid Road in Al Khobar, which will contribute to the overall effort to facelift the downtown area of the city.

Once complete, the Al Sheifan building – as it is known – will blend harmoniously and yet stand out as a distinct landmark among the new building sprouting along this busy King Khalid and Ninth streets of Al Khobar.
The project proponent Saad Rashed Al Shiefan sought the expertise of Hussain Al Jumaa, vice president of Al Awami Planners & Consultants – an Eastern Province-based firm of architects – to come up with a fitting design concept for the eight-storey building in this prime location over a plot size of approximately 1,200 sq m.
“The architectural design of the project had to blend perfectly with the needs of the location as the elevation emphasises a unique combination of post-modern architecture, giving the structure its unique identity,” say a spokesman.
The basement serves as a parking area for the tenants of the 36 apartments, which will be serviced by two elevators up to the penthouse of the deck floor.
The ground and mezzanine floors will be utilised as commercial spaces. From first to fifth floor, the building will house seven high-class three-bedroom residential flats per floor with a spacious hallway and corridors and a well-lit atrium and garden on the first floor.
The construction of the project started in January 2004 and is due for completion by the end of this year.
Elaborating about some of the challenges on the development, the spokesman says: “Valued at over SR26 million ($6.9 million), the project is situated on a shallow water table that is influenced by sea water during the high and low tides. Excavation to a depth of approximately 5 m below the road level was the main challenge, which the contractors had to face. The contractor opted for a well-point dewatering procedure, drying up to 4 m deep of ground water.
“In this process, an adjacent four-storey building had to be protected from settlement that dewatering and deep excavation may have caused. The ground had to be improved by soil replacement with structural select fill up to 1 m deep to increase the poor bearing capacity of the existing foundation area. A raft foundation of 1.1 m thickness has been poured after ensuring a sound waterproofing solution.
“The building is designed to accommodate a future extension of two additional floors.”
“Currently, the structural component of the building is 99 per cent complete with the finishing work under way full scale with only eight months more to go until project hand-over,” he points out.
Another project that depicts the professional expertise and imaginative building design capability of Al Awami Planners & Consultants is the Dra Sameera Al Bayat Medical Tower – located on Al Quds Street in Qatif. Valued at SR19.63 million, the tower is currently being built by Arabian Turkish Contracting Company.
Again, Al Awami Planners & Consultants has created an innovative but practical design for the building that occupies a 1,820 sq m plot.
This 14-storey medical clinic building offers a built-up area of 6,890 sq m and comprises one basement level providing parking space for cars, a ground floor for a pharmacy and laboratory and 12 upper floors for medical clinic. In addition, the building will have a restaurant on the ninth floor and two-level penthouses.
A SR14 million apartment building for Jamal Al Bayat, also in Qatif, will be another feather in the cap of Al Awami Planners & Consultants.  The mixed-use commercial and residential project is also being built by Arabian Turkish Contracting Company.
Covering a 2,021 sq m site, this six-storey building houses six commercial units on the ground floor, five apartments at the mezzanine level, eight residential units each on the first to fourth floors and a penthouse on the roof deck. When completed, this will be the first residential building to be offered for sale as individual unit in the region, he says.
Al Awami Planners and Consultants – established in 1980 – started as a small office with eight employees and has grown into a large practice employing over 60 staff, including architects and architectural designers, civil engineers, electrical engineers, draftsmen of all specialties and CAD operators in all specialties including designing, rendering and drafting.
Today, the practice prepares plans for virtually every area of the industry. Private villas, houses and palaces, buildings for commercial, residential and industrial purposes, mosques, schools, and malls are but a few of the many projects Al Awami Planners & Consultants has undertaken.
Its long list of accomplishments include:
• Housing complexes: Wahat Al-Yasmeen in Riyadh – a residential compound comprising 86 villas, a mosque, recreational centre and an administration building; Sheikh Ahmed Bana’eem’s private residences in Riyadh and Jeddah;  Rumaih Residential Complex, Rakah (Al Khobar)  near Dammam-Khobar Expressway, comprising 11 buildings, 285 apartments, and an extensive recreational area.
• Commercial projects: Abdulhadi Al Qahtani Sons’ commercial building in Al Khobar; and Amiantit headquarters in Dammam:
• Health/medical projects: Sanaa Hospital in Yemen, Medical Opinion Clinic in Dammam, Hail Hospital East Wing of Dhahran Health Centre; and Riyada Hospital in Qatif;
• Education projects such as the Tahtheeb private schools in Qatif; Shaikh Faisal Shuhail School in Al Khobar; Khutt Private Schools in Qatif and two Koranic Schools in Dammam;
• Government projects: Logistics Office Building in Riyadh; Ministry of Interior (extension), Dammam; King Abdulaziz Seaport VIP lounge, Dammam; Passport Office headquarters; and Qatif Municipality extension;
• Multi-purpose halls in Al Raka and Dhahran;
• Industrial projects: Matrood Biscuit Factory, Saihat; Hajri Workshop Complex, Jubail; Jumaih Auto Workshop, Dammam; and Jumaih PDI Centre in Dammam;
• Restaurants: Dammam Marina; and Salman Jishi Restaurant Complex and Ghazzawi Restaurant Complex in Al Khobar;
• Mosques: Hayat Plaza Mosque in Dammam: Matrood Mosque in Saihat;  Imam Husain in Qatif; Kharkheer Mosque; and Zamil Mosque in Albania.