Discover Diriyah: the City of Earth

The Diriyah Company is creating a peerless destination to live, work, visit and explore the cultural wonders of Saudi Arabia

The company has also partnered with 38 global brands to deliver a hospitality offering that blends local Najdi building styles, embracing the natural landscape and the very best international hotels, to offer visitors an evolved and personal experience.

Diriyah will be a global gathering place that celebrates the kingdom’s storied past and allows all to journey through its history. It truly will be one of the world’s outstanding cultural destinations. With so much more to come and so many new projects and partnerships to launch, Diriyah is leading the way in the growth of Saudi Arabia’s tourism sector.

Sustainability best practices are embedded at every level of the work underway at Diriyah. The organisation is pioneering the rediscovery and use of Najdi architecture. The work incorporates locally sourced materials –mud, stone, athl and palm wood – in the UNESCO World Heritage Site At-Turaif which has inspired the design and nature of the Diriyah masterplan.

As part of the kingdom’s Vision 2030 objectives, the Diriyah Company is transforming Saudi Arabia’s historic Diriyah district into what will become one of the world’s largest cultural and heritage destinations. Centred around the At-Turaif District, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that was the founding place of the first Saudi state in 1727 and the ancestral home of the ruling House of Al Saud, Diriyah is imbued with 300 years of history, heritage and culture, with plenty for visitors to discover.

Upon completion, Diriyah will offer a peerless place to live, work, visit and explore the cultural wonders of Saudi Arabia, with its first assets having opened last year. In December 2022, the Diriyah Company launched the UNESCO World Heritage site, At-Turaif, which is the ancestral home of the Al Saud family and where the first Saudi state was established. The magnificent walls guide the design of the entire development, with its distinctive Najdi architectural style offering a window to almost three centuries of history.

Bujairi Terrace was also opened in December. Home to the most exquisite collection of international culinary delights in the Middle East, it has become the region’s premier fine dining destination, offering visitors an array of delectable options.

The Diriyah Company celebrated welcoming half a million visitors in the first three months since these openings as visitors travelled from all corners of the globe to experience Diriyah’s incredible culture and heritage offerings.

The destination also hosted international events during the year, including Formula E and the kingdom’s first Contemporary Art Biennale.

As the Diriyah masterplan continues to take shape, the company seeks to create one of the world’s greatest historical, cultural and lifestyle hubs. 2022 was a groundbreaking year in its development journey and new worldleading assets will be announced and launched every year from now until the end of the decade.

Proudly showcasing Saudi Arabia’s culture to the world, the Diriyah Company continues to curate heritage, cultural, educational, retail and dining experiences for residents and visitors alike. Najdi architectural-themed projects like Diriyah Square will soon become one of the country’s largest shopping destinations, while themed luxury neighbourhoods, which will feature their own diverse mix of everyday and unique offerings, will create a constant and immersive experience for all who visit.

Across Diriyah, vibrant streets, plazas and walkways are used to create a buzz around key attractions and provide easy, walkable living rooted in the way of life that has existed here for the past 300 years. Furthermore, emissions are curbed with fewer cars and by reducing the travel required.

The Diriyah Company seeks to grow its commitment to sustainability and constantly refine its building practices and management processes to achieve the most efficient and least impactful building methods possible. This commitment has been recognised from a sustainability certification standpoint, as Diriyah Company was awarded the internationally renowned USGBC LEED precertification at the platinum level. The company has also enrolled in Saudi Arabia’s sustainability certification programme, MOSTADAM, which is directly linked with achieving the Vision 2030 objective of improving the quality of life for all Saudis.

Diriyah is a gathering place and a ‘City of Earth’. Such a deep-rooted history and precious cultural legacy place sustainability and the conservation and celebration of Diriyah’s identity and natural environment at the very heart of Diriyah Company’s work.