Allies and Morrison opens new studio in Saudi Arabia

Allies and Morrison has opened a new studio in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, establishing a permanent presence in the city’s historic Al Balad district.

Jo Bacon, managing partner, said: “This will be a base for the region in the most historic of places which has such a commitment for renewal and regeneration. It is exciting to behold and an honour to be working with clients who are both protecting and developing Al Balad.”

The new Jeddah office space is intended to help the practice build closer engagement with its local clients and stakeholders. As well as its London head office, Allies and Morrison also already has satellite studios in Cambridge, Manchester, and Dublin.

Al Balad, which means ‘town’ in Arabic, is the historic heart of Jeddah and is renowned for its distinctive Hijazi architecture, characterised by intricately carved wooden Roshan balconies that provide shade and ventilation in the region’s harsh climate. The area originated as a trading hub in the pre-Islamic period and evolved into a dense urban fabric of coral stone houses and narrow alleys. It became a major urban centre from the 7th century when Jeddah was designated as the main port for Muslim pilgrims traveling to Mecca.

While the oil boom of the 1970s and 1980s saw much of Jeddah’s population migrate northwards, Al Balad remained a focal point for historical preservation efforts, culminating in its UNESCO World Heritage designation in 2014.

As part of Saudi Vision 2030, the government has launched a regeneration initiative to revitalise Al Balad as a cultural and tourism destination. In 2019, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman committed significant funding to restore 56 historic buildings, reinforcing the area’s role in Saudi Arabia’s broader urban transformation.

More recently, the Public Investment Fund established the Al Balad Development Company to oversee the district’s regeneration, with a focus on adaptive reuse of heritage structures, investment in public spaces, and enhanced connectivity.

The surge in large-scale development projects across Saudi Arabia has drawn increasing numbers of UK architects to the region, as firms seek new opportunities in a rapidly expanding market. Driven by the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 initiative, which aims to diversify the economy beyond oil and position Saudi Arabia as a global hub for culture, tourism, and innovation, architectural demand has soared. High-profile schemes such as Neom, Qiddiya, and extensive historic regeneration projects have created a pressing need for international expertise, prompting British practices to establish local offices or form partnerships with Saudi firms.

Recognising the scale of Saudi Arabia’s urban transformation, RIBA signed a memorandum of understanding with the country’s Architecture and Design Commission (ADC) in late 2023. The agreement sets out ambitions for knowledge exchange, education initiatives, and collaboration on research and best practice. RIBA has identified Saudi Arabia as a key growth market for its members, aligning with its broader efforts to support the UK profession and influence global design standards.

Allies and Morrison’s new studio, located within the World Heritage Site, is led by Zainab Alireza, an urban designer. She previously co-directed the Sustainable Cities Lab, a forum for Saudi female architects and planners that examined the role of women in achieving resilience and community development within the framework of the Saudi Vision 2030 project.

The firm states that, similar to its Bankside studio in London, the Jeddah location will feature a shopfront, which it describes as an important element in fostering connections with the surrounding area. 

Allies and Morrison has been active in the Middle East for 16 years. The practice was a joint recipient of the RIBA International Prize in 2021 for its role in the Msheireb Downtown Doha Masterplan, a large-scale urban regeneration project that aimed to create a new compact and walkable neighbourhood.

The practice has also been working on masterplanning and regeneration schemes for another of Saudi Arabia’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites, at AlUla.

>> Also read: Saudi architecture chief: ‘Distilling country down to only NEOM doesn’t do it justice’