A New Benchmark in Sustainable Residential Design

This residential community supports the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center’s international staff and their families.

This visionary energy research hub, located between King Khalid International Airport and the city of Riyadh, attracts researchers and staff members from throughout the world. The residential community provides a premier environment that helps KAPSARC attract and retain world-class research and development talent.

The design includes 10 community buildings (three apartment buildings with retail, library, dining hall, recreation center, natatorium, mosque, supermarket and bowling alley), a 200-house residential community (including 11 house types) and four main utility buildings.

Two long, rectilinear apartment buildings flank the central dining facility and library. The horizontal sunshade structures of these modern, stone-clad forms complete the liner that defines the central plaza. The apartments provide an abundance of personal outdoor space with generously sized balconies as well as public outdoor space in the form of large roof decks. The apartments are a mix of one-story and two-story living units, offering lofts with two-story living rooms and ample natural light.

As the spiritual center of the KAPSARC residential community, the Community Masjid has high visibility within the community site.

KAPSARC is the first project outside of North America and the largest residential project outside of the US to achieve LEED® for Homes certification. It also is one of the first projects included in the LEED-Homes International Pilot Program. Eighty-two of the villas have been awarded LEED for Homes Gold; the remaining villas will be certified in blocks as they reach completion.

Designed by HOK, KAPSARC’s solar energy field, which was built over an area of 55,000 square meters and will generate about 5,800 megawatt hours of electrical energy annually, is the largest in Saudi Arabia.