Middle East Buildings: Architecture

Middle Eastern Building, Architects, Property, Levant & Gulf Architectural Designs, Photos, News

Middle East Buildings : Architecture

Contemporary Built Environment Developments in Asia – Information + Images

post updated 1 October 2021

Buildings in the Middle East

We’ve selected what we feel are the key examples of Middle East Architecture. We cover completed Middle East buildings, new building designs, architectural exhibitions and design competitions. The focus is on contemporary Middle Eastern buildings but information on traditional buildings is also welcome.

We have 2 pages of Middle East Architecture selections with links to hundreds of individual project pages.

Middle East Architecture : A-R

Middle East Buildings : S-Z (this page)

Middle East Building Developments – Saudi Arabia Selection

Saudi Arabian Buildings arranged alphabetically:

Al-Birr Foundation Office Tower, Riyadh
Design: Perkins+Will
Saudi Arabian Tower - Middle East Buildings
picture from architect
Saudi Arabian Tower Building
For the Al-Birr Foundation’s new headquarters, Perkins+Will reinterpreted the typology of an urban tower in the spirit of Le Corbusier’s explorations of the brise-soleil, calibrated to the extreme solar exposure and heat conditions of the microclimate of Riyadh. The design employs innovation in elevation and section, rather than plan, as the generator for functional solutions as well as symbolic analogies to Saudi historical precedents.

Al Faisaliah Complex, Riyadh
Design: Foster + Partners
Al Faisaliah Complex Middle East Buildings
Nigel Young, Foster & Partners
Al Faisaliah Complex
Playing a key part in Riyadh’s urban development, the 240,000-square-metre Al Faisaliah Complex is centred around Saudi Arabia’s first skyscraper – a distinctive 267-m-high office tower – alongside a five-star hotel, a banqueting and conference centre, luxury apartments and a three-storey retail mall. The scheme carefully balances cost-effectiveness and flexibility to produce buildings which are efficient but also responsive to the Middle Eastern climate.

Alrriyadh Ritz Carlton Tower, Riyadh
Design: ECHO Architecture
Alrriyadh Ritz Carlton Tower
picture from architect
Alrriyadh Ritz Carlton Tower Building
ECHO Architecture is currently working on over 80 projects based in Saudi Arabia including the world’s 5th tallest tower in Riyadh, the newest luxury hotel in the Ritz Carlton Brand. Last year alone Echo masterplanned over 12 million m2 across 5 projects in the region creating and evolving towns and communities for the Kingdom.

Arab Satellite Communications HQ
Design: heneghan.peng.architects
Arabsat headquarters - Middle East Buildings
image : heneghan.peng.architects
Arabsat headquarters building
The design of the new headquarters for Arab Satellite Communications Organization (Arabsat) was the subject of an international competition commissioned by the Arriyadh Development Authority in 2008. heneghan.peng.architects with Buro Happold engineers won the competition and were subsequently appointed in March 2009.

King Abdulaziz Center, Dhahran
Design: Snøhetta
King Abdulaziz Library
picture : MIR
King Abdulaziz Library Building
The King Abdulaziz Center for Knowledge and Culture is a bold new initiative on the part of the Saudi Aramco Oil Company to promote cultural development within the Kingdom. Following an invited architectural design competition in 2007 Snøhetta has been selected to design this prestigious cultural facilities, including an auditorium, cinema, library, exhibition hall, museum and archive.

King Abdullah Economic City
Design: SOM Architects
King Abdullah Economic City
image : SOM
King Abdullah Economic City
Designed by American architect Marshall Strabala, the King Abdullah Economic City is a major mixed use business center totaling 1.1 million square meters (12 million square feet) to be built in western Saudi Arabia. Strabala designed the master plan for the city as an Associate Partner in Charge of Design at Skidmore Owings Merrill LLP.

Saudia Arabian Buildings

Middle East Building Designs – UAE Selection

UAE Buildings arranged alphabetically:

0-14 tower, Business Bay Building
Design: RUR Architecture – Reiser + Umemoto
0-14 tower Middle East Buildings
picture from architect
Dubai Business Bay tower

DIFC Lighthouse Dubai building
Architects: Atkins
DIFC Lighthouse Middle East Buildings
architecture image © from Atkins
DIFC Lighthouse

Burj Al Alam tower
Design: Nikken Sekkei
Burj Al Alam tower
picture from architect
Burj Al Alam tower

Burj al Arab
Design: Atkins
Burj al Arab
picture from architect
Burj al Arab Hotel

Burj Khalifa
SOM Architects
Burj Khalifa
photo © Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
Burj Khalifa Skyscraper

Dubai Opera House Building
Zaha Hadid Architects
Dubai Opera House
picture from architect
Dubai Opera House

Dubai Signature Towers
Zaha Hadid Architects
Middle East buildings
picture from architect
Dubai Signature Towers

DIFC Lighthouse Dubai building
Architects: Atkins
DIFC Lighthouse, Middle East building
architecture image © from Atkins
DIFC Lighthouse

Jumeirah Emirates Towers
Norr Group – Hazel Wong
Jumeirah Emirates Towers - Middle East Buildings
picture from Jumeirah
Jumeirah Emirates Towers

Museum of Middle East Modern Art
UNStudio
Museum of Middle East Modern Art Building
picture from architect
Museum of Middle East Modern Art building

The Opus
Zaha Hadid Architects
The Opus Dubai Middle East Buildings
image from architect
The Opus Dubai Buildings

Palm Island
RMJM Architects
Palm Island Dubai
image © RMJM
Palm Island Dubai

Dubai Buildings

More Middle East Architecture online soon

Location: Middle East, Weastern Asia

Middle East Buildings in other countries

Israel Buildings

Jordan Buildings

Kuwait Buildings

Lebanese Buildings

Oman Buildings

Syrian Buildings

Yemen Architecture

Turkish Architecture

Middle East Glass Facades

Middle East Building information + photos welcome

Buildings / photos for the Middle East Architecture page welcome

Website: Middle East – BBC news