BinBaz Towers – An iconic hotel and hospital for the Bin Baz Foundation in Riyadh

Riyadh is a city undergoing rapid transformation. Vision 2030 (the Saudi strategy for economic diversification and openness) is rewriting the capital’s skyline, with public and private investments seeking to combine modernity, Arab identity and contemporary environmental standards. The Bin Baz Foundation, a prominent organisation in the Kingdom, has commissioned a two-tower urban complex along King Fahad Road, one of the city’s main thoroughfares, intended to become a benchmark for future developments in the heart of Riyadh: a private infrastructure that embodies the values (beauty, community, self-sufficiency, quality of life) of the national programme.

The project was led by the team affiliated with Bottega Aurea Architecture & Masterplanning in Taranto. Within the team, Barberio Colella Architetti oversaw two specific and complementary areas: Maurizio Barberio led the Digital and Parametric Design, the aerodynamic curvilinear geometry of the towers, generated and verified using computational tools, whilst Micaela Colella developed the interior architecture of the private apartments. The environmental design was overseen by Angelo Figliola, continuing the team’s long-standing collaborations. The design challenge was twofold: to respond to Riyadh’s extreme desert climate (temperatures exceeding 45°C, predominantly northerly winds, and intense solar radiation) and to translate the themes of Vision 2030 into an iconic yet measured architecture, capable of reinterpreting the archetypes of traditional Islamic architecture (vaulted spaces, mashrabiyya, water basins) in a contemporary key.

The two towers differ in scale and function. Tower A is the complex’s iconic building: 160 metres tall with 45 floors, it houses a hotel offering high-end facilities (conference rooms, restaurants, a rooftop garden bar, swimming pool, gyms, hammam and shops) and 66 apartments of various sizes with views of the skyline. Tower B, 55 metres tall with 15 storeys, is set to become a modern hospital with over 100 beds, including five floors dedicated to specialist clinics and the most efficient patient services. Below street level, four levels of underground car park provide space for around 500 cars. The aerodynamic shape of the building (a curvilinear volume that curves along the axis of the prevailing winds) is the result of fluid dynamics optimisation: it reduces wind pressure on the north-facing facades and the roof, a critical factor for towers of this height in Riyadh.

The building envelope is a double-skin ventilated facade that prevents the interior spaces from overheating; a solar chimney integrated into the core of the towers extracts hot air and activates passive ventilation during the hottest months. The glazed openings are protected by a textile shading system with built-in water misters, which reduces direct solar radiation and lowers the air temperature at the entrance to the spaces through evaporation. The project combines luxurious interiors with extensive public green spaces outside, featuring urban squares designed for the local community. BinBaz Towers is not a single building: it is a small piece of the city that aims to become a replicable model for Riyadh, light and form for the new humanity that the Saudi capital is building.