30, bv Richard Lenoir, Paris 75011
project image
The gardens of the King Abdulaziz Airport
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - first prize
In the extremely dry climate of Jeddah using precious drinking water on irrigation is an ecological crime. The garden of the new terminal will be a kind of ‘living machine’ purifying the grey waters of the building thanks to a biological method. Clean water will be recycled principally into the garden’s own irrigation network, which this way becomes completely auto-sufficient concerning water.The topography of the project creates the illusion of a garden born out of a dune. The sigmoid pattern of the surface of the sand gave the inspiration to the design of the filtering basins. The double orientation of the basins will indicate the major axis of the airport and the direction of the holy city of Mecca. A long term, progressive plantation strategy will guarantee the acclimatization of the tropical species.