Following a documentary series published by Asharq Al-Awsat on the architecture of the Holy Mosque over a period of 1400 years, and which pointed, in its final part, to the role of King Saud University in designing the third Saudi expansion of the mosque, Saudi writer and researcher Bandar bin Abdul Rahman bin Moammar sheds light on the story of the design of the third Saudi expansion.
The report relies on royal orders and archive documents of the Ministry of Higher Education in Saudi Arabia, which was entrusted in 1429 AH - 2008 AD to undertake the task of studying the expansion project, in addition to a set of accounts and other articles, of which Asharq Al-Awsat retain copies.
The story is not about individuals, universities, companies or consultants, but about an honorable professional work, a leadership that vowed to serve the Two Holy Mosques and a state that harnessed its resources for the security, safety and comfort of the pilgrims.
Expansion design and the untold story
Here is an untold story. It is about a unique methodology in managing giant projects and applying integrated teamwork, which can be built upon and benefited from at this stage in particular, and in major projects inside and outside Saudi Arabia.
This story also highlights the extent of care and unlimited support that the Saudi leadership grants to the two Holy Mosques.
Since the beginning of the expansion works during the Saudi era, these projects enjoyed a special treatment and a different working mechanism.
At the time, the Directorate of Governmental Buildings and Constructions assigned Mohammad bin Laden to carry out and supervise the works without implementation contracts or preset costs. Rather, the two Holy Mosques projects were covered by the Ministry of Finance according to the expenses provided by Bin Laden and for which he received a specific percentage.
This method continued to be followed by the Saudi Bin Laden Group, even after Bin Laden’s death. Since the beginning of the Saudi expansions, the Two Holy Mosques had their own architectural identity within a unique urban context and an unparalleled distinctiveness.
With the increasing flow of pilgrims during the reign of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, it became necessary to expand the Grand Mosque. As the state had begun to expropriate the northern neighborhoods of the Grand Mosque (Al-Shamiya and its vicinity), it was decided that the project would turn from a mere expansion of squares to a structural development of the Grand Mosque.
The Saudi Bin Laden Group, through its advisory arms, worked on a proposed design for the expansion building. Several meetings were held between the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque, represented at the time by the General President Sheikh Saleh Al-Hussain and his technical team, and the Bin Laden Group represented by Eng. Bakr bin Laden and his team, to discuss the data and aspects of the design proposed by the Group.
The Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques saw that the design submitted for approval did not fully meet the needs of the Grand Mosque, given the changing requirements related to the comfort of worshipers, development of their service, management of their safety, and other aspects of operation.
Consequently, a royal order was issued on Shaaban 26, 1429 AH (Aug. 27, 2008), requesting the Ministry of Higher Education to form a working group of qualified specialists to study the project in all its architectural, engineering, operational, technical and security aspects, while benefiting from modern scientific techniques.
The scope of the study included several aspects, including the design of buildings and the urban aspects around the Grand Mosque, maintenance and management, security and safety systems, the crowd movement, as well as the environmental impact study.
In a record time, specialized teams with high competencies were formed from inside and outside Saudi Arabia, led by national cadres from the Kingdom’s universities. The work structure at this stage can be summarized as follows:
The Steering Committee: It was chaired by the Minister of Higher Education at the time, Dr. Khaled Al-Anqari
The main work tracks: The task required the formation of eight main work axes: assessment of the situation, local review, international review, architectural vision, technical vision, application, production, and the presentation of the project.
Specialized technical teams: The specialized technical teams were formed according to the needs of each track, and were tasked with preparing the necessary reports.
The Architectural and Urban Studies Team
Structural Studies Team
Movement, crowds, support services and security team
Environmental Studies Team
Sustainability Studies Team
The Service and Electromechanical Studies Team
In parallel, in order to implement an independent international review, the Ministry of Higher Education contracted AECOM to conduct an evaluation of the design proposed by the Bin Laden Group for the expansion of the Grand Mosque.
After developing a set of performance indicators to measure and evaluate the proposed design, AECOM presented the final report in two parts:
The first was entitled, ‘Evaluation of the design proposed by the Bin Laden Group’, and was based on a range of areas for evaluation, including: mechanical and electrical systems, geotechnical and seismic systems, sustainability, security, information technology, environmental issues, solid waste management systems, and crowd movement. This part reached the same conclusion as the local review, with a great convergence in the results.
The second part discussed opportunities and alternatives for the future development of the expansions of the Grand Mosque.
All outputs were a reference basis for analyzing gaps and identifying strengths, weaknesses, challenges and risks in the proposed design.
It was then decided to invite a number of international and local consulting offices and international architecture pioneers, in addition to the College of Architecture and Planning at King Saud University and the College of Environmental Designs at King Abdulaziz University to submit their proposals.
Architectural visions for the new expansion
Twelve architecture leaders presented their visions and helped open the urban horizons for the expansion of the Grand Mosque through concrete applied solutions and ideas. Those included: Ingenhoven Architekten, Gensler, ÇINICI / AVCL / ARUP, Hijass Kasturi, King Saud University, Architecture Studio, Al-Beeah, ATKINS, King Abdul Aziz University, Nikken Sekki, Al-Na'eem, and Norman Foster.
Moreover, to spur ideas that could support the new expansion proposal, some of the world’s leading architecture leaders were asked to provide future visions for the project. Those included: Tadao Ando, Shigeru Ban, Charles Correa, Zaha Hadid, Muhammad Mayet, Abdulhalim CDC and Santiago Calatrava.
King Abdullah and the concerned officials were briefed on the comprehensive studies, as well as the architectural, urban, artistic and technical visions.
Following a careful consideration, the design proposed by King Saud University was selected as the basis for the design of the new expansion. This selection was documented by Royal Directive No. 1692 dated Safar 26, 1430 AH - February 21, 2009 AD.
The Ministry of Higher Education documented the design idea of King Saud University in its publications on the project.
Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz, the Second Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior at the time, honored the College of Architecture and Planning at King Saud University for its achievements, during his sponsorship of the First International Conference on Technology and Sustainability in Urbanism, which was held in Muharram 1431 AH - January 2010.
The development of the design was assigned to a group of faculty members in Saudi universities, in cooperation with a technical team of Dar Al-Handasah and the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque.
