Saudi Arabia’s Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) has appointed French architect Francis Keré to design its oasis agriculture campus, which seeks to improve work in the agricultural sector and support the development of agricultural technologies based on a comprehensive vision that aims to support economic development in AlUla.
Keré is an internationally renowned architect who was named the 2023 Praemium Imperiale laureate for architecture. He has won several international awards, including the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, for his excellence in designing projects in various countries, such as Burkina Faso, the US, Germany, Britain and Uganda.
The campus, which will be the first of its kind in the world, aims to preserve AlUla's heritage, restore historic buildings, foster a sustainable local economy, enable farmers to better manage and improve their businesses by integrating agricultural production with tourism, and build an intergenerational social network of farmers to ensure the exchange and preservation of local knowledge.
It seeks to create a space that offers a wide array of facilities, including an education center, a community center, incubator farms, and agritourism facilities.
RCU works to preserve AlUla’s unique identity and rich heritage, and make it a leading global destination for cultural and natural heritage.
