Design Space AlUla Celebrates Architectural Designs

Design space AlUla celebrates architectural designs. (SPA)
Design space AlUla celebrates architectural designs. (SPA)
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Design Space AlUla Celebrates Architectural Designs

Design space AlUla celebrates architectural designs. (SPA)
Design space AlUla celebrates architectural designs. (SPA)

Design Space AlUla gallery, located in the heart of AlJadidah Arts District, has become a focal point for wide-ranging design initiatives, in line with AlUla's goal to support the Kingdom's thriving arts and culture scene, including students, design experts, and enthusiasts, SPA said on Monday.
Opened on February 15, Design Space AlUla hosts exhibitions in a contemporary building surrounding a luminous courtyard. The building, designed by the Italian studio Gio Forma, and inspired by the ancient, textured brick buildings commonly used in the surrounding buildings in AlJadidah neighborhood, is made of Corten steel (weathering steel), glass, and polished concrete.
Through a series of exhibitions and workshops overseen by Design Space AlUla's curator Eng. Sara Ghani, the gallery aims to get in touch with local and international design experts, and emerging designers, to discuss design principles and the stages of creative design. The space allows for the display of architecture, urban planning, production, and graphic design.
The gallery's opening exhibition, "Mawrid: Celebrating Inspired Design", is accompanied by a busy program of cultural and dialogue events. Mawrid, which will run until June 1, is the first exhibition among a series that will show.
The exhibition also explores the visual identity of Design Space AlUla, which was designed by Clara Sancho Studio and 29Letters design studio, and was inspired by AlUla's unique architecture.
Meanwhile, an exhibition designed by Atelier Brückner, a German architecture firm, takes the visitors on a sensorial trip through designs inspired by AlUla as well, bringing various designers' works in a captivating spatial narration.
The second edition of AlUla Design Award finalists are also participating in the exhibition.
According to Ghani: "Design Space AlUla celebrates AlUla's natural history and cultural heritage and enables a sustainable future rooted deep within the place. Our ambition is to support the design sector and provide resources for designers to explore and experiment. We aim to make this space a place that enables visitors to search, explore, and communicate with the stages of AlUla's design trip.
AlUla is creating an archive for all the creative projects, acting as a source of design inspiration and a compendium of local design initiative



Latest Tests Show Seine Water Quality Was Substandard When Paris Mayor Took a Dip

 Boats carrying members of delegations sail along the Seine during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on July 26, 2024. (AFP)
Boats carrying members of delegations sail along the Seine during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on July 26, 2024. (AFP)
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Latest Tests Show Seine Water Quality Was Substandard When Paris Mayor Took a Dip

 Boats carrying members of delegations sail along the Seine during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on July 26, 2024. (AFP)
Boats carrying members of delegations sail along the Seine during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on July 26, 2024. (AFP)

Tests results released Friday showed the water quality in the River Seine was slightly below the standards needed to authorize swimming — just as the Paris Olympics start.

Heavy rain during the opening ceremony revived concerns over whether the long-polluted waterway will be clean enough to host swimming competitions, since water quality is deeply linked with the weather in the French capital.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo took a highly publicized dip last week in a bid to ease fears. The Seine will be used for marathon swimming and triathlon.

Daily water quality tests measure levels of fecal bacteria known as E. coli.

Tests by monitoring group Eau de Paris show that at the Bras Marie, E. coli levels were then above the safe limit of 900 colony-forming units per 100 milliliters determined by European rules on June 17, when the mayor took a dip.

The site reached a value of 985 on the day the mayor swam with Paris 2024 chief Tony Estanguet and the top government official for the Paris region, Marc Guillaume, joined her, along with swimmers from local swimming clubs.

At two other measuring points further downstream, the results were below the threshold.

The statement by Paris City Hall and the prefecture of the Paris region noted that water quality last week was in line with European rules six days out of seven on the site which is to host the Olympic swimming competitions.

It noted that "the flow of the Seine is highly unstable due to regular rainfall episodes and remains more than twice the usual flow in summer," explaining fluctuating test results.

Swimming in the Seine has been banned for over a century. Since 2015, organizers have invested $1.5 billion to prepare the Seine for the Olympics and to ensure Parisians have a cleaner river after the Games. The plan included constructing a giant underground water storage basin in central Paris, renovating sewer infrastructure, and upgrading wastewater treatment plants.