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



Ancient Egyptian Coffin Given New Life in Britain

Staff at Swansea University welcome back the artifact. Photo: Swansea University
Staff at Swansea University welcome back the artifact. Photo: Swansea University
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Ancient Egyptian Coffin Given New Life in Britain

Staff at Swansea University welcome back the artifact. Photo: Swansea University
Staff at Swansea University welcome back the artifact. Photo: Swansea University

An ancient Egyptian coffin was given a new life after it has been returned to Swansea University's Egypt Center in Wales.

The artifact, believed to date from about 650 BC, is now back at the university after thousands of hours of conservation work at Cardiff University, where it was painstakingly cleaned, reconstructed and consolidated to prevent it from deteriorating further, according to BBC.

The coffin, originally made for a man called Ankhpakhered in the Greek city of Thebes, was transported back under the watchful eye of the center’s curator Dr. Ken Griffin.

Staff described the finished project as “beyond our wildest dreams.”

“The coffin was gifted to us by Aberystwyth University in 1997 but details about its history are sketchy,” Griffin said.

He added: “It actually ended up being used as a storage box at one time, with other Egyptian objects placed in it for safekeeping.”

The university’s Phil Parkes explained that the wooden coffin was covered in textile and then had a thin layer of decorated plaster over the top.

He said: “Much of that textile had become detached over time and was just hanging loose.”

Parkes added that the separate wooden head was detached and there were a couple of large pieces of wood missing, the side of the base had fallen off and it was in a very sorry condition overall.