Maraya Concert Hall.
Maraya is a multi-purpose theatre, entertainment and conference venue
AlUla, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (2019)
Maraya was the first project to be developed for the Journey Through Time Masterplan 1; aimed at turning AlUla, KSA into a living museum and share its cultural legacy with the world.
The first brief from the client was to have a complex able to host concerts and events in an area of enormous archaeological and scenic value; a valley in the region of Al-‘Ula surrounded by the presence of ruins fro the Nabataean empire and 200,000 years of heritage.
Our mission was based on figuring out how we could build in such a beautiful and meaningful place and we wondered how to establish a relationship between the construct and the existing in the most respectful way possible.
Maraya is a multi-purpose theatre, entertainment and conference venue.
Maraya has a unique and unseen stage set up: a great 40m x 15m stage, with a giant retractable window of over 800 square meters that opens up to the surrounding nature, allowing shows to take place directly on the desert level where mass-coreo can perform in a unique in-and-outdoor scenario, blending landscape and entertainment.
Complete with all state of the art facilities, the Maraya Concert Hall can host international productions from opera to ballets, shows and concerts;
For the design of the interiors, including the foyer, the lounge area and the VIP box of the concert hall, the choice has been to utilize local materials as far as possible to evoke a building carved out of the rock by human hand by the wind, and rom the terrace-restaurant on the roof you can admire the shifting play of light on the surrounding canyon, at any hour of the day and night.
With its 9740 square metres of reflective walls, it is the largest mirrored building in the world (and already an official Guinness World Record
Maraya Concert Hall is a multi-purpose theatre, entertainment and conference venue designed by Giò Forma architects and Black Engineering.
