Snøhetta's design
Stones wrapped in steel tubes.
AhmadElq — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ali Lajami — CC BY 2.0 · Ashashyou — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ashashyou — CC BY-SA 4.0 · ESKEIFOTOS from Kansas City, USA — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Ashashyou — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ashashyou — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ashashyou — CC BY-SA 4.0
A world cultural centre in Dhahran, next to Al Khobar, built by Saudi Aramco and opened by King Salman on 1 December 2016, known as «Ithra», «enrichment». It stands near Prosperity Well, the Kingdom's first commercial oil well, struck in 1938. The Norwegian firm Snøhetta designed the 80,000-square-metre building after the shape of oil-bearing rock: three stones on the ground and a fourth suspended between them, a symbol of teamwork. Its facades are wrapped in gleaming steel tubes that recall oil pipes, and the tallest part is the Knowledge Tower. Time magazine listed it among the world's 100 greatest places. Inside is a museum with five galleries on contemporary Middle Eastern art, Saudi culture, Islamic art, the natural history of the Arabian Peninsula and the archive, plus a children's museum, an energy exhibit, a library, a theatre and a cinema, with exhibitions and events changing through the year. Entry to the building is free; the museum costs 35 SAR according to the official site, and is free for over-60s and people with disabilities and their companions. It opens Saturday to Wednesday 9:00 to 23:30, Thursday until 00:30 and Friday from 16:00, and is closed on Sundays.
Stones wrapped in steel tubes.
Five galleries of art and history.
Library and learning spaces.
Dhahran, next to Al Khobar, on the Ring Road
Entering the building is free; the Ithra Museum costs 35 SAR according to the official site, free for over-60s and people with disabilities and their companions.
Saturday to Wednesday 9:00-23:30, Thursday until 00:30, Friday from 16:00; closed on Sundays.