K I N G A B D U L L A H F I N A N C I A L D I ST R I C T - R I YA D H

(KAFD)

HENRY ROSS | FEDERAL GOVERNMENT | SEPTEMBER 9, 2023

Classification - Public
 INTRODUCTION

The King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) is a mixed-use financial district located near King
Fahad Road in the Al Aqeeq area of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Managed by the King Abdullah
Financial District Development and Management Company (KAFD DMC), a wholly owned
subsidiary of the Kingdom's Public Investment Fund, the district was previously being managed
by the Rayadah Investment Corporation on behalf of the Pension Authority of the Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia. The district is the largest LEED certified financial center in the world.

The project consists of more than 50 parcels total 83 buildings, including 61 towers, and com-
bines residential solutions, work and entertainment over a space of more than 1.6 million
square meters. It provides more than 3 million square meters of space for various uses, 62,000
parking spaces and accommodation for 12,000 residents. In 2011, it was the largest project in
the world seeking green building accreditation. Bombardier won a $241m contract to build
automated monorail for the development.

The design guidelines do not separate the genders in the district. The KAFD master plan was
designed and overseen by Danish architectural firm Henning Larsen Architects. International
architecture firms such as HOK,  Omania, SOM, Callison RTKL, Gensler, and Foster + Part-
ners were commissioned to design individual buildings in the district, such as the 380-meter
PIF Tower (HOK and Omrania). Additional design work was provided by W Architecture and
Landscape Architecture. The CEO of the company, KAFD DMC, is Gautam Sashittal. The project
was at one point estimated to cost 29 billion Saudi riyals ($7.8 billion).

Upon completion, KAFD is expected to host round 50,000 residents. As Riyadh is characterized
by its high temperature, a solar system will be installed to cool the passenger bridges that are
going to act as a network that connects 30 building together.

The project is considered to be long overdue and needed for a city of the size and position of
Riyadh. [ The key issue with the project was timing as it was announced and incepted during
the 2008 financial crisis. A number of local and international commentators highlighted the
potential oversupply issue with the project. However, others, such as Hans Mueller in Saudi
Real Estate Companion, believe that the market will be able to absorb the supply in the me-
dium term. The first phase was expected to open by July 2017.

The district will be served by the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) Metro Station on the
under-construction Riyadh Metro. The station covers an area of 45,000 m2 and is located at
the east of the Northern Ring Road. It will connect to metro lines 1, 4, 6, and the KAFD mono-
rail. The station is designed by Zaha Hadid Architects from the UK and is one of four major sta-
tions on the metro network.

Classification - Public
 Within the area there will also be 3.5 kilometres (2.2 mi), six station monorail system. In addi-
tion, all buildings will be linked by an air-conditioned skywalk system enabling pedestrian ac-
cess across the entire development.

KING ABDULLAH FINANCIAL DISTRICT

Parcels 304 and 305 – 4 high rise buildings built by ELSEIF Engineering

Value: 1.2 billion Saudi Riyals

Client: Riyadh Investment Company

Consultant: Dar Al Riyadh

Parcel 3.04 + Parcel 3.05 - 4 high rise towers Mixed use development ranging from 15 stories
to 33 stories ELSEIF broke Ground early 2010 the overall Floor area/size is 179500 m 2.

 Client was RIYADH INVESTMENT CORPORATION (RIC)

Classification - Public
 KAFD Parcel 3.04 Riyadh Offices, retail and residential spaces

Parcel 304 - 2 buildings with 41399 SM floor area, the first building is 15 stories of office and
residential Space and is linked to the residential tower which is 20 stories high.

Classification - Public
 KAFD Parcel 3.05 Riyadh

Classification - Public
 Parcel 305 2 buildings, with approximately 47389 SM floor area and is over 33 stories high
which are link bridge.

Classification - Public
  The cladding system was typically mixed will aluminum, stone cladding, and glass
elevations.
 Marble flooring and marble walls
 Fully tiled bathrooms/wet rooms
 128 class A residential fit out
 Suspended corridor ceilings.
 Cable trays and pipe work in ceiling plenum space
 10,000 car park spaces in an underground carpark which spanned all buildings
connected via a tunnel system
 The offices were shell and core to be fitted out by end user.
 Permasteelisa/Gartner were the main cladding company.
 Multiform were the aluminum doors and windows and elements of the
architectural façade.
 Vertical transportation was by Otis and Mitsubishi
 To maximize sustainability, indigenous materials and water resource conservation
are incorporated throughout the development. The buildings’ site orientation also
provides self-shading and cooling for energy efficiency.
 The general coconscious among all the contractors at KAFD is a logistical
challenge, that’s perhaps not surprising given the complexity of the project. The
project is divided into more than 50 parcels, and for the building projects that
means individual parcels must house materials and tools within the site’s
footprint.
 Transporting goods and refuse in and out is complicated by the steady volume
traffic on the site. Labor buses, machines and cement trucks compete with aerial
lift platforms, mobile cranes and trenching machinery being operated in the
narrow spaces between the buildings.
 The issue was that all construction works started at the same time as Tunnels,
bridges and a monorail to connect all the buildings. Rather than being built
incrementally, or patch by patch.
 District cooling and the other Services to the buildings such as the roads, power
lines and water –were connected once the projects were completed, meaning
that when we had finished we could not hand over till final commission had taken
place and that was only after the client decided they were ready to connect the
services so buildings had to stand empty until the surrounding buildings were also
finished.

Classification - Public
  When the KAFD was completed, the 1.6km² site had over three million square
meters of floor space, comprising office buildings, apartments, five mosques,
hotels, auditoria and retail, as well as public spaces, cafes and restaurants, a
museum, aquarium and an interactive park for children.
 Most Buildings were connected by air-conditioned sky bridges as well as the
monorail, thus creating a fully integrated work-live environment for office
workers.

Classification - Public
Classification - Public