Wadi Hanifa

Wadi Hanifa Palace is a private residence set on a stone-terraced bluff overlooking Wadi Hanifa in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Developed in collaboration with El-Cheikh and Partners, the 800 m² design explores a crisp white modernist aesthetic through layered horizontal planes, deeply shaded frames, and a curved glass bay that opens the main living spaces directly toward the valley below.

The relationship between the building and the landscape is central to the project's identity. A base of local stone anchors the white volumes to the escarpment, stepping down through terraced lawns, palms, and a reflecting pool. This material dialogue — the warmth and weight of regional stone against the precision of the white rendered planes — allows the residence to read simultaneously as a precise architectural object and a natural extension of the Wadi Hanifa landscape.

The section is the project's primary design move: each horizontal layer is pulled back from the one below, creating a cascade of shaded terraces that moderate the desert climate while framing views across the wadi at every level. The result is a home that is emphatically contemporary in its geometry yet deeply connected to its site, its materials, and the dramatic natural topography of one of Riyadh's most distinctive landscapes.