The Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia wanted to commission a new office building in Riyadh that would reflect the Kingdom’s position as a major oil producer and its considerable share of the international oil market.

The Ministry of Petroleum commissioned SAK along with Doxiadis to design and supervise a landmark headquarter building in Riyadh to accommodate the increasing demand of a administration office facility. The requirement focused on the latest design techniques and technology with rigorous utilization of space emphasising the Ministry’s international prestige.

The design brief for the project centred upon creating harmony between the traditional and classic Islamic architectural styles of Arab tradition and modern architectural styles featuring the use of glass, modern technologies and reduced external openings to minimize solar load, and with visual illusions to oil pipelines to reflect the building’s function.