Qiddiya City

A photograph of people in a stadium watching a football match taken from the high stalls, cheering.

Since 2022, Direct Access has been contracted by architects to deliver accessibility and inclusion consultancy for the development of Qiddiya City. 

Direct Access advised on the accessibility of the site, referring to;

• Prince Salman Centre for Disability Research Accessibility Guidelines

• Saudi Building Code SBC 201 / ICCA117

• SBC 801 Fire Protection

• Mostadaam 2019 rating and certification for sustainable development

Qiddiya (القِدِّية) is an entertainment megaproject to be established in Riyadh, about 40 km away from Riyadh’s city center. It will have a number of recreation facilities including, amusement parks, sports arenas, car and bike riding paths, water parks, natural sceneries, and cultural activities. It is expected to be a major local and international attraction that will be visited by many of the estimated 17 million visitors expected to visit the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by 2030. Many of its visitors are likely to be People of Determination.

Qiddiya will also include a variety of real estate options and community services.

In short, Qiddiya will be a place that enables the youth of Saudi Arabia to fulfill their ambitions. It will be a place where they enjoy, appreciate, aspire, advance, and nurture their potential; a place that unlocks opportunities and new professional pathways to help build a more prosperous and progressive society.

Direct Access worked together with several different architectural firms to ensure that the ambition of this project does not lose sight of fulfilling its responsibility to be inclusive and accessible to disabled people. Drawing from our experience as international consultants, the team will create a site that drives economic diversification and positive social perceptions of disabled people, embedding the Social Model of Accessibility into our process and contributing to a positive future for People of Determination both native and foreign to the area.

The project is a key aspect of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 agenda, a strategic framework designed by the Kingdom’s leadership to diversify the economy and reduce oil dependency. The aim is to create a vibrant society, a thriving economy, and an ambitious nation. To achieve the goals of this transformation plan, a series of giga-projects were launched, including Qiddiya – which is being built to serve a powerful existing unserved market and fulfill demand from domestic as well as regional and international markets.

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