Visitor attraction and research space to be built in remote desert with some of the darkest skies in the world
Heatherwick Studio has unveiled its proposals for an astrotourism visitor centre in the remote desert of north-west Saudi Arabia after winning an international design competition.
AlUla Manara, named after the nearby village of AlUla, is intended to attract both scientists and tourists by taking advantage of the region’s skies, which are some of the darkest and clearest in the world.
The concept design, consisting of a cluster of masonry-clad tubes pointing outwards at the sky in different directions, has been inspired by the spiralling forms of nature seen both on a grand scale in space, in galaxies and planetary ring formations, and in plants, fossils and shells on Earth.
It has also been designed to reference the surrounding sandstone mountains, which are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The main visitor centre will include a range of exhibition spaces, immersive displays, a planetarium, a restaurant, a rooftop observation deck and research spaces for scientists which can be viewed by visitors.
Each of the tubes feature shading devices embedded in their skywards ends which will manage solar gain during the day and preserve dark-sky visibility at night while providing viewpoints of the surrounding landscape and skies.
The wider masterplan for the project includes a hotel, a stargazing lodge, remote sky-viewing pods and several telescopes for astronomical research.
Stuart Wood, executive partner and group leader at Heatherwick Studio, described the project as a radical reimagining of typical astrotourism destinations.
‘Space observatories are often remote, sterile places—technical outposts that feel distant from the public,” Wood said.
“We saw an opportunity to dissolve those barriers and create a place where visitors can step inside the wonder of the cosmos: an environment that is both immersive and inspiring, standing alongside the most advanced science of our time.
“Our design draws from the dramatic spiralling geometries that shape both the solar system above us and the natural world around us. Three interlocking telescope-like formations reach skywards while remaining rooted in the desert landscape – embodying a dialogue between earth and universe.
“The AlUla Al Manara Visitor Centre will place experiential learning at the heart of world-class science, igniting curiosity and inspiring generations of stargazers and scientists to come.”
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