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Heatherwick unveils competition-winning design for Saudi astrotourism centre

By 2026-06-19T12:26:00

03_AlUla_Credit Brick 2

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.

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