Project / clients brief
The commission introduces the first W Hotel in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, set within Riyadh’s King Abdullah Financial District. The brief called for a culturally grounded, forward-looking hotel that operates as both luxury destination and creative hub. LW Design was tasked with crafting bold social spaces, immersive guest journeys, and a coherent art program that celebrates Saudi identity while aligning with the W brand’s expressive spirit and the ambitions of Vision 2030.
Concept
Art is treated as the project’s DNA rather than a decorative layer. The design refracts Riyadh’s historical traditions, physical landscape, and contemporary social energy through a distinctly W lens. Influences such as Najdi weaving, desert geomorphology, and the city’s prismatic urban language are reinterpreted into form, proportion, and texture. A chiselled, architectural stance is balanced by sinuous, human-scaled interiors, creating a controlled tension between spectacle and intimacy that defines the guest experience.
Various design elements
Arrival is choreographed through a discreet, angled entry that reads the building’s geometry and establishes a cinematic, moody tone with brutalist-inspired textures. A sculpted threshold separates city from sanctuary and frames a six-metre tapestry by Abdulnasser Gharem that anchors the procession toward the lobby. The Living Room channels the conviviality of Bedouin fire pits through circular banquettes and engraved metal tables, while the WET Deck sets a playful social atmosphere. At Pop Café, a monumental marble block becomes a quiet yet commanding centrepiece on the terrace. A semi-circular totem clad in prismatic glass mosaic punctuates the lift lobby as a natural photo moment. Interactive artworks extend the narrative by delivering verses from the region’s oral traditions directly to guests’ phones.
About the execution
From day one, art and design were developed in lockstep. LW Design curated a cohort of Saudi and regional artists—including Abdulnasser Gharem, Mahsa Baraghani, Stephanie Neville, and Ethar Balk hair—so that artworks could inform planning decisions, sightlines, and atmosphere. Material prototyping ensured the tactile credibility of rammed-earth effects, the precision of metalwork, and the iridescence of prismatic mosaics. The result is a series of integrated spatial interventions where art, architecture, and interiors act as a single narrative system.
About the ambience
The hotel moves deliberately between high energy and calm retreat. Public zones feel confident and socially charged—layered, moody, and theatrical—while guest rooms and suites soften into quieter palettes and textures that invite restoration. Lighting emphasises shadow, relief, and the legibility of art; acoustics are tuned so conversation feels intimate even within animated spaces. The overall tone is one of bold sophistication, culturally resonant yet unmistakably contemporary.
Challenges overcome
Key challenges included translating W’s expressive brand into an authentically Saudi narrative without pastiche; integrating large-scale artworks as structural to the guest journey rather than applied decoration; maintaining a clear distinction between indoor and outdoor atmospheres while ensuring visual and programmatic dialogue; and tempering the tower’s prismatic geometry with the comfort and fluidity required for hospitality.
Unique / key features
Signature moments include Gharem’s six-metre tapestry guiding the arrival sequence; a semi-circular totem finished in prismatic glass mosaic that heightens anticipation in the lift lobby; the Pop Café terrace anchored by a single monumental marble block; interactive 3D art connecting oral tradition to contemporary technology; and a Presidential Suite whose narrative direction is inspired by Ethar Balkhair’s vivid celebration of Najdi women.
Technical elements
A geometry-led entrance strategy calibrates privacy and reveal. Integrated lighting supports both gallery-grade art display and atmospheric shifts across dayparts. Acoustic zoning and material density ensure comfort in high-energy roomsExterior detailing and specification address thermal performance and durability, while digital touchpoints enable art interactivity and intuitive wayfinding.
Material selection
The palette draws on Najd’s earthy tonality and pattern language, reinterpreting Al Sadu geometries into contemporary textiles and screens. Rammed-earth textures converse with precision metals, carved marble, and prismatic glass mosaic, producing a tactile, light-responsive surface ecology that feels rooted yet refined.
Furniture chosen
Furniture balances local craftsmanship and global execution. The Safeefah Chair by Ghaya Bin Mesmar introduces woven character to Pop Café, while custom circular banquettes and engraved low metal tables create a grounded conviviality in the Living Room. Dune-inspired pieces soften architectural rigour, and bespoke joinery translates Najdi motifs into a modern idiom.
Team:
Architects: LW Design Group
ID Fit Out: Alec Fit out, Saudi Co
Furniture Contractor: Absal Paul
Lighting Contractor: Murano Lighting
Art Contractor: Signature Project ME (Public Spaces)
Art Contractor: Qube Art (Room and Suites)
Designers: LW Design
Gareth Owen: Design Manager, Richard Holmes – Associates
Ysabel Sison: Project Coordinator
Lighting Consultant F-POV (Peter Vaale – Design Director, Kiran Sembhi – Senior Lighting Designer)
Collaborating artists include Abdulnasser Gharem, Mahsa Baraghani, Stephanie Neville, and Ethar Balkhair.
