The King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) (Arabic: مركز الملك عبد العزيز الثقافي العالمي), also known as Ithra, is situated in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. It was built by Saudi Aramco and inaugurated by King Salman bin Abdulaziz on December 1, 2016. It is operated by Saudi Aramco and is currently the company's main corporate social responsibility initiative with a focus on culture, learning and cross-cultural activities. The center is located where the first commercial Saudi oilfield was found in March 1938.
King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra)
Founded
2017
Type
Cultural center
Focus
Culture, knowledge, public engagement, cross-cultural activities.
Location
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
Key people
Hussain N. Hanbazazah
Website
www.ithra.com/en/
The center incorporates a museum, children museum, library, cinema, theater, and exhibition halls. It was designed by the Norwegian architectural firm Snøhetta.The center has been listed in Time magazine as one of the world's top 100 places to visit and attracted one million visitors in 2019. The director of Ithra is Hussain N. Hanbazazah.
Objective
Ithra was established as a corporate social responsibility project by Saudi Aramco, the national oil corporation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The center's own stated aims is to “make a tangible and positive impact on human development by inspiring a passion for knowledge, creativity, and cross-cultural engagement for the future of the kingdom.
The King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture aims to build up the cultural sector in Saudi Arabia. This is in line with the Saudi Arabian government’s declared aim of boosting the cultural industries as part of its economic diversification policy.
The Arabic word Ithra is used as a shorthand for the center and its programs. The term means “enrichment” in Arabic and is intended to signify that its programs are intended to enrich citizens culturally. The center also uses the tagline "Accelerating potential, inspiring minds.
The building
The building covers 80,000 square meters with its shape being inspired by the internal structural shape of oil-bearing rock formations.[6] The Norwegian architectural firm Snøhetta designed the building and the UK professional services firm Buro Happold led the engineering design.[16]
The levels of the building are arranged thematically and intended to suggest a progression through the ages. Areas dealing with history and the past are at the lowest levels, beneath ground level and the ground floor dealing with the present. The higher levels are mainly situated in the structure known as the Knowledge Tower, with the intention being that the knowledge communicated in the tower's teaching rooms will equip citizens for the future.
Regarding the environmental point of view, the building was designed in accordance with prevailing LEED standards to minimize adverse ecological impact. For example, the plants in the surrounding gardens were selected from desert species and intended to minimize use of water and survive dry desert conditions.
In April 2018, the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture hosted the 29th Arab League summit, this was the first time the summit had been held in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.
#masyaallahtabarakallah #aramco #ithra
Негізгі бет SAUDI ARAMCO OFFICE & MUSEUM CULTURE FOR THE WORLD, ITHRA !! Dahran, KSA
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