Al Basta District · Abha

An archeo-tainment strategy. Commissioned in 2019 by the Saudi government as part of the national Vision 2030 programme, the project concerns Al Basta, a small heritage village in Abha, capital of the southern Aseer region.

The brief went beyond a lighting plan: Photonika developed a lighting strategy, coining the term archeo-tainment, aimed at a spectacular and unique night scenario able to express the whole identity of the place. The concept grew out of a careful study of local culture, using Kevin Lynch’s interview technique with the elders of the community, with special attention to the religious heritage.

Dynamic light control and custom fixtures, the Urban Jewels, were integrated into the masterplan and developed in a full BIM workflow in Vectorworks, with parameter control and pre-visualisation; Vectorworks later presented the project in a dedicated webinar. The project was halted in 2021, when the whole executive design had been completed.