MODON Oasis Cities:
MODON — the Saudi Industrial Property Authority — is the government body responsible for the planning, development, and management of industrial cities and zones throughout the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. As part of its broader industrial framework strategy, MODON commissioned the design and development of a series of 13 light industrial cities across the country, collectively branded as the Oasis Cities program. Each city was conceived as a self-contained, mixed-use industrial zone capable of supporting a range of light manufacturing, logistics, incubation, and commercial functions within a coherent master plan framework tailored to its specific regional context, economic role, and local demographic profile.
The Oasis Cities were developed during a period of significant national investment in industrial diversification under Saudi Vision 2030 — the Kingdom's long-range strategic framework aimed at reducing economic dependence on oil revenues and cultivating a more diversified, knowledge-intensive, and globally competitive economy. The industrial city typology plays a direct role in this ambition by providing the spatial organization, technical infrastructure, and institutional services necessary to attract both domestic and foreign investment in manufacturing and logistics at a regional scale. Particular emphasis was placed on creating employment-generation environments that are accessible and welcoming to women — a deliberate programmatic response to national workforce participation targets embedded in the Vision 2030 agenda.
The following overarching objectives framed the vision for the MODON Oasis program:
- A High-Tech Industrial Park, including light industry, incubators, logistics, utilities & supporting services;
- A modern and attractive employment retail destination, designed for a predominantly female workforce;
- A retail component tailored to the surrouding context and regional demand with the aim of increasing revenue generation.
Jeddah 4
Hail
Yanbu
Yanbu
Yanbu
Contributions:
My work on the Oasis Cities project spanned the concept design and design development phases for three of the 13 city sites: Yanbu, Jeddah 4, and Hail. Contributions included the preparation of scaled plans, 3D massing models, and photorealistic rendered views in Rhinoceros, AutoCAD, and Photoshop, used both for internal design review and for client presentations to MODON. The renderings communicated the proposed master plan layouts, landscape frameworks, streetscape typologies, and architectural character across a range of viewing conditions and times of day.
In parallel with the Oasis Cities work, I also contributed to a separate research and documentation effort led by senior urban designer Walid Bakhos: the State of the Environment Report of the Emirate of Dubai. My contributions to this document included systematic field data collection on pedestrian-level environmental conditions — including thermal comfort, shade provision, wind exposure, and surface material characteristics — across the Central Business District and TECOM areas of Dubai, as well as editorial proofreading of multiple sections of the final manuscript. The State of the Environment Report is a comprehensive baseline assessment commissioned to inform long-range environmental planning and urban sustainability policy for the Emirate.
State of the Environment Report for the Emirate of Dubai:
Team:
Lead urban designer: Walid Bakhos.
Tools & methods:
Rhinoceros, AutoCAD, Photoshop, V-Ray, Illustrator.