< PreviousMUSEUM METAMORPHOSIS: TECHNOLOGY TAKES CENTRE STAGE ACCIONA Cultura’s Director of Strategy, Alex Manresa, discusses why he believes modern-day museums ‘need to be spectacular’ Over the last thirty years, cultural institutions have realised they have to move with the times, both in terms of the content displayed and the way they present it, if they want to appeal to younger generations. “Culture” is hard to defi ne. UNESCO’s Sustainable Development Goals consider it a basic necessity: no one disputes that culture and its consequences - knowledge and talent - are the main source of richness for any country. This is the view of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 strategic plan, which believes it is “indispensable to our quality of life” and considers Saudi culture a productive sector that could benefi t the country. In short, culture is a foundation for social and economic progress, something that must be protected. It is thanks to this need to protect that cultural institutions have become true guardians of countries’ diff erent legacies, both tangible and intangible. But how have cultural institutions in general, and museums in particular, evolved over the last thirty years to reach their audiences and, above all, remain relevant to younger, hyper-connected and highly digitised generations? The changes have mainly come through technology but in two The Sustainability Pavillion, Expo 2020 Dubai | OPINION | 10The National Museum, Oman “Culture is a foundation for social and economic progress, something that must be protected” diff erent ways. Technology has disrupted the way we run museums, and the museums themselves have also been changing with technology. Over the last thirty years, they’ve become increasingly interactive, with exhibitions aimed at making them more participatory and welcoming, where there’s always room for fun and surprises. SPEARHEADING CHANGE As a company specialising in creating museums, ACCIONA Cultura - which was founded in the nineties following the Seville Expo ‘92 in Spain - has witnessed fi rst-hand (and spearheaded) these changes, both in the way projects are designed and implemented, and in the way they’ve become increasingly interactive with an even more diverse audience. It’s hard to imagine now, but at the ‘92 Expo, practically everything was hand-drawn or sketched paper plans, and orders for something as complex as a World Expo were done by fax. Since then, we have signed more than 2,000 projects in 44 countries on fi ve continents. These include nine World Expos, including Dubai 2020; major national museums such as those in Qatar, Oman and the Zayed Museum in the United Arab Emirates; and iconic projects such as the Real Madrid Experience. These are projects where there’s more and more focus on the public and visitors, where they’re the centre of these spaces and encouraged to participate. HARNESSING THE POWER OF TECHNOLOGY Technology has also played an increasingly important role, both in what visitors don’t see - such as managing these spaces - and in the exhibition resources. Some examples of technologies that have radically changed the way exhibition content is presented include fl at and touch screens, LED technology in lights and video projectors, and the huge increase in digital media storage capacity. Connecting with new generations of museum-goers should be a balance between harnessing the many possibilities off ered by new technologies, and using content that captures the attention of the youngest visitors. This doesn’t mean that museums have to become more like entertainment venues. Museums can’t and shouldn’t compete with the stimulation and instant gratifi cation of video games, but they must consider new social realities, new methods of communication, and new concerns, interests and sensitivities. In short, modern-day museums must be fun, diverse, and participative and include a certain element of surprise. They need to be spectacular. Alex Manresa, Director of Strategy, ACCIONA Cultura | OPINION | 11ROSHN Group, Saudi Arabia’s leading multi-asset class real estate developer, and PIF gigaproject has announced MARAFY, a transformative, mixed- use development north of Jeddah that will accommodate over 130,000 residents with an man-made canal at its centre. MARAFY will provide a new waterfront around its man-made canal which will add a new destination to the north of Jeddah. The 11km-long and 100m-wide navigable canal will connect to and extend Obhur Creek and will be surrounded by multiple unique districts. It is the fi rst canal ever to be built in Saudi Arabia and ROSHN’s fi rst fully mixed-use development. David Grover, Group CEO of ROSHN Group commented on the announcement, saying: “It is core to us as a gigaproject to introduce such a huge development to the kingdom. MARAFY will be a game-changer on the real estate development sector, raising the bar of development in the region, boosting the quality of life, and creating a huge impact in Jeddah.” He added: “It is a proud moment to announce the launch of MARAFY, our huge development in the north of Jeddah. It’s one of the iconic projects that will put Jeddah on the map of a world-class destination in all aspects and one of the contributors to achieving the Vision 2030 goals of creating a vibrant community and a thriving economy.” A WORLD-CLASS DESTINATION MARAFY’s canal will provide a waterfront comparable in size to those of Chicago, Stockholm, Hamburg, and central London, bringing the marine environment into the heart of a historic city that has been welcoming traders, travellers, and pilgrims for centuries. The development will also introduce new concepts to Jeddah, creating an urban water corridor to link homes and communities with nature, commerce, and life-enhancing amenities. MARAFY will be comprised of multiple distinct districts each with a unique character, including ROSHN’s existing integrated residential development, ALAROUS. It will accelerate Jeddah’s emergence as a global city while honouring the city’s cultural and architectural heritage with facades inspired by the historical designs of the Jeddah region and styles reinvented for today. It will reinterpret the contemporary urban context, incorporating liveable community spaces while retaining a connection to Jeddah’s historical heritage. The community’s diverse waterside districts will be connected to the rest of Jeddah by an intermodal transport system, boasting water taxis, bus lines, a dedicated Metro Red Line station, and a direct canal link to the King Abdulaziz International Airport. ROSHN LAUNCHES NEW MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT IN JEDDAH ‘MARAFY’ MARAFY is ROSHN’s rst fully mixed-use development, and it will feature the rst man-made canal in Saudi Arabia that runs 11 kilometres towards Obhur Creek MARAY is set to accomodate over 130,000 residents David Grover, Group CEO, ROSHN | NEWS | 12CELEBRATING 19 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE IN CONSTRUCTION constructionweekonline.com/awards BOOK YOUR TICKETS SCAN TO VISIT WEBSITE For sponsorship enquiries: Anup Nagpurkar Tel: +971 4 444 3573 M: +971 52 895 0931 E: anup.nagpurkar@itp.com For nomination enquiries: Reporter, Construction Week Middle East T: +971 4 444 3855 E: julianne.tolentino@itp.com For event enquiries: Dmitry Lazarenko Marketing & Events Manager T: +971 4 444 3659 E: dmitry.lazarenko@itp.com Construction PartnerGold SponsorGold Sponsor Silver SponsorSilver SponsorCategory SponsorCategory Sponsor| COVER STORY | 14| COVER STORY | 15 Eng Abdulmajeed Mangara, Director of the Smart City Program, on improving the quality of life of Madinah’s residents and visitors while ultimately increasing economic growth in line with the Vision 2030 goals Words by: Muhammed Alharari FOR THE PEOPLE: THE MADINAH SMART CITY PROGRAM AND THE HUMAN- CENTRIC EXPERIENCE Building a smart city tests the capabilities of the collective community of public and private entities like no other; it is essentially the future planned, designed, and built today. The manifold collaborations that converge to construct a smart city do not stop at building an area that is sustainably developed, digitally urbanised, and suffi ciently resourced. It also extends to the design concept, which should be inspired by something more substantial: the citizens. The human-centric element is as important as technologies and materials. Yet, it is often not explored enough by decision-makers to understand that a smart city should accommodate the needs of its inhabitants, their livelihoods, and their customs and traditions, without interference. The task then becomes even more challenging when the city being transformed is Al Madinah Al Munawwarah. Al Madinah Al Munawwarah is a Holy city with deep Islamic and cultural roots, historical structures, and old neighbourhoods. It is a city that refl ects and nurtures its locals, defi ning their past and present. That is the mission that the Madinah Region Development Authority (MDA) has to accomplish through its Smart City Program, the program that aims to improve the overall quality of living in the city by creating a host of new and enhanced services, as well as robust and enabling infrastructural systems. To gather more insight on this, Construction Week Saudi spoke to the Director of the Smart City Program, Eng Abdulmajeed Mangara, who was a couple of weeks away from presenting the Madinah Experiences Playbook, a comprehensive manual that ‘defi nes and curates all the experiences and daily customs of the residents and visitors of Madinah’. The discussions have passed through several facets within the program’s journey, such as its history, challenges and innovations, as well “Our strategic Madinah Experience Playbook ensures that the essence of Madinah, with its deep- rooted history and unique persona, is re ected throughout the digital transformation process”| COVER STORY | 16 The program’s Innovation Lab is the bridge between innovation and large-scale implementations Overall, the private sector’s role in ‘smartisation’ is estimated to be 50%, 20% from start-ups, and 30% from larger enterprises Ultimately, the aim of the program is to prioritise the city’s economic growth and contribution to GDP. By creating a dynamic ecosystem, it positions Madinah as an attractive niche-investment opportunity. ENHANCING AND PRESERVING THE PLAYBOOK According to the program’s precepts, Madinah’s rich history must be preserved and kept intact post-digital development. It envisions Madinah as a city where tradition meets technology, embedded with state-of- the-art digital systems and deeply rooted in its cultural heritage. As a success story, the future Madinah will be a beacon of future cities and how they can evolve digitally without losing their souls. Eng Mangara emphasised: “We are seeing Al Madinah as a city of important culture and heritage, and are using technology to build it as the ‘Most Tranquil City in the World’. We are not using these advancements to disrupt the people or crowd them; that is not our objective.” He stated that the program’s framework is set to the world-recognised ISO standards that deliver outputs through strict metrics, guaranteeing that the heritage and the natural as the program’s North Star, which is to create “the most tranquil, generous, and dynamic smart city in the world”. Initiated in 2017 by the MDA, the program’s purpose was to bolster digitalisation across the city, and by 2020, it was revised to enhance urban experiences through an ‘urban humanisation’ approach that included a more technical pragmatism, the basis of which was three core components. First, a strategy was devised, embracing a demand-driven paradigm over supply-centric models. Second, the Innovation Lab, inspired by Boston’s Urban Mechanics Lab was introduced to act as a bridge between innovative ideas and large-scale implementations. And third, the City Platform, an integration tool that connects Madinah’s public systems, data, and objectives. Eng Mangara said: “The Madinah Development Authority is an orchestrator, planner, and strategist for the transformation journey of the city. Our role in the Smart City Program is to collaborate with our partners, such as the Pilgrims Experience Program, the Quality of Life Program, and mainly the Madinah municipality, to explore the viability of technologies and innovations with the intention of delivering enriched experiences to the residents of Madinah and its visitors.” environment are unharmed. The transformation promises that this harmonious fusion is set to enhance religious experiences, drive the tourism sector, revitalise employment, streamline governance, and ultimately boost the economy. However, designing a smart city that preserves its culture requires a thorough study of its people. By examining how the people navigate around the city, their stops, activities, habits and interactions, you can compile their shared patterns as ‘experiences’. “We are seeing Al Madinah as a city of important culture and heritage, and are using technology to build it as the ‘Most Tranquil City in the World”| COVER STORY | 17 “Our strategic Madinah Experience Playbook ensures that the essence of Madinah, with its deep-rooted history and unique persona, is refl ected throughout the digital transformation process. In this playbook, we defi ned eight segments, seven personas, 21 jobs-to-be- done, and 146 experiences.” The utilisation of these documented experiences will assist in guiding the transformation, tailoring the services to the people and making the development ‘local- centric’, as well as accentuating Madinah’s distinct identity. A SYNERGISTIC MISSION A transformation of this scale can only be realised with the support of the private sector; it depends on a ‘synergised ecosystem’ for its ideations and executions. Overall, the private sector’s role in ‘smartisation’ is estimated to be 50%, 20% from start-ups, and 30% from larger enterprises. Once the masterplan starts to materialise over the city, the private sector will undoubtedly be more involved, whether in construction, operation, maintenance, or further development. In addition to businesses, the MDA has also worked with local academic institutions on the research and development of prototypes. Eng Mangara explained: “One of the standout projects from our collaboration with the University of Prince Muqrin is the development of AI capabilities focused on visual pollution detection. By leveraging cutting-edge image analysis techniques from camera feeds, the system can automatically identify areas in the | COVER STORY | 18 The MDA has put strict guidelines to ensure that Madinah’s rich history is preserved and kept intact post-digital-development| COVER STORY | 19 city plagued by visual pollution.” While the program has managed to achieve progress, it was slowed down admittedly by a couple of challenges. The fi rst being the Silo Mindset, a documented concern for when departments fail to share or collaborate with each other, weakening their full potential. Fortunately, the program’s unifi ed platform is breaking down the ‘Silos’ by integrating all the systems in Madinah to adapt a collaborative approach, as was accomplished for the city’s streetlights through a partnership with the Madinah Municipality. As for the aff ormentioned challenge, the team was faced with businesses marketing their solutions regardless of the city’s needs. Eng Mangara explained that they had to reverse this relationship because the city authorities understood the transformation plan better than anyone. He warned: “Otherwise, these ‘dragon’ companies will not solve our problems, and we might fi nd ourselves in a situation where we could be asked to outsource the ownership of the city, which is very risky for its future.” THE RASEEL PLATFORM AND CITY LIVING MUSEUM Here is Eng Mangara’s example of Raseel: “Imagine you want to use Google to know what park you should go to depending on its lighting, the street, and the traffi c to it; if it is open or under-maintenance, if the parking lot is empty or full; that is our vision for Raseel. It is the essence of digitisation in urban management and governance.” The platform will act as a storehouse for the massive data that is generated by the city, holding everything from transport metrics to utility usage. The interpreted insights will then be available for public decision-makers, facilitating support for local businesses to refi ne their operations and explore market trends. Another initiative that the MDA is introducing through the program is the City Living Museum (CLM), a tech-powered project that will bring the history of Madinah into the streets and avenues. Through the use of tools such as Augmented Reality (AR), the program hopes to recreate events and moments to tell the history of Madinah, catalysing social and economic activity in the city. “Al Madinah itself is a museum, but it’s hidden, and through our Living Museum project we hope to make it seen by the people,” he commented. Following the program’s inception, Madinah ranked seventh amongst Arab cities, and 85th globally out of 141 cities in the IMD Smart City Index 2023 report, an international evaluation of cities’ preparedness to balance technological and economic aspects to improve the lives of their citizens. It has also become the second city after Vienna as a platinum member of the FIWARE Foundation, a non-profi t international organisation that champions the adoption of open standards for the development of smart solutions. Furthermore, the MDA participated in the United Nations High-level Political Forum 2023 (HLPF), during which it was asked to share its experience in developing Smart Cities’ strategies. Eng Mangara had this to say about those achievements: “In essence, Madinah’s journey isn’t just about advancing in rankings or integrating smart technologies; it’s about ensuring that every individual who steps into the city, whether as a resident or a visitor, experiences unparalleled tranquillity, serenity, and spiritual enrichment.” Madinah ranked 7th among Arab cities, and 85th globally in the IMD Smart City Index 2023 reportNext >