Text by Beatrice Leanza & Ahmad Makia

The Um Slaim School: An Architecture of Connection illustrates interventions from contemporary Saudi Arabian firms Syn Architects and the Um Slaim Collective reflect on the histories and typologies of urban development in Riyadh.

Contributing to a localised spatial discourse on Saudi Arabia and the broader region, this exhibition catalogue for the country’s national pavilion at the 19th Venice Architecture Biennale forms part of a propositional pedagogy for contemporary urbanism in Riyadh, using the work of the local practice Syn Architects.