Nasser Al Salem

Nasser Al Salem's formal training in architecture combined with his upbringing in one of the holiest cities in the world is evident in his integrated commission for Ithra. 

Delivered in collaboration with UAP, Al Salem's work punctuates all sixteen floors of the Tower Lobby, Al Salem has created a genuinely prolific artwork that anchors the entire building with his material interpretation of the Arabic word 'Kul' in perforated stainless steel. The complex and expansive meaning of the word Kul, meaning 'all', 'everything' and, at times, 'infinity', is enhanced in the design by depicting the word geometrically and abstractly to resemble a seemingly endless form. The work is inherently tethered to the philosophy of Ithra in its sheer expansiveness that captures the aspiration of limitless possibility.

UAP joined the Ithra project team in 2010 in a curatorial capacity, to work alongside Mona Khazindar in the early planning stages of the integrated art program. Ithra and Mona’s vision was ambitious, to procure and commission twelve highly site-specific artworks that spoke symbiotically to Ithra’s core philosophy and architecture, designed by the Norwegian studio Snøhetta. UAP also worked with Aramco and the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture to oversee the delivery and install of these incredible projects.