RIYADH: Several artists and intellectuals gathered at the Ministry of Culture’s center in Riyadh to discuss architecture academic Saleh Alhathloul’s biography “Taisrat.”
The event took place at the Fenaa Alawwal center and was organized by the Literature, Publishing and Translation Commission, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The ministry opened Fenaa Alawwal, its first cultural center, in December 2022 to host art exhibitions and workshops. It is located in the former headquarters of the Kingdom’s first commercial bank, Alawwal Bank, in the capital’s Diplomatic Quarter.
Saudi Arabia architect Sultan Albadran facilitated the discussion on Alhathloul’s biography, which is a part of the “Nabil Fanous” exhibition, currently being held at the center until April 14.
Alhathloul, a professor of architecture at King Saud University, highlighted his years growing up in Qassim, and his experience majoring in engineering at KSU.
The author talked about his studies in the US and its impact on his ideas on urban development. He also spoke about his experiences at Harvard University in 1975 when he gained a master’s degree in urban design.
Alhathloul provided details of his doctoral thesis from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1981 titled “Legislation and its relationship to urbanism.”
Alhathloul began writing the biography in 2020 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said his biography was not only about his personal development but also of the nation’s progress over the past 60 years.