Saudi museum named among world’s ‘most beautiful’ for 2025

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saudi diriyah art futures museum priz versailles award

Diriyah Art Futures in Saudi Arabia capital Riyadh

Diriyah Art Futures in Saudi Arabia capital Riyadh has been named in the 2025 World’s Most Beautiful list by architectural awards Prix Versailles, making it one of just seven museums chosen globally and the only one from the Middle East.

The museum, which opened its doors in November 2024, is recognised for its “outstanding architecture, meaningful visitor engagement and ability to reflect local heritage”.

This accolade follows a strong showing for the region in hospitality design, with three Middle East hotels, including Shebara in Saudi Arabia and Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab in the UAE, named among the "most beautiful" hotels for 2025 by the same awards.

Diriyah Art Futures is located in Diriyah, a Unesco World Heritage Site and US$63 billion sustainable tourism development that was recently recognised as one of Time’s 100 Most Influential Companies for its transformational impact on culture and urban development.

saudi diriyah art futures museum priz versailles

Diriyah Art Futures recognised for its "outstanding architecture"

Designed by Italian architects Schiattarella Associati, the museum is the first space in Saudi dedicated entirely to digital art and emerging technologies.

Rather than a single building, it is a series of sculptural pavilions — housing galleries, research labs, artist studios, an auditorium, a new media library and a bookstore — connected by shaded passageways inspired by traditional Najdi desert settlements.

The architecture is deeply rooted in its landscape, with forms and materials that echo the rhythms of the historic Najd region while embracing a contemporary, future-facing vision.

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Prix Versailles praised Diriyah Art Futures for its "sensitive integration with the surrounding landscape, drawing from traditional Najdi heritage while embracing contemporary sensibilities and the future-facing spirit of its curatorial programme."

The museum aims to become a global hub for new media arts, attracting local and international visitors with an ongoing programme of exhibitions, workshops, residences and events. Its inaugural exhibition, ‘Art Must Be Artificial: Perspectives of AI in the Visual Arts,’ showcased works by more than 30 artists exploring the intersection of art and technology.

Later this year, three of the seven selected museums, including Diriyah Art Futures, will be in contention for the further distinction of a ’World Title’ in Interior or Exterior design, to be awarded in December 2025.

In 2024, the Prix Versailles Most Beautiful Museums list included the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza and Oman Across Ages Museum.

For more information, visit www.prix-versailles.com

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