AlUla residencies have been designed using a bottom-up approach, in coordination with local communities, connecting traditional know-how to contemporary design practices, while drawing on local material and immaterial resources. Sustainability is understood here in the broadest sense. Ecologically, we prioritize restraint through the rehabilitation of old hotel buildings, for example, rather than undertaking new build developments, together with using reversible systems, short supply chains, local materials and "low-tech" whenever possible. Socially, the program functions as a laboratory based on proximity: research focused around artisans and workshops, skills transfer, enhancement of local value chains, and fair compensation for each link.
We also embrace the long term: extended residencies and reduced travel provide a real immersion into the complexity of AlUla. Clearly, not everything can be produced locally yet, as supply chains are still being established, but each project contributes to creating an ecosystem within the territory: consolidating micro-economies, documenting techniques, opening production workshops, and more. It is not about importing a set format, but about implementing a program where external development and local practice can learn to advance together.
To support this, each artist and designer benefits from personalized guidance from an expert in art and sustainability, Alice Audouin.
