One of the shortlisted nominations in the Hospitality Category at last Year’s Middle East Architect Awards was the Blu Plaza Cristal Hotel in the city of Dammam, Saudi Arabia.

The project is being undertaken by Dubai-based Naga Architects, Designers & Planners and it consists of a 198 room hotel with high end apartment residences, commercial offices and retail facilities at ground level.

Client for the 13,000m2 development is Himmah and the project is part of a drive across the country to build more hotels to cope with an influx of tourists and pilgrims to the holy shrines of Medina and Makkah – set to be the site of the world’s largest hotel development.

There is also an increase in residential apartment demand as younger Saudi’s – many of whom have lived and worked in other countries – look less to traditional extended family homes in favour of smaller properties for themselves, their children and partners.

There has also been a relaxation of traditional attitudes towards men and women living in closer proximity to one another, which – along with a desire for easily accessible amenities – means an increased level of interest in acquiring flats in high rises.