A long-term partnership shaping the future of one of Saudi Arabia’s most significant heritage sites

Since 2020, we’ve partnered with Diriyah Company and Diriyah Foundation to support the cultural ambitions of this extraordinary place. Centred on At-Turaif – the UNESCO World Heritage Site and historic capital of the Saudi State – Diriyah is more than a development: it’s a landscape of memory, identity, and national significance.

Our work has ranged from developing interpretive strategies and advising on public art commissioning, to supporting oral histories initiatives and collections management, and designing audience experiences. From the outset, we’ve worked in close collaboration with the client team to realise a cultural destination that reflects Saudi heritage with rigour, relevance and respect.

Our interpretive work at Diriyah centres on At-Turaif, a site of immense cultural and symbolic significance. We’ve contributed to the narrative direction for this UNESCO landmark and a wider network of new museums and visitor centres, developing a curatorial framework that connects historical insight with contemporary relevance.

From the House of Al Saud to the Diriyah Museum of Stories, and from interpreting the natural and historical landscape of Wadi Hanifah to our work on tangible and intangible heritage for Asaan, we’ve placed people, place and legacy at the heart of the experience. These narratives unfold through architecture, memory, language, and calligraphy, including our collaboration with the Mohammed bin Salman Global Center for Arabic Calligraphy, which brings renewed focus to one of the region’s most meaningful cultural traditions.

Our relationship with Diriyah is built on trust and continuity. Over five years, we’ve worked alongside the Diriyah Company and Foundation, advising on strategy, embedding interpretive structures, and mentoring a new generation of cultural professionals.

Through collaborative research, tailored workshops, and ongoing support, we’ve helped build local capacity across all areas of delivery. From exhibition planning and audience engagement to intangible heritage and digital storytelling, our programmes have ranged from writing for museums and policy ethics to the implementation of content systems and departmental structures, laying lasting foundations for the future.

At the core of our work in Diriyah is a commitment to surfacing the layered narratives integral to its identity. We’ve collaborated with Diriyah’s teams and local experts to recover lesser-known histories through archival research, oral testimony, and site-specific interpretation.

Our collections research has involved more than 150 institutions across 30 countries, from US presidential libraries and European private collections to the challenging-to-access Ottoman and Egyptian archives. One standout discovery was a letter from Imam Abdullah bin Saud to Ahmad Agha, located in the Bodleian Library: a rare and evocative document revealing the political dynamics of the early 1800s.

We developed the vision and framework for Diriyah’s Oral History Initiative, an ambitious programme to record and preserve local knowledge for future generations.

Built through consultation with community members and oral history experts, the initiative protects a vital strand of heritage: the memories, voices, and lived experiences of the people of Diriyah. These accounts are not simply records; they form part of the landscape itself, every bit as significant as the built environment or Wadi’s rich web of flora and fauna.

As Diriyah continues to evolve, public art is defining its public spaces and communicating its layered identity. Our work has supported both commissioning and strategy, guiding the selection, placement and storytelling potential of each artwork.

From large-scale interventions in natural settings to commissions inspired by Najdi forms and aesthetics, each piece has been curated not as ornament but as part of a shared cultural expression, embedded in place, shaped by history, and open to diverse interpretations by visitors and residents alike.

Diriyah brings together natural, cultural, and urban heritage on an unprecedented scale, and our approach is designed to meet that complexity. From the earliest phases, we’ve drawn on Barker Langham’s interdisciplinary expertise to align strategy, interpretation, and implementation.

We’ve spoken with teachers and students about heritage experiences, sourced and acquired artefacts, helped build collections, and designed visitor journeys that are meaningful and accessible. We’ve also developed operational plans to support long-term sustainability, and advised on how story, space and community can be brought into alignment.

This integrated approach has supported Diriyah’s wider cultural transformation, bringing consistency across initiatives, grounding ambition in lived reality, and laying the groundwork for a place that continues to grow in meaning and resonance.