The Architecture of Mohammed bin Salman: Beyond the Headlines

In recent weeks, international media have flooded the conversation around Saudi Arabia’s THE LINE with reports from The Financial Times and global outlets, amplified by a storm on X, hinting at delays, cost revisions, and shrinking ambitions. The tone was familiar: skepticism, speculation, and that Western appetite for stories of collapse.

But as an architect who has observed the Saudi and Gulf architectural scene closely, I find it only fair to write this now. I had hoped to write it in 2030 as reflection, not defense but the time has come. Most reports approach the subject from a PR or media angle, missing the deeper narrative.
This is not a story of failure; it is an autopsy of vision.

Between Critique and Structural Reform

Criticism is easy when viewed through a single lens.
Architecture, however, is not journalism. It is process, context, and persistence.

When Mohammed bin Salman became Crown Prince in 2017, his first act was radical in its simplicity: he ordered a nationwide halt and review of all ongoing construction. Projects were frozen, contracts re-evaluated, masterplans re-examined. Among these were the King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh and the Grand Mosque expansion in Mecca, both burdened by debt, inefficiency, and administrative paralysis.

At the time, the decision looked like stagnation. In truth, it was structural reform.
The goal wasn’t to slow construction, but to reset the logic of national planning.

Rewriting the Map: Controlled Demolition and Cultural Leap

Under his leadership, Saudi Arabia faced long-ignored inefficiencies head-on.
The chaotic procurement system was rebuilt from scratch.
Corruption in megaprojects including the Grand Mosque reconstruction was investigated and restructured.
The infamous crane tragedy became the zero point for a new era of architectural accountability.

Mohammed bin Salman’s approach was not cosmetic; it was surgical.
He dismantled what was broken before laying new foundations.
If the twentieth century was the age of speed, his early years were about disciplined demolition.

The Legacy of Reformation

The Crown Prince inherited sprawling cities lacking architectural identity and unified planning.
With boldness, he targeted the unplanned districts of Mecca and Jeddah chaotic urban sprawl that risked repeating the mistakes of São Paulo.
This was not imitation; it was transformation.
His vision absorbed lessons from global cities but transcended them, crafting a new architectural identity that surpassed the copy-paste luxury of neighboring Gulf projects.

Among his milestones:

• Founding Misk Art Institute to link creativity with design.
• Launching the Saudi Building Code, to root architectural expression in local culture while ensuring technical discipline.
• Activating Balady, a digital licensing system that modernized urban procedures.
• Initiating major projects such as Jeddah Formula 1, The Red Sea Development, and AlUla, followed by Qiddiya, Expo 2030, and FIFA 2034.

The Difficult Client with a Designer’s Mind

Architects know that good design begins by removing what is unnecessary.
That same philosophy guided his national development model.
He recognized that a hospital without a conference center is a lost opportunity for integration, that a resort without culture is just a façade.
He redirected investors toward multi-use, long-term developments, redefining success not by square meters but by coherence.

Architecture as Power, Power as Architecture

To dismiss THE LINE as unrealistic is to misunderstand the purpose of impossible ideas.
It is not merely a skyscraper; it is a manifesto a provocation against urban mediocrity.
Rather than rely on relatives or political loyalty, Mohammed bin Salman brought together the world’s leading firms: Foster + Partners, Zaha Hadid Architects, Jean Nouvel, and others, meeting in Riyadh, London, and Beijing under one integrated vision.

He did what few leaders ever could: he thought architecturally.
While some copied, he curated.
If the UAE mastered luxury, he invented super-luxury with meaning cities that reflect not wealth, but ambition.

As Jerry Inzerillo, CEO of the Diriyah Gate Development Authority, once recounted, the Crown Prince personally corrected an architect who proposed an Ottoman dome:

“If you are ready, revise it and let us know.”

That single exchange revealed his depth a man who carries an archive of Saudi architectural identity in his mind.
He is what every architect secretly wishes for: a difficult client who truly understands design.

Beyond the Noise

While headlines debate delays and budgets, the built reality tells another story.
Saudi projects are no longer symbolic gestures; they are structural, systemic, and long-term.
The architecture of Mohammed bin Salman is not a collection of buildings but a philosophy that the built environment must carry identity, efficiency, and beauty in equal measure.

No one, not even Trump with his golden towers, has altered the architectural direction of a nation so profoundly.
One respected architect from Jeddah, close in age to the Crown Prince, once told me:

“He’s our spiritual brother in architecture.”

History will not judge him by what pauses or what continues, but by the clarity of the intention behind it.
And by that measure, his mark is already permanent.

Because true architects — and true leaders — are not remembered for what they finish,
but for what they begin.