(S) Squares Al Sahil Mall

(S) Squares Al Sahil Mall earned third place in a global competition hosted by Al Salimi Real Estate Development in Saudi Arabia, marking a significant recognition for Cambodian architecture on the international stage. The project draws from traditional Saudi architecture, where cubic volumes, introverted patios, and patterned screen walls shape a distinct sense of place, while reinterpreting these references for a contemporary retail destination. The design uses the desert landscape as a starting point, with massing, colours, and geometric screens that recall rammed-earth settlements and local patterns yet read as clearly modern. The concept is built around a deliberate “double nature.” Along the main road, the mall presents an extroverted frontage: high-end shops fully visible behind a glass facade, forming a strong urban landmark for passing traffic. At its core, a hidden central plaza offers the opposite character, a more sheltered interior world where upper volumes open onto the plaza rather than the surrounding city. 

Commercial spaces are concentrated on the lower floors to maximise visibility and ease of access, encouraging movement between the shops, terraces, and outdoor plaza. Functions that require greater privacy, including the ladies gym and kids area, are placed on the upper levels, separated from the busiest roads and linked by bridges that overlook the internal court. A perforated screen roof shades the plaza and the shops facing it, filtering harsh sunlight to create a cooler micro-climate supported by native planting and water features. Patterned facades and screens manage sun and privacy by day, then glow after dark so that the mall reads as a single, cohesive lantern, balancing function, comfort, and cultural identity. Framing these experiences within a clear architectural concept, (S) Squares Al Sahil positions retail, leisure, and community life around a central, memorable public space.