The Um Slaim School: An Architecture of Connection is the first of two volumes expanding on the National Pavilion of Saudi Arabia (@saudipavilion) at the Biennale Architettura 2025 (Venice), focused on the work of Riyadh-based practice Syn Architects—Sara Alissa and Nojoud Alsudairi, and their collaborative initative the Um Slaim Collective.

The book forms part of a propositional pedagogy for contemporary urbanism in Riyadh. Contributing to a localized spatial discourse relevant to Saudi Arabia and the broader region, bilingual spatial terminologies (Matrilineals, Situated Practice, DIY Archiving, Ritual Matter, Adaptive Reuse, Sprawling Grids)are illustrated through multi-disciplinary projects and interventions from Syn Architects and the Um Slaim Collective. The contents provide context on histories of urban development in Riyadh, including typologies of vernacular architecture, methods of spatial embodiment and situated practice. Artistic, sonic, and photographic contributions from the exhibition’s collaborators Laurian Ghinițoiu, Mohammed Alhamdan, Maha Malluh, and Mansour Alsofi, as well as new essays by Syn Architects, exhibition curator Beatrice Leanza, and catalogue editor Ahmad Makia complete the volume.

“The Um Slaim School: An Architecture of Connection” is co-published by Mousse Publishing and Kaph Books. 

Order you copy here.

A second publication connected to the research agendas of The Um Slaim School and the public program that unfolds during the entire duration of the Biennale, is released in the Fall of 2025.

READ the introductory essay by Beatrice Leanza on Mousse Magazine: Why A School?.