Design and construction of helipad
On the western edge of Al Badiyah Island in Saudi Arabia, a government security helipad was developed to secure controlled air access within an ecologically sensitive coastal setting. Completed in 2015, the project integrates aviation compliance, environmental restraint, and operational clarity within a unified architectural and engineering framework.
Location: Al Badiyah Island, Red Sea Coast, Saudi Arabia
Client: Ministry of Interior — Border Guard Sector
Year: 2015
Status: Completed
Scope: Topographic survey, aeronautical analysis, wind analysis, full design, construction supervision
Category: Infrastructure — Aviation — Government
Environment: Coastal, salt-exposed, remote island site
Principal: Ibrahim Nawaf Joharji
Infrastructure at the edge of the land asks different questions than infrastructure in the city. There are no adjacent buildings to reference, no urban grain to continue, no established circulation to extend. What remains are the technical requirements of the operation, the physical conditions of the site, and the precision of the work itself. The helipad at Al Badiyah Island was delivered under these conditions remote coastal terrain, demanding environmental parameters, and a scope that required the office to carry the project from initial survey through final construction.
Al Badiyah Island lies along Saudi Arabia’s western coast, within the operational geography of the Border Guard sector. The commission covered the full delivery cycle: topographic survey, design development, wind and aeronautical analysis, and construction supervision through to completion. The site’s coastal position introduced specific technical conditions salt-laden air, surface drainage requirements, wind exposure from multiple directions each of which shaped the structural and material specifications of the installation.
The topographic survey established the baseline from which all subsequent decisions were made. Accurate ground data is not a preliminary step in projects of this nature it is the design itself. The relationship between the landing surface, its approach and departure corridors, the surrounding terrain, and the prevailing wind patterns must be resolved with precision before any element of the physical installation can be determined. The survey work produced the spatial intelligence that the design phase then translated into built form.
The design of an operational helipad requires compliance with aeronautical standards governing surface dimensions, gradient tolerances, load-bearing capacity, marking systems, and obstruction clearance. These standards are not optional constraints to be balanced against other priorities they are the primary design framework. The office’s role was to translate those requirements into a construction specification that could be executed in a coastal environment without the logistical infrastructure available on the mainland.
Wind behavior was among the critical variables analyzed during the design phase. Coastal sites produce complex wind patterns the interaction between onshore and offshore flows, the influence of surface topography on wind direction and speed, and the seasonal variation in conditions all of which affect the safe operation of rotary-wing aircraft. The aeronautical analysis informed both the orientation of the landing surface and the placement of any structures or equipment in the surrounding zone. The objective was an installation that would perform consistently across the range of conditions the site experiences, not only under favorable weather.
The surface specification addressed durability, drainage, and marking longevity under continuous coastal exposure. Materials were selected for resistance to salt corrosion and UV degradation conditions that accelerate the deterioration of standard construction finishes and reduce the service life of markings that must remain legible at operational distances. The drainage logic was integrated into the surface gradient design rather than treated as a separate system, ensuring that water does not accumulate on the landing area under any precipitation scenario.
Construction supervision on a remote island site requires a different operational model than urban project management. Supply chains are longer, corrections are more costly, and the margin for on-site improvisation is narrower. The office maintained direct technical oversight throughout the construction phase, ensuring that the executed work conformed to the design documentation without substitution or deviation in the critical elements of the installation. The project was completed within the parameters established at the design stage.
The helipad at Al Badiyah Island represents one dimension of the office’s experience with governmental and infrastructure commissions projects in which the technical brief is precise, the operational context is specific, and the standard of delivery is non-negotiable. This body of work, which includes facilities for the Ministry of Interior and the Border Guard sector, is part of a portfolio that extends well beyond the residential and cultural projects published on this site. Further detail on the office’s governmental work is available upon direct inquiry through Start a Project.