HALF MILLION is a premier specialty café and restaurant destination seamlessly integrated with the urban fabric of Riyadh's Sports Boulevard corridor. The project features a total built-up indoor area of 700 square meters, complemented by 218 square meters of outdoor spaces, an optimized drive-thru vehicle pathway, and 12 dedicated parking spaces. Strict architectural setbacks are meticulously maintained across all sides and levels to ensure privacy, compliance, and smooth circulation. The spatial organization is structured around a 9-grid layout, featuring a striking ground floor with multi-level museum-like masses, an elevated mezzanine reading zone, and a dynamic first floor equipped with folding glass boundaries, live vegetation, a tranquil water feature, two overhead skylights, and towering vernacular colonnades
The engineering team successfully navigated complex site constraints by balancing transparent structural curtain walls, crystalline glass assemblies, and two precision-engineered first-floor skylights with monumental vertical porticoes, effectively mitigating high solar heat gain in Riyadh while maximizing healthy natural daylight into internal dining and lounge spaces. To overcome the challenges of varying floor plates and perimeter setbacks across all levels, precise structural alignment was executed for vertical circulation cores, service elevators, and staircases. Furthermore, specialized hidden mechanical ventilation systems were engineered specifically for the commercial restaurant kitchens, coffee roasting rooms, and restrooms, ensuring superior indoor air quality and efficient odor extraction without compromising the building's aesthetic integrity
Emphasizing sustainable urban development, the project balances softscape and hardscape optimization in compliance with the Sports Boulevard guidelines. Energy efficiency is further advanced through optimized thermal insulation of facades, towering colonnades acting as solar shading devices, and strategic skylight daylighting integration to reduce artificial lighting loads. Long-term operational sustainability for the café and restaurant is secured via automated facility management frameworks, water-saving fixtures, grease-trap waste management integration, and systematic maintenance protocols designed to preserve asset durability and environmental standards
The project scope encompasses complete civil, structural, and MEP engineering works starting from foundation design up to the roof level. It includes the structural layout and architectural spatial distribution for the 9-grid ground floor, the mezzanine reading zone, the 12 parking zones, and the open-air flexible first floor featuring dual ceiling skylights. The scope details corridor designs, vertical transportation integration, commercial kitchen plumbing networks, fire suppression systems, and complete mechanical ductwork infrastructure for the hospitality, café, and restaurant operational zones
