NEOM, the world’s largest, and perhaps most controversial construction site underway today, is destined to cost $500 billion and house nine million people in Saudi Arabia. Where will its food come from?
Andre Kikoski Architect (AKA), a New York office, recently completed a greenhouse for Topian, NEOM’s food company. The NEOM Agricultural Complex opened last year, and has since yielded its first round of crops. According to the firm, the building and its operations denote NEOM’s first built operational asset.
The 800,000-square-foot, 11-acre facility is located within Oxagon, a 40-acre floating port city in northwestern Saudi Arabia. It can produce 1,972 tons of fresh fruit and vegetables annually, and deliver 93 percent water savings compared to traditional agriculture, designers said.
AKA was also behind a 21,500-square-foot circular office building on the site. A vertical farm, energy rooms, cooling towers, and storage tanks likewise abound to support operations. Vishal Wanchoo, CEO of Oxagon, said the project takes a “farm-to-table” approach by localizing the supply chain. Materials like aluminum, Corten steel, and precast concrete were chosen to suggest a visual connection with the desert landscape.
The system in place at NEOM Agricultural Complex was designed in tandem with Netherlands-based Van der Hoeven Horticultural Projects, a horticultural infrastructure global leader. It can be scaled in other arid climate regions where global warming will impact production.
“Food insecurity caused by climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing humanity,” said Andre Kikoski, AKA founding principal. “For centuries, the greenhouse has been one of the most enduring yet overlooked building typologies—rarely updated or reimagined. This project challenges that status quo by offering a bold new vision for food production that integrates architecture, agriculture, and advanced technology.”
Kikoski added that the greenhouse leverages “AI, robotics, and renewable systems across the master plan,” and demonstrates “how innovation can increase yields, reduce emissions, and conserve vital resources to deliver meaningful, scalable impact.”
The project is a major step toward realizing the food and sustainability goals outlined in Saudi Vision 2030, a program which includes NEOM and the Line helmed by Mohammed bin Salman.
Last October, a documentary revealed the total amount of worker deaths related to Saudi Vision 2030. According to the exposé by ITV, more than 21,000 Indian, Bangladeshi, and Nepalese workers have died in Saudi Arabia since 2017 working on various aspects of the project.
The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health later issued a statement refuting these claims.
Site access is restricted, although Newsweek more recently reported that Saudi officials are nearing milestone goals that need hitting at NEOM before the 2029 Asian Winter Games, 2034 FIFA World Cup, and other deadlines. Human Rights Watch continues pressing Saudi Vision 2030 officials over concerns stemming from the FIFA World Cup.
This week, per reporting in Bloomberg, consulting firms were asked to conduct a “strategic review” of the megaproject. This review would weigh the feasibility of project aspects such as The Line, and suggest possible changes to the development plans.
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