Who’s Who: Abdullah bin Jenaideb, Saudi architect

Abdullah bin Jenaideb

Dr. Abdullah bin Jenaideb has been the mastermind of several Saudi architectural projects in particular at the Grand Mosque in Makkah and the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah.
He obtained a bachelor’s degree with distinction in architecture from King Abdul Aziz University’s (KAU) College of Engineering in 1982, and then worked as a teaching assistant at his alma mater.
Two years later, he obtained a master’s degree in architecture from the University of Pennsylvania, in the US.
In 1994, he gained a Ph.D. in the economics of architecture from the University of Strathclyde, in Scotland.
Between 1984 and 1990, he lectured at KAU and was promoted to assistant professor at the Jeddah university’s College of Environmental Designs. He also served as the college’s deputy dean for development and quality and sat as head of Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s real estate committee.
Jenaideb was the designer behind the third Al-Shamiyyah expansion project for the Grand Mosque in Makkah that increased the capacity of the mataf (circumambulation) area from 40,000 worshippers per hour to 107,000.
He also supervised a team from KAU’s architecture department that participated in schemes in Makkah’s Central Area, as well as working on the Jabal Omar hotels and apartments development project.
In addition to designing many residential and commercial developments throughout the Kingdom, Jenaideb was also the architect of King Fahd Public Library and the National College of Medicine, both in Jeddah, and has carried out several economic studies for a variety of real estate investment projects.