University of New Haven – Riyadh’s College of Business and Digital Innovation Takes Shape at Misk City

The College of Business and Digital Innovation at the University of New Haven – Riyadh (NHU-Riyadh) is taking shape at Mohammed Bin Salman Nonprofit City (Misk City) in Riyadh. Classrooms are being constructed, finishes and furniture are on their way, and the design unveiled with UK education architects Kampus in June is becoming a physical reality. The fit-out is being delivered by C1, the Saudi specialist behind some of the Kingdom’s landmark workplaces, under a contract signed by Leo Lester, Ph.D., senior vice president for NHU-Riyadh, and Hisham Alireza, chief executive officer of C1.

The delivery team reflects the ambition of the college itself. Kampus’s design features classrooms and collaboration spaces where learning is hands-on and experiential. C1, which has delivered turnkey headquarters for ROSHN, the Ministry of Culture, the General Entertainment Authority, Saudi National Bank, Prince Mohammed Bin Salman College (MBSC), and Public Investment Fund and a number of its subsidiaries , is turning that design into built space.

NHU-Riyadh is passing milestones in quick succession: the campus lease signed in May, the college design unveiled in June, and the fit-out being completed in advance of a fall launch.

“The University imagined a college built around the student experience; Kampus gave that vision its color, and C1 is giving it shape,” said Jens Frederiksen, Ph.D., President of the University of New Haven. “Every choice in that building, down to the last chair, answers the same question: does this help a student learn?”

“C1 has spent nearly three decades building the places where the Kingdom works; at Misk City we are building a place where the Kingdom learns,” said Hisham Alireza, chief executive officer of C1. “Of everything we have delivered, none will matter longer than this college.”

“We have brought together the firm behind some of the Kingdom’s most admired workplaces and the architects who specialize in how students learn,” said Leo Lester, Ph.D., senior vice president for NHU-Riyadh. “What they are building is a college where students learn by doing, and the first of them have already secured their places.”

NHU-Riyadh opens with the College of Business and Digital Innovation this fall. Applications for the opening semester are open.

About C1

C1 is a Saudi workplace design and fitout specialist headquartered in Jeddah, with offices in Riyadh. Its turnkey services span interior design, fitout, mechanical and electrical works, IT, and premium furniture. C1 has delivered major-headquarters projects for Saudi institutions and corporates for more than nearly 3 decades, including ROSHN, the Ministry of Culture, the General Entertainment Authority, Saudi National Bank, Takamol, General Court of Audit, Royal Commission for Riyadh City and Public Investment Fund’s co-builder program at KAFD. The legal entity is Hisham Nabil AlirezaTrading Company, a Saudi limited liability company.