A commercial landscape is judged by people who never chose it. Staff walk past it twice a day, residents use it every evening, and visitors form an opinion of a business before they reach the front door. It also has to survive heavy use and a facilities budget, which a private garden rarely has to.

This guide covers what commercial landscaping involves in Saudi Arabia, how it differs from residential work, what different kinds of site need, how a project runs from survey to handover, and how to choose a contractor.

What Is Commercial Landscaping?

Commercial landscaping is the design, installation and maintenance of outdoor spaces for businesses, institutions and developments rather than private homes. In the Kingdom that means corporate headquarters, residential compounds, hotels and resorts, universities, hospitals, retail centres, and public parks and streets.

How Is It Different From Residential Landscaping?

• Scale. Sites are measured in hectares and planting is counted in thousands. At King Saud University in Riyadh, AALICO planted 1,951 palms, 3,578 trees and more than 405,000 shrubs and groundcover plants over three years.
• Durability. Paving, planting and irrigation have to cope with constant foot traffic and daily cleaning, not occasional family use.
• Programme. Landscaping is usually one of the last trades on a construction site, so it gets squeezed between late handovers and a fixed opening date.
• Approvals. Larger sites involve consultants, main contractors and authority approvals for water, lighting and public areas.
• Running cost. A commercial client pays for maintenance for decades, so design decisions are made with the water bill and the maintenance contract in view.

What Do Different Commercial Sites Need?

• Offices and headquarters need a strong arrival, shaded routes between buildings and car parks, and planting that looks the same in August as it does in February.
• Residential compounds need lawns and play areas that can take daily use, privacy planting between villas, and a maintenance team on site. Al Bustan Village in Riyadh, a 160 acre community AALICO worked on in three phases over five years, shows how much of a compound’s appeal sits in its landscape.
• Hotels and resorts live and die by their pool and arrival areas, with planting kept clear of water and walkways. Our resort style pool landscaping guide goes into the detail.
• Universities and public institutions need big open spaces, long shaded walks and planting chosen to be tough rather than delicate. AALICO’s educational work includes King Saud University and Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University.
• Heritage and mixed use developments need landscapes with a sense of place. AALICO is currently working at Diriyah, where the planting so far includes more than 2,300 palms.

How Does a Commercial Landscape Project Run?

• Stage 1: Brief and site survey. Record soil, levels, existing trees, utilities and the water source before design starts. Most of the expensive surprises on commercial sites come from things that were underground.
• Stage 2: Design and approvals. Produce the concept, planting plan, irrigation design and lighting layout, then take them through the client, the consultants and the relevant authorities.
• Stage 3: Infrastructure. Install drainage, irrigation mains, pumps, tanks and power for lighting while the site is still open and before any paving goes down.
• Stage 4: Hardscape. Build the paving, kerbs, walls, steps, water features and shade structures.
• Stage 5: Planting. Plant trees and palms first, then shrubs and hedging, then groundcover, and lay turf last so it is not damaged by the work around it.
• Stage 6: Handover and care. Complete the defects period, hand over as-built drawings and the irrigation schedule, and move into a maintenance contract.

The order matters. Irrigation mains and drainage are cheap to lay on an open site and very expensive to retrofit under finished paving, which is why infrastructure comes before any hardscape. Our smart irrigation guide covers what a modern system involves.

How Do You Choose a Commercial Landscaping Contractor?

Look for evidence at the size of your project, not only a good looking portfolio.

• Completed projects of a similar size and type that you can actually go and see. AALICO’s are listed in our project portfolio.
• An irrigation team of their own, because on a large site irrigation is engineering, not plumbing.
• Control over plant supply, so a shortage of mature palms does not stall the programme.
• A maintenance offer after handover, so the team that built the landscape has a stake in how it performs. Our guide to maintenance contracts explains what a good one should cover.
• A safety record and the paperwork that main contractors and government clients ask for.

For a fuller checklist with a scorecard you can fill in for each bidder, see our guide on how to compare landscaping companies in Saudi Arabia.

Commercial Landscaping and Vision 2030

Greening is national policy now, not only a design choice. The Saudi Green Initiative and city programmes such as Green Riyadh are planting at a scale that is changing what tenants, residents and visitors expect from a commercial site. Our article on urban landscaping and Vision 2030 covers the background, and the sustainable landscaping guide covers how to meet those expectations without a punishing water bill.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is commercial landscaping?

Commercial landscaping is the design, installation and maintenance of outdoor spaces for businesses and institutions rather than private homes. In Saudi Arabia that includes offices, residential compounds, hotels, universities, hospitals, retail centres and public spaces.

How long does a commercial landscaping project take in Saudi Arabia?

It depends on scale. AALICO landscaped the 63,500 square metre King Abdulaziz Center for National Dialogue in six months, while the King Saud University campus ran for three years. Large mixed-use developments can run for five years or more in phases.

What should a commercial landscaping contractor provide?

A site survey, design, irrigation engineering, hardscape and planting installation, and a maintenance contract after handover, backed by completed projects of a similar size that you can visit.

Why should a commercial landscape include a maintenance contract?

Because it only performs as designed if it is looked after by people who know it. A contract with the team that installed it keeps irrigation, pruning and replacements consistent with the original design.

Plan Your Commercial Landscape With AALICO

AALICO has delivered commercial and institutional landscapes across Saudi Arabia since 1980, from the King Abdulaziz Center for National Dialogue to university campuses and residential compounds. See our services, browse the projects, or contact our team to talk about your site.