The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) announced on October 5 a country-specific version of its Plan of Work for Saudi Arabia. RIBA described it as the first adaptation for a single country outside the United Kingdom. The eight-stage structure gives project teams a shared sequence from strategic definition and briefing through design, construction, handover and operational use.

The Saudi overlay retains those stages while addressing local procurement practices, terminology, information requirements and roles such as architect of record and design guardian. RIBA says the overlay also takes a master-planning approach for large programmes, including how infrastructure can run across projects. The institute said practical training would follow in October and made the framework available through its website.