Context

The allocated piece of land for the Muharraq Corniche Development is strategically located on The Muharraq Corniche at the foot to the Sheikh Hamad Bridge north-eastern entrance. The site enjoys open views to the Bay and to the city of Manama. The 900 m. faraway National Theatre stands out as a landmark defining the south-western edge of the bridge. The theatre-Corniche ensemble defines a gate.

Geometry

The oblique diamond weave is a structural grid with strong visual connotations. This abstract geometry can generate both the built and the unbuilt environment; it changes scale to form different activities, it stretches in both directions to negotiate different situations. The indentation as opposed to a clean-edged configuration is a space formation that we deliberately used. On the one hand, it increases the interaction between the street and the commercial facilities by maximizing the façades surface and offering different exposures, on the other, it reinforces the relationship between the project and the water by offering a multitude of unconventional rich conditions.

Materials

Muharraq Corniche borrows the golden color from the National theatre  of  Bahrain and reinterprets  it to suit its program. Concrete and metal intertwine and create a dynamic landscape that belongs to the land and to the sea at the same time. Shade and shadow ripple over the seafront facades. To the bay, coffee shop terraces, seating steps, and performance stages  wave.