CoverBaB Competition

Covered street. Malaga, Spain

Rope shaded Suq. Tetouan, MoroccoFelipe Rodríguez

Shading structure constructed with ropes. Mexico DF, MexicoYoshihiro Koitani

CiRCle CleaRing view

Protester crosses her fingers painted in the colours of Bahrain’s national flag. Beirut, lebanonReUTeRS / Mohamed azakir

aeRial view OF BaB al BaHRain

People need to come together in the heart of their city to publicly express their opinion. Here they feel physically unified, creating a sense of solidarity and of in-tegrated society. The square, the public space by excellence, represents a city, a country and a people. Bahrain’s will to rethink one of their main public squares is the result of these new changes in mod-ern day societies, offering their popula-tion a new place to gather, representing the new motivation of both government and citizens.

Bab Al Bahrain, once the door to Manama and to the island is a place where the old city meets the new one, where the Suq meets the Financial Harbour. This gives the site a characteristic of central space, a mark in the landscape. It is the opportu-nity to transform an urban location into a great public square, the heart of the city and the country, converting it as the New Door to Bahrain.

BiRD’S eYe view OF BaB al BaHRain

Our idea for Bab al Bahrain consists in opening the actual square to the urban void, mixing all program uses in a large structure that protects its users from in-tense sunlight and hot coastal winds; a garden that alludes to the memory of Dilmun’s paradise description from the Epic of Gilgamesh; New Public Buildings that integrate this urban structure; and a Public Square that is marked by its round opening in the covered structure. The square intends to create a smooth ambi-ance defined by a clear and strong shape with the power to become a landmark in the cityscape.

ROPe PaTTeRnS

Ropes run through the rooftop serving as the main shading component, alluding to Bahrain’s strong fishing tradition and maritime ties. Their placement creates geometric interlacing patterns, evoking the ones seen in Islamic decoration tiles throughout the Arab World. The shadows these ropes project onto the ground draw new, ever-changing patterns too. Some rope segments descend towards the floor, adding to the complexity of its pat-terned design.

CoverBaB Competition

Main axiS view

Car parKinG

a SQUaRe inSiDe a SQUaRe

The first operation of our proposal is to free the actual site from car parking, building an underground space for 720 vehicles. This will also serve as deposit area for the new Post Office, the National Archives and the Children’s Museum. In-tegrated with these areas, the new park-ing is built as a clear rectangular space within the limits of the square sustained by thin pillars . With its high interior space it reminds us of a big water deposit like Is-tanbul’s Byzantine Cistern. Users’ access is integrated with the new buildings in the freed public space. Cars will access it by a ramp near the Regency Hotel.

BaB aL BaHrain SQUare

a MixeD-USe PUBliC SPaCeAfter the surface is freed from car park-ing, two different limits are drawn on it: the limestone pavement and the rooftop structure polygon. The pavement ex-tends from the competition boundaries to the adjacent sidewalks and buildings, stretching the square and enhancing the accessibility to nearby areas. The lime-stone pavement large slabs invoke the memory of Qal’at al-Bahrain, an ancient fortress that is today an important Bahrain monument. Its light color helps spread brighten the square.

new BUilDingSThree new buildings are proposed re-lated directly to a street: two elongated low buildings facing Government and Al Fardah Avenues that house the Children’s Museums and the relocated Post Office, m ore connected to the Suq’s urban fab-ric at the limit of the square; the National Archives, near King Faisal Highway, rise above the covering structure to peek at the sea ahead. As a deposit of Bahrain’s memoirs, they deserve a more expressive volume.

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ligHT STRUCTUReThe large monumental steel structure is placed 20m above the ground, the struc-ture defines under it a space that can be perceived both as outdoor for its open-ness and vastness, as indoor for being sheltered and fresh. This 10x10m grid stands on 20m spaced columns, all these elements in white painted steel.

CenTRal CleaRingTwo openings appear on the grid: a rec-tangle allowing a building to puncture it; and a 60m wide circle that creates a glade in the pillars and palm trees, outlin-ing a broader gathering space within the square.

Main axiS

There is an invisible alignment between Bab Al Bahrain building and the design of the Financial Harbour. We intend to make that axis visible by making it the cover-ing structure orientation and by marking it into the pavement with larger stone di-mensions; this creates a pedestrian alley marked on the floor to conduct people between the Souq and the Coastline. A water path accompanies it, ending in a reflecting pool to lower temperatures and protect from strong highway traffic. It links several historical coastlines: from the front of the Bab Al Bahrain, passing by King Faisal Highway, to the current coast-line. To cross these barriers, an aerial pe-destrian passageway to reach the actual coastline is planned.