Muharraq, Bahrain

Pearling Site by Valerio Olgiati
© Archive Olgiati

The following description is courtesy of Valerio Olgiati.

The site contains ruins that form part of the UNESCO Pearling Path. The entire building functions as the entrance to the cultural heritage and the foyer for the medina. It is an urban room for the people of Muharraq with the scale of a public park. Concrete elements are placed along the property boundary to form a new locus in the dense city. A large space is created in which a forest of columns and wind towers hold a horizontal plate 10 meters above the ground.

Pearling Site by Valerio Olgiati
© Archive Olgiati
Pearling Site by Valerio Olgiati
© Archive Olgiati
Pearling Site by Valerio Olgiati
© Archive Olgiati

A roof, understood as an archaic gesture, donates vital shadows for the people of Muharraq in this very hot climate and produces a new and unique situation through its different scale.

Pearling Site by Valerio Olgiati
© Archive Olgiati
Pearling Site by Valerio Olgiati
© Archive Olgiati
Pearling Site by Valerio Olgiati
© Archive Olgiati

Slightly set back in the shadow is an enigmatic house in which the museum of the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage is located.

Pearling Site by Valerio Olgiati
© Archive Olgiati
Pearling Site by Valerio Olgiati
© Archive Olgiati

As a totality, the building creates a universe in itself that is the entrance for the Pearling Path and the city beyond.

Pearling Site by Valerio Olgiati
© Archive Olgiati
Pearling Site by Valerio Olgiati
© Archive Olgiati

Project Credits

Object: UNESCO Site museum and entrance

Location: Muharraq, Bahrain

Address: Building 999, Road 10, Block 215, Muharraq, Bahrain

Client: Bahrain Authority of Culture & Antiquities

Architect:

VALERIO OLGIATI
Senda Stretga 1, CH-7017 Flims, Switzerland
Tel. +41 81 552 05 05, mail@olgiati.net

Collaborators: Sofia Albrigo (project manager), Anthony Bonnici

Local architect:

Emaar Engineering
Rd No 2510, Manama, Bahrain

General contractor:

Almoayyed Contracting Group
PO Box 32232, Manama, Bahrain

Materials: In-situ concrete, Steel

Begin of planning: August 2016

Start of construction: May 2018

End of construction: February 2019

Volume: 49,855 m3

Area: 6,726 m2

Copyrights plans: Archive Olgiati

Copyrights pictures: Archive Olgiati

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