YOUNG Bahraini architects are looking to redefine public spaces by studying the potential use of different locations in busy neighbourhoods.
Four sites in Manama are currently under study as part of a workshop held by the Darayesh (Windows) initiative created through the ongoing cultural festival Ta’a Al Shabab, which is now in its 11th edition.
The sites range between rooftops, narrow streets, and even an open area in a tight urban context to create a different understanding of public space.
Darayesh director Jaffar Al Haddad said the study aimed to redefine the concept of public space by utilising locations in already crowded neighbourhoods to create sustainable spaces within congested areas.
“Darayesh is part of the Ta’a family that focused more on the language of design and the impact of design in social life, either as architectural, interior or spacial design and the urban arrangement between spaces,” he told the GDN.
“It kept evolving each year and introducing new methodologies in terms of starting a dialogue towards design and what design means.
“Through the previous nine years, Darayesh was kind of creating its own space and then inviting people to come to the space and have that kind of traction and dialogue, but this year we did things differently – we created a people space that everyone is invited to.”
The initiative has already started a trial run of the concept with a location called ‘The Third Space’ on the rooftop of the Edamah car park building in the Diplomatic Area.
Mr Al Haddad explained that the process started with the team rethinking what public space should mean in an environment like the Diplomatic Area, which has a large density of high-rise buildings.
This site is being used for the entire festival, which will continue until next Saturday, and has a library, a social yard, a cafe, a children’s play area, and a large screen for movies, while also providing three co-working spaces to allow for workshops, discussions and writing.
“In the Diplomatic Area there are no public spaces available and the chance of having public spaces on the ground floor does not guarantee the living quality we are seeking, so we thought of an alternative understanding of public spaces,” said Mr Al Haddad, who is a 23-year-old architect and visual artist.
“Here we have a rooftop and we have conducted a study of how many people use this building and we discovered that the rooftop is abandoned throughout the entire year and nobody is using it.
“We thought about creating a public space in an area with all these views, with all the wind and spacial experience, but it’s also easy to access because it’s already a parking space and it’s easy to study its impact on the entire district because it’s the only public space.
“It’s not just the rooftops, the rooftop is just one element in the puzzle, the usual understanding of spaces to be fully detached areas and away from the city is a question we should think about.
“One of the solutions is to use rooftops and to make these areas sustainable and we don’t need to go occupy a new area outside to create an event such as this, we can use the same areas we have.”
The Ta’a Al Shabab festival is being held under theme ‘Intensification, Diversification and Definition’ and under the umbrella of the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities (Baca).
It features workshops, screenings, discussions, musical performances, and exhibitions, and will continue until next Saturday at the Edamah Building rooftop from 10am to 10pm daily.
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