Bahraini architectural designers Latifa Alkhayat and Maryam Aljomairi have won the Best Design award for their concept for an arts centre that will be built in Muharraq.
The Sharifa Kanoo Arts Centre aims to help talented young artists develop their skills by conducting training programmes, workshops and initiatives; and highlighting their work.
The winning duo received BD4,000 cash reward during the competition’s closing ceremony at the Youth Affairs Ministry in Seef District.
At the awarding ceremony are, from left, Ms Tawfiqi, Ms Alkhayat, Mr Kanoo and Mr Al Hawaj
In September this year, Works Minister Ibrahim Al Hawaj, Youth Affairs Minister Rawan Tawfiqi and Yusuf bin Ahmed Kanoo (YBA Kanoo) company chairman Khalid Mohammed Kanoo had signed an agreement to build the centre near the Muharraq Model Youth Centre in Busaiteen on land belonging to the Youth Affairs Ministry.
Ms Alkhayat and Ms Aljomairi started working on the design idea as soon as the competition was announced.
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The winning design
“We made sure to study the area where the project will be built from a historical, cultural and societal perspective, as well as the geographical location, in order to present a design that fulfils all these factors in a modern way that represents the kingdom’s past and present,” she said.
Their design features halls dedicated to different disciplines including drawing and painting and carpentry, as well as a garden that provides protection from direct sunlight, wind and other climatic conditions.
“The traditional ‘rawashin’ have been redesigned in a modern way to become suspended architectural façades, which are a prominent feature of the project,” said Ms Alkhayat.
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Ms Alkhayat explaining the design
Al Rawashin are the projecting windows or balconies made of wooden panels used to cover the exterior openings of houses. Their manufacture was known in the 12th Century as a way to mitigate high temperatures; its artistic technique allowed outside air to enter the house and provide natural cooling.
The winning design includes a mosque and café that serve as forefronts for visitors.
“The centre represents an extension of the Kanoo family’s support for the artistic, cultural and social movement in Bahrain,” said Mr Al Hawaj during the awarding ceremony.
The centre’s outdoor space as part of the design
“The Works Ministry is proud to be part of this pioneering artistic project, as it supervised the project design’s competition, and will supervise its implementation.”
He praised the creativity and innovation that characterised the winning design.
The competition was open to Bahraini engineering students and graduates aged up to 35, as well as practising engineers in the same age group and engineering offices.
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