Bahrain architects bid for world stage
The Kingdom of Bahrain could soon make a huge leap onto the international architecture stage if a proposal by Muharaqui Studios...
... is approved by high officials.
Named the Muharraq Concept Project, it would be sited on one of the many man made islands that are being created to reclaim land from the sea and allow Manama to expand whilst preserving the desert to the south of the capital.
Giving an idea of the scale of this reclamation, in total thirteen islands, many with their own contained skyscraper clusters, are being developed along the coastline to the tune of one billion U.S dollars just on pushing back the sea.
Nose bleedingly tall, the project is essentially a gigantic archway that would greet those arriving by sea to the harbour reinventing the St Louis Arch as a functioning supertall building bent in half as well as an iconic gateway. If built it would be by far the tallest arch in the world, able to comfortably fit the St Louis structure in its span several times over.
It's also a clever approach to how to get attention from Bahrain's rapidly growing neighbours like Dubai and Kuwait City who are looking to compete against each other in terms of height to establish their prestige. Without new forms the world will get fatigue of constantly taller buildings sooner or later just as few people could name the competitors who fought it out in twenties New York when the trickle became a flood.
The bases of each side of the arch are set on small islands which would also have low-rise buildings curving around them, the bases are wide and as they extend up gradually become thinner until they meet in the middle. One of the islands would connect directly with land whilst the other would maintain its mini island status.
Thankfully the colour palette used for the tower doesn’t hint even slightly at gold which could make the project look like a broken Macdonald's sign but instead uses green tinted glazing, a popular choice in Manama, which almost matches the surrounding sea and aluminium which reflects both the water and the sun.
If the project does get the go ahead it can probably be assumed it would soon become a modern architectural wonder of the world, instantly recognisable around the globe and be a potential contender for the tallest title if it were stood straight.
This monster tower isn't the only mass scale project planned for the kingdom, its location between Saudi Arabia and Qatar has inspired what will be the worlds longest fixed link in the form of the Qatar-Bahrain Friendship Bridge.
Still only a proposal on the drawing board of an architect without official backing, there is no construction timescales as of yet or even if the scheme will pass the initial stages of planning, but with its definite "wow!" factor this project might well get to see the light of day eventually.
