Qal’at al-Bahrain Site MuseumManama, Kingdom of Bahrain3508.BAH

WOHLERT Arkitekter

The Qal’at al-Bahrain (Bahrain Fort) ar-chaeological site was recently nominated to the UNESCO World Heritage List. The new museum’s purpose is to expose the site’s archaeological development from 2500BC to today.

Exposing regional architectural and cul-tural values have been crucial in the design process. The Gulf Region has changed rapidly in recent years, and traditional cultural expressions have not been appreciated as they deserve.

The 2000m2 museum is situated on a

It has been important that the building retained the scale of traditional regional buildings and is, in the same style, rather introvert.

Access is by way of an exterior courtyard with café at museum’s northern end and exhibition in the southern. The courtyard serves as a transition between the harsh outdoors sun and the subdued interior lighting.

The exhibition space is laid out around the dramatic central display, a 30m long recreation of the archaeological strata, in levels corresponding to archaeologi-cal sediments. From the earliest Dilmon period exhibition on the lower level, the visitor ascends to the most recent Islam-ic period exhibition on the higher level through a succession of planes.

The museum is lit by daylight, both from

through exhibition showcases, that are lit from above through the light turrets that

sandstone and ceilings are in dark mer-anti wood.

Administration, lecture hall and rooms for visiting archaeologists are placed around the courtyard of the low square building.

Client:Ministry of Information, Kingdom of Bah-rain. Assistant Undersecretary for Culture and National Heritage Shaikha Mai bint Mohammad bin Al-Khalifa

Sponsor:Arcapita Bank and Kingdom of Bahrain

Partners:COWI Almoayed Gulf WLL (engineer and site architect)National Museum of BahrainDr Pierre Lombard, chief curatorEskild Bjerre Laursen, exhibition architect

Construction 2006-2008

Qal’at al-Bahrain Museum

KarbabadManama, Bahrain

Architects Wohlert ArkitekterCopenhagen, Denmark

Clients Ministry of Information / Sheikha Mai al-KhalifaManama, Bahrain

Commission 2003

Design 2003 - 2007

Construction 2006 - 2008

Occupancy 2008

Site 170,000 m2

Ground floor 1,670 m2

Total floor 2,030 m2

Costs n.a.

Programme In 2006 the archaeological site at Qal’at al-Bahrain was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This new museum is reached by an arrival court leading to an exhibition space, a restaurant or the archaeological site itself. The exhibition is centred around a 30-metre-long reconstruction of the site’s archaeological strata, and visitors pass through the ages as they ascend through the museum past each layer of this wall. Making maximum use of daylight, display cases are recessed into toplit towers that project from the exterior walls. In style, the architecture responds to local tradition, scale and climate with an introverted building, minimal in decoration.

Building Type Museums & Exhibition Facilities2010 Award Cycle 3508.BAH

Qal’at al-Bahrain Site MuseumManama, Kingdom of Bahrain3508.BAH

WOHLERT ArkitekterNikolaj Plads 81067 København KDenmarkwww.wohlertarkitekter.dk

3508.BAH

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Aga Khan Award for Architecture

ARCHITECT'S RECORD

2010 AWARD CYCLE

Document B

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Project Title

Street Address

City

Name

Mailing Address

City Postal Code

Country

Facsimile E-mail

Principal Designer

Name

Mailing Address

City Postal Code

Country Telephone

Facsimile E-mail

Please list those involved in the project and indicate their roles and areas of responsibility (e.g. engineers, contractors, economists, mastercraftsmen, other architects, clients, etc.). Please cite addresses and telephone numbers separately.

Name Role

Country

Telephone

Record Number

I. IDENTIFICATION

II. PERSONS RESPONSIBLE

A. Architect/Planner

B. Client

C. Project Affiliates / Consultants

Qal'at al-Bahrain Site Museum ref 3508.BAH

Karbabad

Manama Bahrain

Wohlert Arkitekter

Nikolaj Plads 8

København K 1067

Denmark +45 3313 9308

+45 3315 2365 nf@wohlertarkitekter / cw@wohlertarkitekter

Claus Wohlert/Niels Friis

Ministry of Information, Shaikha Mai bint Muhammad al-Khalifa

P O Box 253

Manama

Bahrain +973 17 290210

+973 17 293008 manar.sirriyeh@gmail.com

COWI Bahrain Consulting Engineers

Bokhowa Group

Eskild Bjerre Laursen

Dr Pierre Lombard

National Museum of Bahrain

Contractor

Exhibition Architect

Chief Curator

Consultant

(please specify year and month)

A. Commission

B. Design

C. Construction

D. Occupancy

Remarks, if any:

(please indicate in square metres)

A. Total Site Area

B. Ground Floor Area

C. Total Combined Floor Area including basement(s),ground floor(s) and all upper floors)

Remarks, if any:

(please specify the amounts in local currencies and provide the equivalents in US dollars. Specify the dates and the rates of exchangein US dollars at the time.)

A. Total Initial Budget

B. Cost of Land

C. Analysis of Actual Costs

1. Infrastructure

2. Labour

3. Materials

4. Landscaping

5. Professional Fees

6. Other

D. Total Actual Costs (without land)

E. Actual Cost (per sq. meter)

Remarks, if any, on costs:

Amount inLocal Currency

Amount inUS dollars

Exchange Rate Date

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CompletionCommencement

Commencement Completion

Record Number

III. TIMETABLE

IV. AREAS AND SURFACES

V. ECONOMICS

Autumn 2003

2003 2007

2006 2008

February 18th 2008

approx. 170.000m2

1670m2

2030m2

2.400.000 BD 6.360.000 US$ 2,65 2005

see below

2,653.133,- US$1.182,27 BD 2008

see below

see below

20082,655.871.361,20 US$1,2,3+4: 2.215.608 BD

184.392 BD

F: Exhibition, total cost BD 450.000/US$ 1.192.500, not included in above figures. Breakdown of actual costs (C 1, 2, 3 + 4) not possible due to nature of contract.

none

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Record Number

VI. PROJECT DESCRIPTION

VII. MATERIALS, STRUCTURE, AND CONSTRUCTION

In 2006 the archaeological site at Qal'at al-Bahrain was inscribed on the UNESCO list of world cultural heritage sites. The new museum houses an archaeological exhibition, introducing the site’s remains and historical development, including café, lecture hall and services for visitors. The UNESCO area, which consists of 17 hectares, contains an artificial mound created by thousands of years of archaeological cultural layers, in Arabic known as “tell.” So far, only a small part has been excavated.

The traditional architecture in Bahrain is characterized by trim, introvert buildings free of ornamentation. Their purpose is to protect from the intense heat and sun, and to create a maximum of natural ventilation from summer temperatures in the mid-forties centigrade. The traditional Gulf and modern Nordic architecture actually share many formal properties. Architecturally, the new museum focuses on this familiarity, merging local architectural tradition with the expectations and demands that are placed on a state-of-the-art culture-historical museum.

The new museum lies on the water’s edge, forming a dock on the gulf. It was inaugurated in 2008. It consists of two elements: a two-storey museum wing, housing museum, arrival court and restaurant, and a square services building surrounding a small garden court. The visitor enters the museum through the arrival court-yard, which creates a transition between the very hard out-doors light and the subdued museum lighting. A small fountain in the courtyard adds the sound of splashing water, providing a sense of tranquillity. The courtyard provides access to both museum hall and cafeteria and also forms the entrance gate to the archaeological site.

The central element in the museum hall is the “tell wall,” a thirty-metre long recreation of the tell’s seven archaeological layers through 4500 years. Visitors are led through the museum on a tour around the wall, where the archaeological periods each have their own section of exhibition. The exhibition is organized chronologically; beginning on the lower level with the oldest period, after which the levels follow the archaeological layers, forming an ascension to the topmost level on the first floor.

The museum hall is primarily lit by daylight, both by a continuous skylight over the tell wall, and by the facade display-cases. They are recessed in exterior walls, forming the characteristic projecting light towers in the building’s facades. The restaurant is spacious and has outdoor service in a shaded area on the dock with magnificent views of Gulf and Portuguese fort.

Interior colours and textures are inspired by traditional Bahraini architecture. Ceilings are in hardwood coffers, referring to dark, wooden traditional ceilings. Walls are in cream render and interior and exterior paving is sandstone.

Use of materials is very restricted: Floors, inside and out, are from Italian Santafiora sandstone. Wall surfaces are rendered and painted in a colour and finish reminiscent of local traditional juss plaster. Coffered ceilings are made from meranti wood. Railings and ironmongery from brass. Fixed furniture is from mahogany. With few exceptions, construction methods are simple and well known in Bahrain, and materials are chosen among those readily available. The structure is a post and beam concrete framework based on a raft structure, the site being a recent landfill. The post and beam structure is filled out with concrete block masonry and rendered. Roof structure consists of steel trusses, supporting insulated aluminium roof panels. Ventilation and services are supplied through cavities in the raft, the raft forming the podium for the museum hall.

Name (please print)

Signature Date

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Record Number

VIII. PROJECT SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT

Please note: The submission of this Record is a prerequisite to candidacy for the Award. All information contained in and submittedwith the Record will be kept strictly confidential until announcement of the Award is made. Subsequently, such material may be madeavailable by the Aga Khan Award for Architecture and you hereby grant the Aga Khan Award for Architecture a non-exclusivelicence for the duration of the legal term of copyright (and all rights in the nature of copyright) in the Material submitted to reproducethe Material or licence the reproduction of the same throughout the world.

Keywords: Growing appreciation and support of cultural heritage in education and tourism. Intercultural exchange and cooperation. Reinterpretation of traditional architecture in a culture where its' qualities are generally unappreciated. The project's ambition is to reinterpret traditional architectural elements in a part of the world where effects of sudden wealth are happening with a very international approach. Appreciation of rich traditional values in architecture are often absent and not reflected in the recent construction boom. Almost all recent architecture is "international" and not in any specific way anchored to regional climate, scale and architecture. This way of building may prove a quick fix to a booming economy's demands, but very little of lasting architectural quality is added in the rapidly expanding sprawl. In all humbleness, our strategy is to expose the traditional qualities and values that are too rapidly being discarded. A key architectural idea is to identify, retain and communicate local traditional architectural heritage, exposing it in connection with perhaps the most important archaeological site in Bahrain. The museum is visited - apart from tourists etc - by school classes, being an important cultural-historical landmark in Bahrain. Further, the museum brings attention to a major Middle Eastern archaeological site, which in itself has a fascinating history. It was at this site that remains were found that localized Bahrain as the legendary land Dilmun known from Mesopotamian poetry. The myth about Dilmun is believed to have formed the basis for the Bible’s later accounts of the Garden of Eden. For the last 4.500 years, Bahrain has played a key role in trade in the Gulf Region. The Qal'at al-Bahrain Site Museum is the first in a series of visitor's centres/museums that are planned for construction at a number of archaeological sites in Bahrain. One of few attempts in the region to direct attention to cultural heritage, transforming some part of the recent riches to long lasting cultural wealth. To the visitor, it will prove a welcome and informative exception to other attractions in the Gulf Region, and hopefully inspire similar initiatives.

Claus Wohlert

nfDigitally signed by nf DN: cn=nf Reason: I am approving this document Date: 2009.04.23 18:34:37 +02'00'

2009 04 29

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WOHLERT Arkitekter A/S

Wohlert Arkitekter A/S Nikolaj Plads 8 E-mail: nf@wohlertarkitekter.dk DK 1067 København K Thorben Schmidt MAA Telefon (+45) 33 13 93 08 Claus Wohlert MAA Telefax (+45) 33 15 23 65 image id form 3508BAH.doc

3508.BAH Image identification form Images in main A3 panels:

filename/image: Context view, photo Feb 2008 by Eskild Bjerre Laursen

filename/image: Courtyard towards Gulf, photo March 2008 by Lore-dana Mantello

filename/image: exterior close-up from South, photo March 2008 by Loredana Mantello

filename/image: exterior evening view from South-West, photo March 2008 by Loredana Mantello

WOHLERT Arkitekter A/S - 2 -

filename/image: Main entrance, photo March 2008 by Loredana Mantello

filename/image: Museum hall, ground floor view, photo March 2008 by Loredana Mantello

filename/image: Night view, South facade, photo March 2008 by Loredana Mantello Other digital images:

filename/image: 01 East Facade, photo March 2008 by Eskild Bjerre Laursen

WOHLERT Arkitekter A/S - 3 -

filename/image: 02 North Facade, photo March 2008 by Wohlert Arkitekter

filename/image: 03 outdoors café area, photo March 2008 by Woh-lert Arkitekter

filename/image: 04 arrival courtyard, photo March 2008 by Wohlert Arkitekter

filename/image: 05 café night view, photo March 2008 by Wohlert Arkitekter

filename/image: 06 café, photo March 2008 by Wohlert Arkitekter

WOHLERT Arkitekter A/S - 4 -

filename/image: 07 museum hall, 1st floor view 1, photo March 2008 by Wohlert Arkitekter

filename/image: 08 museum hall, 1st floor view 2, photo March 2008 by Loredana Mantello

filename/image: 09 museum hall, 1st floor view 3, photo March 2008 by Loredana Mantello

filename/image: 10 museum hall lower level view, photo March 2008 by Loredana Mantello

filename/image: 11 ground floor view , photo March 2008 by Lore-dana Mantello

WOHLERT Arkitekter A/S - 5 -

filename/image: 12 exhibition detail, photo March 2008 by Eskild Bjerre Laursen

MATERIALS IDENTIFICATION FORMProvide a full list of all material being submitted

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Main A3 presentation panels, 2 pcs

DVD including all submitted materials, 1 pc, containing: Main A3 panels, architectural drawings in A3, photo contact sheet w file names, additional A3 photos, photos in main A3panels, company presentation, audiovisual presentation of project

IMAGE IDENTIFICATION FORM

List each digital image (or photograph or slide) below, and specify the name of the photographer and the date of photography. In the space designated"Description", provide a description of the image in English or in French. Also specify any copyright restrictions, if any. You may substitute thisform with your own as long as the required information is included.

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Please see enclosed photo contact sheet with file names.

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