Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Six unique public bench designs by Bahrain-based artists, architects and designers are set to be woven into the revamped fabric of Muharraq’s Pearling Path, writes Naman Arora.
The projects were announced as the winners of the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities’ (Baca) ‘Bench in Muharraq’ competition, held in collaboration with the Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Ministry.
“The winning designs were selected based on form and function, aesthetics, ease of use, interaction with the public and society, durability of manufacturing materials, sustainability, and the bench’s ability to withstand the climate characteristics of the Kingdom of Bahrain and its maintenance requirements,” a Baca spokesperson said in a statement.
Rawan Abdulrahman, Husam Yousif, Noora Fraidoon and Nader Al Abbasi, as well as the teams of Arterior Interior Design, and Civil Architecture won the contest held at the end of last year.
The six designs will be integrated into publicly accessible areas of Muharraq, which was recognised as the Unesco Creative City of Design in 2019.
Nader’s bench, located neared the Murad House is made of three concrete slabs layered atop each other, and integrates well with the natural and human ecosystems around it. Its organic design inspires more face-to-face interaction with people facing one another instead of sitting side-by-side.
“The design takes its inspiration from the aerial view of the Pearling Path,” Nader told GulfWeekly.
“The shape gives people the flexibility to face each other and chat or any direction they wish. The area is shaded by the tree centred in the chair and I picked the location based on the road I used to take during my childhood when traveling between school and home.”
While Nader’s design takes inspiration from interdependence, the Civil Architecture team, comprised of Ali Kareemi and Hamed Bukhamseen, took its stimulus from Muharraq’s coral stone architecture and its changing coastline.
“We were looking at the coastline, and wondered where the stones were acquired for the armoured seawall used in the reclamation around Muharraq and Bahrain,” Ali explained.
“We found that most of the stones came from a 40-year-old limestone quarry in the kingdom, which is about to run out of usable limestone.
“So we thought it would be interesting to preserve some of it for furniture, to allow a kind of human interaction with the depleting stones rather than using them entirely for infrastructure.
“In that sense these benches, aside from referencing the island’s geological history, also place these historic sites from the past two centuries within the larger context of the previous 100 million years.”
Drawing from Bahrain’s marine legacy, Husam’s design is inspired by traditional fishing dhows, with recycled wood from decommissioned vessels used as the primary bench material.
Noora, taking inspiration from the kingdom’s rich pearling heritage, chose ships’ crews as her inspiration – the bench is shaped like a half cylinder with brass rods that are intended to weather over time.
Rawan was inspired by the treasures themselves, with pearl-shaped spheres close to the benches.
The Arterior Interior Design team chose the Pearling Path Visitor Centre and its concrete canopy as its muse, thinning the line between function and art.
“Once the benches are installed, I am looking forward to sitting with my family and telling my son and daughter about my memories of Muharraq, their grandparents’ homes, and why it is important to contribute to Bahrain and where you live,” Nader added.
All six designs will be manufactured and placed along the Pearling Path.
Baca earlier told reporters that the annual competition could be expanded this year to cover the suburbs of the historic city.
For details, visit @culturebah on Instagram.
