House for Architectural Heritage
Noura Al Sayeh and Leopold Bianchini

Located in Muharraq, Bahrain, the House for Architectural Heritage houses the archival collection of John Yarwood, as well as serving as an exhibition space for architecture exhibition.

The building safeguards the archival collection including sketches and drawings of John Yarwood, architect and head of urban renewal in the Ministry of Housing.

The project, designed by Noura Al Sayeh and Leopold Banchini Architects, is conceived as a beam structure that frames the existing adjacent walls of the two neighbouring buildings, serving as a showcase for the architectural heritage of the city.

The building is an intrinsic expression of the urban condition of the plot, offering an x-ray view into the urban form of the city and revealing the different phases of construction that the city has witnessed.

The two main facades contain two sliding doors that can be lifted, opening the exhibition space to the streets, and transforming the building into a public passage.

The exhibition space becomes one with the street encouraging more public participation.

By providing a space that can be completely opened on to the streets, in a neighbourhood that houses communities that often feel excluded, the project attempts to provide a new exhibition typology.

The project addresses through its architectural conception the challenges of creating cultural spaces that hold a more participatory approach to local communities.

By carefully inserting itself within a tight urban fabric, conserving the "found" state of the inner walls, the project freezes an urban condition that is often transient within the fast pace of development in the city.

The building is built in reinforced concrete, with a beam that links both sides of the street. The reinforced concrete is juxtaposed to the other building materials of the city.

Such as coral stone, coral stone rubble and block work.

The concrete structure is thermally insulated, while the internal space is shielded from direct sunlight, considerably reducing the need for cooling.

Authors Noura Al Sayeh and Leopold Banchini Architects 
Location Muharraq, Kingdom of Bahrain. 
Surface 209 sqm
Year 2017
Client Sh. Ebrahim Centre for Culture & Research
Photography Dylan Perrenoud
Evergreen School Azatlyk Square Bang Nong Saeng Kindergarten VDC Naidi Community Hall Belvedere Schieblock and Luchtsingel Gallery Without Walls

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