RAK Architecture Prize awarded to design with bold form, sloping massing

Manama, Sept. 30 (BNA): Fatima Nickahdar has been awarded the first prize of the RAK Architecture Prize for her design proposal of the RAK Centre for Performing Arts. Launched in February 2022 and open to Bahraini Nationals 35 years old and under, the RAK Architecture prize invited aspiring architects to submit a schematic design for a Centre for Performing Arts, to be located in Adhari. Candidates were expected to take into consideration the history of Adhari and the surrounding environment. Applications were judged on innovation, sustainability, environmental responsibility, functional design and communality. “I have always believed that Bahrain is home to countless creative individuals,” Shaikh Rashid bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, founder of the RAK Art Foundation and Chairman of the National Council for Arts, said. “There is an enormous amount of untapped potential when it comes to visual artists, whether designers, architects, artists or performers and one of the aims of the RAK Art Foundation is to offer opportunities to help realize this creative potential. I am so grateful to the applicants and delighted by the number of submissions that we received. The standard and level of professionalism is extremely promising.’ The jury commended Nickahdar on the bold form of the proposal with its sloping massing and curvilinear circulation and gardens. The jury appreciated the design of the Center which allowed for outdoor performances to occur on the exterior, combining both stage and landscape onto a single roof plane. For second place, the jury appreciated Latifa and Alanood Khayyat’s proposal, which featured a series of rectangular rooms in plan, connected by an interstitial series of gardens and exhibition/multi-use spaces, and the massing which separated the site into three distinct gardens. The proposal by Sara Salman was chosen for third place for its multi-form proscenium, and its vision of various performance spaces accommodated within a single building. The honorable mention projects were also acknowledged for their technical achievement, citing Adnan Hansia’s bold decision to place the theatre and outdoor spaces within a large water feature; and Mohammed Al Zeera’s elegant choice of materials and finishes for the center. In fitting with RAK Art Foundation’s mission to encourage and support creative innovation in Bahrain, the RAK Architecture Prize aims to provide a platform for promising architects to demonstrate their skill, providing an opportunity to develop a concept that would become an integral part of the shared landscape and contribute to the visual culture of Bahrain.