Bab el Bahrain – GCC Exhibition and information

Bahrain
Bab
el Bahrain
–
GCC Exhibition and
information centre
Exhibition Design
Bahrain, 2011
Client
Ministry of Culture – Bahrain
Designed by
Samer Yamani
Team
Ruben Alonso and Ihab Amaro
The iconic Bab al-Bahrain building was designed by Sir
Charles Belgrave and completed in 1945, when it stood right
at the Gulf water’s edge. Due to extensive land reclamation
in recent years, however, the building is now inland.
Given this shift, our proposal was to symbolically reintroduce the Gulf into the interior of the building, using water
imagery and effects to create a basin that binds all of the
Gulf Cooperation Council countries together. In the resulting installation, Gulf waves and water patterns convey information and images from GCC countries to the exhibition
visitors through animations and projections – inspired by
the work of Uršula Berlot – projected onto large plexiglass
bubbles emerging from the dark interior space. This forms
an interactive surface, with each GCC member country represented by an individual bubble. The combination of the
white historic façade and the dark, high-tech inner space
of the exhibition adds an element of surprise to the exhibition unfolding inside. The information centre is formed of
multi-use furniture, doubling up as an information desk and
shelving units to display souvenir merchandise.
3
Bahrain
Pearl Road
–
Information centre
and car park
Architecture
/ Interior Design
/ Landscape
Bahrain, 2011
Client
Ministry of Culture – Bahrain
Designed by
Samer Yamani – Ruben Alonso
Team
Ihab Amaro
Bahrain’s Pearl Road is a designated UNESCO World
Heritage Site, the second site in Bahrain to be included
on the list after the Bahrain Fort gained its status in 2005.
One of the main points on the road is an information centre and car park in the heart of old Muharraq.
Our concept was to create a multi-functional skin that is a
landmark monument, a public space, a green surface, a
shaded area, a radiant cooling system, and an art installation. An adaptive tube skin contains an array of tubes
performing homogeneously with two functions: hydroponic cultivation and a radiant cooling system. Inside the
tubes water circulates in a closed circuit, optimising water
consumption. The whole structure allows for vegetation
to be cultivated over the space, providing natural shade.
Sustainability can be understood as doing more with less
– using one single element for multiple purposes. The
tubes represent infrastructure, media and expression.
They cooperate with the surrounding environment and
create diversity.
The information centre is set into the ground: visitors enter
it by going down through a large glass cube, offering a
metaphoric link with the pearl divers’ deep sea explorations. The interior of the centre is designed to convey the
dual sensation of high-technology and peace.
9
Bahrain
Restoration
/ Interior Design
Bahrain, 2010
Lukmatina
–
Bahraini Gourmet
Restaurant
Client
Shaikh Ebrahim Bin Mohammed Al
Khalifa Center for Culture
and Research- Bahrain.
Designed by
Samer Yamani - Ruben Alonso.
Team
Ehab Amaro
An old traditional house in Old Muharraq, with a resilient
fig tree steadfast inside: our concept was to learn from the
fig tree, and our aim was to convey the atmosphere of an
old Bahraini house in a contemporary and prismatic way.
The fig leaves extend as a fractal throughout the interior
space; when we added other performative elements to the
fig tree’s space, the combination created a ‘Performative
Map’ delimiting the patio.
The prismatic elements we used were vegetation, shading,
artificial light, traditional coloured glass, mirrors, reflections, and occlusion – all of which reflect, grow, and interact with the space.
19
CLOUD 9
Architecture
/ Landscape
Damascus, 2006
Damascus
Zoo
Client
Damascus City Council
Designed by
Enric Ruiz Geli – Cloud 9 team
Mohsen Maksoud – MAG team
Project coordinator
and content manager
Samer Yamani
Owning Party
Syrian Governorate
Land Area
210.000 m2
The first zoo in Damascus, with the biggest aviary cage
and the highest mountain, the project was designed as
a scenography of rivers and trees. The zoo comprises
a landscape of one thousand and one olive trees – a
theatre of trees, animals and stones. The visitors are the
public. We explain the collection through rivers – the Euphrates, the Nile and the Danube – and the concept is
Syria as the convergence point between three continents:
Africa, Asia and Europe.
29
CLOUD 9
Exhibition design
Barcelona, 2009
The
Third Industrial
Revolution
–
Centre d’Art
Santa Mònica
Interior exhibition concept
and design
Samer Yamani, Nora Graw
Photographer
Luis Ros © Cloud 9
This exhibition explores the dynamic architecture and
performance-based work of Enric Ruiz-Geli and Cloud
9. Their aim is to work with ‘particles’ generating an architecture that becomes a ‘power plant’ in balance with
nature, to achieve the third industrial revolution, led by J.
Rifkin. The work uses research and design projects to create added value through CNC technologies that generate
new patents, expanding the boundaries of architecture.
33
CLOUD 9
Architecture
/ Landscape Design
Bahrain, 2009
Team members
Tecnalia, Acciona I+D, Typsa,
Grupo JG, the American landscaper
Margie Ruddick and the local team
Akbari Architects,
all coordinated by the architect
Enric Ruiz-Geli – Cloud 9
New Bahrain
Polytechnic University
Campus
–
Tender restricted
to 10 international
design studios
Project coordinator
and content manager
Samer Yamani
The creation of the Bahrain Polytechnic University is designed to sow the seeds of change in this part of the Arabian Gulf, transforming it from an oil-based economy to
one based on innovation and knowledge. We have made
two project presentations in Bahrain, the most recent to
Prince Shaikh Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, who showed
interest in our proposal.
37
Aleppo, Capital of Islamic Culture 2006
Exhibition and garden design
Aleppo – Syria, 2006
With the support of
FUNCI Islamic Culture
Foundation, Madrid
Aleppo City Council
www.funci.org
Andalusia
Gardens
–
Cultural
exchange
On the occasion of Aleppo celebrating its status as Capital of Islamic Culture 2006, I designed several activities
for FUNCI, the Islamic Culture Foundation. The Andalusia
Gardens project was designed as a scenography of rivers
and trees in a Spanish-Arabian style garden which FUNCI were to complete. The garden’s site was granted to the
project by the Mayor of Aleppo, Dr. Tamer Al Hajja, in
the grounds of the al-Sabil public park, an impressive 17
hectare garden nestled in the city centre, dating from the
days of the French protectorate. The opening event centred around the laying of the garden’s cornerstone, and
was immediately followed by the inauguration of an exhibition entitled ‘The Andalusian Garden’ in al-Shebani, a
beautiful Coptic building.
41
Aleppo, Capital of Islamic Culture 2006
Concept and Direction
Samer Yamani
Casting by
Wael Hadad, Javier Curdome,
Ayham Agah
Dancers, musicians and costumes
Espart Catala
With the support of
The Ethnographic Museum,
Barcelona, Barcelona City Council,
Aleppo City Council,
Aleppo Capital of Islamic Culture 2006,
Damascus Capital of Arabic Culture 2008,
Tartous City Council,
Lattakia City Council
Prince of Aleppo
/ Ali Bey Returns
–
Urban exhibition and
street shows
This multifaceted project was inspired by the story of Domingo Badia y Leblich, the famous eighteenth-century traveller
from Barcelona who was the first westerner to visit Mecca, in
the guise of a wandering prince from Aleppo. Claiming to be
on his way back from travels in Europe to Syria via Morocco
and Arabia, the Spaniard took on the name and identity of
Ali Bey Alabassi during his visit to Mecca – posing as an imaginary illustrious pilgrim descended from the Prophet.
I decided to revive his story and his legendary travels –
especially the part related to his stay in Syria – as part of
the Aleppo 2006 Capital of Islamic Culture celebrations.
Ali Bey´s accounts remain among the most romantic
and exotic books published about the region, as he explained in exquisite detail the daily lives of each of the
cities he visited.
I designed an urban exhibition which was staged, in collaboration with The Barcelona Ethnography Museum, in
45
Aleppo, Capital of Islamic Culture 2006
front of each monument in the old city of Aleppo that Ali
Bey mentioned in his book, in such a way that visitors could
retrace his steps and read his comments about each of the
more than 25 locations included in the narrative, such as
mosques, squares, and hamams. A street show at the door
of the citadel of Aleppo was written and performed aiming
to encourage the public to visit the related exhibition.
The immense success of this interactive urban exhibition
and the direct contact with the public generated by the
street show both encouraged me to design another action
as part of the Damascus Capital of Arabic Culture 2008
celebrations. This time, the event was on a much larger
scale: we presented one of the biggest foreign street shows
ever held in Syria, entitled ‘Ali Bey Returns’, with more then
30 traditional Catalan dancers and musicians from the folkloric group ‘Espart Catala’ performing in Damascus. The
Spanish actor Javier Curdome and the Syrian actor Ayham
Agah starred, both playing traditional Arabic storytellers or hakawatis recounting the exploits of Ali Bey in the
streets of the old city accompanied by traditional music,
dances, masks and costumes from Ali Bey´s time, creating
the right historic ambiance for the 200-year-old story. The
show was performed nine times in Damascus, Lattakia and
Tartous. The events were very well received and were covered by local, regional and international media, such as:
Al Jazeera TV – Qatar, Reuters News Agency – UK,
Sana News Agency – Syria, France Press – France,
Al-Arabiya – Dubai, Syrian TV – Syria, Al-Dunia TV –
Syria, Radio Arabisc – Syria, Radio Saot al Shabab
– Syria, Tartous TV – Syria, Tishreen newspaper –
Syria, Al Baeth newspaper – Syria, Al Arab newspaper – Qatar, What’s On – Syria, Baladna – Syria,
www.champres.net
47
Aleppo, Capital of Islamic Culture 2006
Miquel Arnal
in Aleppo
Photography research,
exhibition and book design
Aleppo, 2006
Book concept
and exhibition design
Samer Yamani
Photos by
Miquel Arnal
With the support of
City Council of Aleppo,
Osman Munif Aidi
Foundation,
Syrian Air lines
Miquel Arnal started a personal photographic project
driven by his artistic vision, in which he attempts to capture natural and human architecture as one fabric. His
book ‘Terra’ published by ACTAR, was the first of this
series of books.
My project was to create a photography research book
with him exploring the interaction between the stories, the
people and the architecture of Aleppo, entitled ‘Aleppo,
Culture and Architecture.’ Over two weeks the project documented the nooks and crannies of the old city of Aleppo,
revealing its secrets through unique photography.
An official launch event took place as part of an exhibition held in the old city of Aleppo at al-Bimaristan alNowry by the Mayor of Aleppo, Dr. Tamer Al Hajjeh.
59
Aleppo, Capital of Islamic Culture 2006
Aleppo,
History of Civilization
Publication
Aleppo, 2006
Book idea and design
Samer Yamani
With the support of
City Council of Aleppo,
Osman Munif Aidi Foundation,
Syrian Arab Airlines
This unique book aims to document some features of the
ancient city of Aleppo in a scientific way, on both the historical and the virtual level, and has of course taken on
an even greater significance given the huge destruction
in Aleppo of recent times. The 3D virtual images portray
destroyed or damaged parts of some of the most emblematic monuments in old Aleppo. Four archaeological sites
were selected for the study: Jumblat House, the temple of
the Weather Goddess in Aleppo citadel, the al-Halwayeh
School, and the old city gate Bab al-Salam.
67
Damascus
Cement Soul
–
Mourning the Arabic
Contemporary Architect
Concept and Direction
Samer Yamani
Damascus is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the
world, with some of the most important architectural heritage in Western Asia and the Muslim world. However, the
grim reality of the Syrian capital´s contemporary architecture – a forest of monstrous cement with no soul – prevents
its aesthetic development. Cement Soul was an attempt to
communicate back to the city the suffering of the city and
its inhabitants, and to announce a period of mourning for
the contemporary Arab architect and designer.
Starring
Rami Farah - Dancer
Safwan Dahol - Plastic Artist
Kuliet Khori - Novelist
Mohamad Kujja - Professor
Through contemporary dance, music and live performance by various Damascus-based artists and creatives
who all shared the same vision and the same message, a
scream was expressed: ‘No more cement monstrosities in
our cities, no more destroying our architectural identity.’
Choreography
Rami Farah
The Arab architect was represented by a dancer in white
passing through the modern city, trying to find his soul
and interact with its buildings through dance. At the end
of the performance, overcome by the cement of the modern city, he expires at the gate to the old city of Damascus, dying within reach of his ancient architectural creations inside the old city walls.
Interactive performance
Damascus, 2006
This work was presented at the opening gala of The First
Arabic Contemporary Architecture Festival held in Damascus in 2006.
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Damascus
Cook & Design
Art work Culinary experimentation
Damascus, 2006
Concept and direction
Samer Yamani
Starring
Sara Shama
Aseel Hamdan
Fouad Dahdoh
Saousan Mansour
Samer Yamani
Maqluba, kibbeh, and hummus are all famous traditional
Syrian dishes. Each is composed of several ingredients,
and each tells a story through its colour, taste, texture, and
aroma – the story of its land and culture. But what about
contemporary Syrian gastronomy? Cook & Design was an
attempt to provoke Syrian chefs and creatives to explore
a very important element of Syrian culture – gastronomy.
The dishes, created by five different creatives from five creative sectors, were presented at the Gala night dinner for
The First Arabic Contemporary Architecture Festival, held
in Damascus in 2006.
83
Damascus
The Jameel Prize
–
Workshop and
exhibition
Traditional creative practices
to produce contemporary work
Workshop and art exhibition
Damascus, 2010
Workshop facilitators
Samer Yamani,
Cameel Zakharia
Photographer
Omar Sanadiki
Copyrights
The British Council
Damascus
Fifteen emerging Syrian artists and designers were given
the opportunity to exhibit their work in the National Museum in Damascus alongside the world renowned finalists
of the 2009 Jameel Prize, an international prize for contemporary artists and designers influenced by Islamic art,
craft and design traditions.
This opportunity was the result of a three-day workshop
exploring the influence of traditional Islamic artistry and
craftsmanship on contemporary art and design at Mustapha Ali Gallery. The workshop was organised by the British
Council and Rawafed, the Cultural Project of The Syria Trust
for Development, in association with the World Collections
Programme, the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), and
the Abdul Latif Jameel Community Services Programmes,
in conjunction with the Jameel Prize exhibition.
Syrian artists from a range of disciplines including fine art,
sculpture, animation, visual communication and industrial
design were chosen from over 70 applicants to participate
in the workshop, which included talks by a range of experts from Syria and the region on specialist topics such
as 3D design, prototyping and marketing art and design.
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