projects | Viabizzuno progettiamo la luce

the kingdom of bahrain, an archipelago of 33 islands located on the western seaboard of the persian gulf between qatar and saudi arabia, is participating in expo 2015 with a pavilion called ‘archaeologies of green – reflections on the agrarian and archaeological heritage of the country’. designed by architect anne holtrop and the landscape architect anouk vogel, the pavilion was conceived as a continuous landscape of two thousand square metres featuring ten orchards, one for each of the country’s main native fruit trees. divided and intersected by covered exhibition areas, the orchards bear witness to the rich agricultural heritage of the archipelago and form the main part of the exhibition. the shapes of each of the panels are freely inspired by the shapes suggested by the archaeological remains of the temple of barbar in bahrain, the temple of enki, the god of fresh water who, according to ancient local beliefs, lived with his wife in the paradise of dilmun (trans. bright place), and from where he created the lush vegetation and agriculture that characterise bahrain which, otherwise, would be an arid region. from this conception was derived a design that is both geometric and abstract, consisting of curved and straight lines, which brings to life within the confines of the walls an amazingly rich spatial experience. the architecture and the landscape are conceived as a single interconnected entity that makes up the whole; the orchards are interspersed with an exhibition presenting archaeological artefacts from the ancient civilizations of dilmun and tylos, highlighting the agricultural practices of the time and the myths of the archipelago. a perfect ending to the exhibition, a hall hosts a short film on the current agricultural landscape of bahrain, produced by the director and photographer armin linke. made up of 350 different prefabricated white cement modules, the concrete elements are assembled using a system of dry seams, stacked one above the other and finished with brass fittings. the linear austerity of the surfaces is enlivened by the discreet presence of the lighting system: built into the ceiling in order to hide the technical systems of the propellers, the mn01 diffusers of the ceiling mounted n55 units at a glance look like drops of light falling from above. at the end of expo 2015, all of the components will be dismantled and shipped in bahrain; once rebuilt, the pavilion will serve as a botanical garden, a new place designed to showcase the country’s agrarian heritage with the aim of familiarising the local and international public with the agricultural heritage of the archipelago.