tradition meets contemporary design for Al Naseej Factory

 

Date palms and sunken seating areas populate a tight grid of timber columns and beams for Al Naseej Factory in Bani Jamrah village in Bahrain. Designed by Leopold Banchini Architects, this new low-lying building is a textile weaving facility and social space for local craftspeople. The project is part of a broader effort by the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities to redefine and reinvigorate traditional crafts and industries across the country.

leopold banchini celebrates local craft with textile weaving factory in bahrain
images © Dylan Perrenoud

 

 

To design the factory, the architects looked to traditional ways of working. Leopold Banchini Architects explains that, shaded by a light Arish structure, Bahraini weavers used to dig a hole in the ground to fit their legs. By this simple action, the ground was transformed into an endless table to tense the wires needed for their delicate work. Arish is a traditional building technique that uses the dry leaves of date palms and weaves them into a strong surface. As such, both the textile and the architecture protecting the artisans were weaved onsite.leopold banchini celebrates local craft with textile weaving factory in bahrain

 

 

A tight grid of timber columns and beams is applied to the site as both an organizing principle and reference to the date palm plantations of the north of the island irrigated by a complex network of water channels. The resulting building is a low and quiet gridded street elevation stretching the entire boundary of the site. Only the palm trees pierce through the horizontal ceiling and become the expression of the building.

leopold banchini celebrates local craft with textile weaving factory in bahrain

 

 

Internally however, the structure gains figuration derived from the below grade pits in which the weavers sit whilst operating the timber loom. To this end, spaces for both the production of tapestries and weavings as well as social exchange are defined through a series of precise excavations below the finished floor level of the building. Date palms, ponds and fountains are placed throughout the interior of the project to further break down the rigidity of the gridded structure. The structure is both a garden and a building, open yet protected. Specific functions enclosed solely by glass panels dissolve in the shaded garden.

 

Composed of regionally available materials, the construction of the building relies upon and celebrates local construction and craft traditions. The shaded structure, greenery, water network and seating areas create a naturally refreshing garden for the inhabitants of the village; a weaved architecture.

leopold banchini celebrates local craft with textile weaving factory in bahrain

leopold banchini celebrates local craft with textile weaving factory in bahrain

leopold banchini celebrates local craft with textile weaving factory in bahrain

leopold banchini celebrates local craft with textile weaving factory in bahrain 

leopold banchini celebrates local craft with textile weaving factory in bahrain

leopold banchini celebrates local craft with textile weaving factory in bahrain

 

 

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site plan and section
site plan and section
floor plan and roof layouts and sections
floor plan and roof layouts and sections

project info:

 

name: Al Naseej Textile Factory
location: Bani Jamra, Bahrain

architecture: Leopold Banchini Architects

photography: Dylan Perrenoud

 

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

 

edited by: lynne myers | designboom