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la fontaine

birmingham nec

hms president 1918

synathroisis

nous gallery

asia house

dar al-funoon


La Fontaine Centre of Contemporary Art dates back hundred and fifty years and is located in the heart of Manama close to the old “Suq”. We were asked to design a series of new interventions around the main courtyard, to create layers of privacy and shade for specific functions.  sets of screens to respond to locations and functions. Our response was based around developing new screening alternatives continuing a regional tradition of the mashrabiya. Three design characters were created, the archipelago, spheres and grids, each location consisting sometimes of just a single layers, or screens built up from three layers, with offset patterns to trap the light, creating zones of brightness and allowing views in or out depending on the time of day.  After the original installation we were invited back to create a one off metal screening solution for the perimeter wall to improve privacy and create a recognisable motif for the centre, to be seen from the tumult beyond.

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