The Riwaq Pavilion
Tags: arts and culture, events and exhibitions, timber, temporary structures, low carbon
Related projects: Biennale d'Architecture et de Paysage 2022
- Client: Brighton Festival
- Architect: Marwa Al-Sabouni and Ghassan Jansiz
- Photography: Jim Stephenson
- Completion: 2022
- Value: Confidential
- Expertise: Structures
Webb Yates Engineers collaborated with Syrian architects Marwa Al-Sabouni and Ghassan Jansiz to create a pop-up, crescent-shaped colonnade on the seafront in Hove, England.
Called The Riwaq after the Arabic word for colonnade, the structure was commissioned as a semi-outdoor community space for the 2022 Brighton Festival, which ran from 7 to 29 May.
This bespoke horseshoe-shaped structure, a staple of Islamic architecture, spans almost 30 metres in diameter, made from CNC cut plywood, and serve as a transitional creative threshold between the surrounding city and the great outdoors.
Each plywood section was combined on-site to create an arch and positioned atop a wooden base that forms the crescent shape. The top of each arch is decorated with a small carving that was drawn from the design's development stages.
The project was realised with the support of property development company Moda Living and organisation Timber Development UK, with additional support from timber distributor DHH Timber and curator Vanessa Norwood.