Chapter 4: Case Study and Visitors’ Descriptive Analysis
4.2 Architectural Analysis of Physical Features and Interpretive
4.2.2 Qal’at Al Bahrain Site Museum
Figure 4.9: Information panel at Al Khamis Mosque historic site
built in 2008 an Interpretation Center referred to as Qal’at Al Bahrain site museum (Al-Khalifa, 2011).
4.2.2.1 Site Level: Contextual Configuration
Qal’at Al Bahrain is located on the northern seashore of Bahrain Island, about 6 kilometers away from the capital Manama. It is part of Karbabad village morphology, which is recognized to be a transitional point between the traditional Al Qal’a village and the capital city of Manama (Figure 4.10). Qal’at Al Bahrain has two access points; one is on the south and the second is on the east, mainly used by the visitors coming from the site museum. The fort is located about 350 meters away as measured during this study, a relatively short walk from the site museum.
109Figure 4.10: Qal'at Al Bahrain location in relation to the country, the city and immediate surrounding
Southern Northern
Capital
Muharraq
Country level Bahrain – Capital Governorate
City level Site level
Manama – Karbabad Bahrain Fort
The historic site is surrounded by an attractive seascape and greenery that surrounds the urban infringement (Figure 4.11).
Figure 4.11: Qal'at Al Bahrain surroundings
Qal’at Al Bahrain historic site represents the richest vestiges of Dilmun civilization including; massive stone walls and different types of arches such as pointed arches and round arches, as these vestigaes are a testimony of parts being erected during different time period such as Portuguese, Greek and Islamic (Heritage, 1993a) (Figure 4.12).
Figure 4.12: Qal’at Al Bahrain vestiges from different periods
The site has different architectural features such as a watch tower, below ground rooms and connecting bridges. The site’s monumental and defensive architecture is a testimony to the continous human occupation for almost 4500 years, thus covering most of Bahrain’s known history including Dilmun and its successors during Tylos and Islamic periods (UNESCO, 2005).
Pointed Arch – From the Islamic Period Massive Defensive Walls –
From Portuguese Period Round Arch –
From the Greek Period
The overall contextual setting is composed of the museum exhibition halls and administration, the main historic site of Qal’at Al Bahrain and other archeological remains including the Islamic fort and the costal fortress that share the same context (Figure 4.13). Given its size and the different components, it seems logical that the site museum is at the periphery rather than within the heritage site.
This is for conservation purposes and to provide the visitor a sighting walk through the different phases that the site went through.
Figure 4.13: Qal'at Al Bahrain contextual setting
4
5
1 Bahrain Fort site museum – Exhibition space
2 Bahrain Fort site museum – Administration
3 Bahrain Fort (Main archeological site)
4 Costal fortress (The Greek occupancy)
5 Islamic ruins (Islamic city)
Site Museum – Visitor zone Site Museum – Administration zone Archeological site zone
Paved pathway connecting the Site Museum to the Archeological Site
Several site visits were conducted to understand Qal’at Al Bahrain contextual setting, preservation, and interpretation efforts, incorporated into the site’s message.
Qal’at Al Bahrain location offers the visitors multiple exploratory experiences and acknowledges the different forms of economic, political, and social factors that contributed to shaping the overall significance of the site.
4.2.2.2 Building Level: Architectural Review
Qal’at Al Bahrain site museum is located on the land reclamation areas to the east of the historical site, along the waterfront, and covers 2000 square meters. The site museum is composed of exhibition halls, administration block, restaurant/café, gift shop, security/ service block and a car park (Figure 4.14).
Figure 4.14: Qal'at Al Bahrain site museum aerial view and functional components The site museum was designed by the Danish architectural firm, Wohlert Arkitekter (Arkitekter, 2010). This minimalist architectural design of the site museum was intended to create a unique blend with the surrounding by retaining the scale of the adjacent traditional buildings rather than express an introvert architectural style (Arkitekter, 2010). The museum design is integrated to the
Car park Security/
Service block
Administratio n block
Museum exhibitio n halls Restaurant Bahrain Fort
walkway
surrounding through the use of some of the local architectural elements such as the entrance courtyard, limited openings to the exterior, and the use of light sandy color on the facades (Figure 4.15).
Figure 4.15: Qal'at Al Bahrain site museum architectural style
In addition, these architectural elements are passive design strategies, reminiscent of the vernacular past traditions used to control excessive heat and lighting levels within buildings. For example, the site museum is mainly accessed through a courtyard that forms a transition between the exterior and interior spaces (Figure 4.16). The courtyard acts as an intermediate point that invites the visitor to a framed view of the historic site or a defined entrance to the site museum. In fact, the platform around the site museum allows the visitors to view the museum’s topic of interpretation and to explore the site museum architectural qualities (Figure 4.17).
Front elevation
Site Museum – Inspired by Traditional Architectural Elements
Main Entrance
Figure 4.16: Qal'at Al Bahrain site museum transitional courtyard at the entrance
Section
Figure 4.17: Visual connection from Qal'at Al Bahrain site museum to Qal’at Al Bahrain historic site
The exhibition area is designed in harmony with archeological sedimentation levels around the 30-meter long central display area, representing an integrated reconstruction of the archeological strata (Figure 4.18).
Figure 4.18: Dominant reconstructed archeological wall connecting different exhibition halls at different levels
Visual connection between Qal’at Al Bahrain site museums and the historic site
Framed view from the site museum courtyard towards the historic site
The exhibition is organized in different levels, with the lower one dedicated to the earliest Dilmun period, and the highest to the Islamic exhibition as illustrated in Figure 4.19 (Arkitekter, 2010).
View from the Middle Dilmun period exhibition hall towards early Dilmun period exhibition hall
Figure 4.19: Qal’at Al Bahrain site museum exhibition halls
Different leveled exhibition halls organized around the massive reconstructed archeological wall
The site museum (i.e. interpretive center) architectural design provides the visitors free movement and circulation around and within the museum. The exhibition space spatial layout arrangement on different levels, represents the different phases of Qal’at Al Bahrain historic site creation by different successive
Middle Dilmun Period Early Dilmun Period
Islamic Period
Section view through the different levels of the exhibition halls
human occupation from 2500 B.C. to 1954 A.D. (UNESCO, 2005). This layout plays a critical role in conveying the site museum’s message and is anticipated to contribute to meaning-making (Figure 4.20).
119 Figure 4.20: Qal'at Al Bahrain site museum plan
Adapted by the author after Wohlert Arkitekter (2010)
Museum – Visitor zone Museum–Administration zone
Visitor movement inside the museum Visitor movement around the museum 1. Main entrance
2. Entrance courtyard 3. Museum foyer 4. Archeological wall 5. Exhibition space 6. Restaurant
6. Book shop 7. Lecture hall 8. Others
9. Archeologists rooms 10. Courtyard
11. Restaurant outdoor (pergola)
4.2.2.3 Interpretation Level: Exhibits and Presentation Techniques
Qal’at Al Bahrain site museum exhibits a wide range of displays including artifacts, antiques, small and large-scale objects, maps, and figures. These exhibits rely on multiple presentation techniques including traditional, technological, and tactile strategies (Figure 4.21).
Figure 4.21: Different Presentation techniques in Qal'at Al Bahrain site museum The traditional display techniques include glazed display showcases and display cabinets for artifacts and antiques, as well as wall display boards containing maps, figures, and timelines. On the other hand, technology is used with interactive screens and audio-visual projectors interpreting a specific topic and/or display stands, while the tactile techniques are used in the central display, exhibiting the archeological wall replica that represents different construction techniques.
Technological:
Interactive Screen Tactile:
Archeological wall Replica
Traditional:
Display case and Wall display
Regardless of the display strategy, most incorporated textual captions descripting the object in display with an aim to meet the educational objectives of an exhibit and visitor’s satisfaction (Dumbraveanu et al., 2016; Miklosevic, 2015). Figure 4.22 illustrates the associated textual captions.
Figure 4.22: Textual captions are common communication medium in Qal'at Al Bahrain site museum
Unlike Al Khamis Mosque historic site, Qal’at Al Bahrain heritage site is supported by different presentation techniques including traditional information panels throughout the site, technological techniques in the site audio-guides, art installations, sound and light projection that take place in the evening during scheduled events, and finally tactile interpretation techniques in the whole historic site including the walls and the ancient date press room, known as Madbasa remains (Figure 4.23).
Figure 4.23: Presentation techniques at Qal'at Al Bahrain historic site
Site informative panels
Site audio guide panels
ENKI WELL interactive installation
Al Madbasa (i.e. date press) illuminated art installation
Sound and light projection
An interactive and moving audio visual show.
Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays at 7 pm.
Al Madbasa remains (i.e. date press)
Technological:
Interactive display Tactile:
Archeological
Traditional:
Presentation strategies
Such a diversity of presentation and interpretation techniques is best thought of as a medium to establish a connection between the visitors and what they can discover in historic sites with an emphasis on knowledge and leisure (Brochu and Merriman, 2008; Dumbraveanu et al., 2016). Moreover, interpretation improves the people’s appreciation of the historical resources presented in the nearby historic site (Van Winkle, 2014). Hence, engaging the visitors at the historic site may leave a long-lasting impression compared to presentation techniques used in the site museum because it provides a full body experience (Cravins, 2014; Macleod et al., 2012).