Bahrain City Centre is a mixed-use development designed as the main attraction for Manama, Bahrain’s residents, visitors and tourists. Strategically located on Sheikh Khalifa Bin Salman Highway in the heart of Manama, Bahrain City Centre offers a world-class retail experience with 350 retailers spread over 1.6 million square feet.
Envisioned as a 24-hour, family-friendly destination, the centre also includes the region’s largest indoor/outdoor water park, a family entertainment centre, a 20-screen cinema, an international food court, 13 restaurants, and two luxury hotels.
The design for Bahrain City Centre reflects the region’s coastal influences with the symbolic use of aquatic features throughout the centre. The resulting architectural language is derived from waterfront imagery—cool colors, soft forms and filtered light provide a refreshing contrast from the heat and intensity of the external environment.
The signature architectural element is a dynamic wave-like structure that serves as the project's backbone. The 'wave roof’ captures light flooding in from skylights and creates a calming environment. The multi-level space contains a central plaza that facilitates circulation throughout the center and also functions as a central gathering place.
Because of the site’s size constraints, Bahrain City Centre is designed as a high-density project built vertically on three levels. Bahrain City Centre’s circulation is a refined race-track pattern with distinct shopping and entertainment districts on each of the site’s four corners—all anchored by the grand central plaza.
To ensure that traffic flows evenly, parking was stacked next to the three levels of the mallwith a series of multi-level ramps providing efficient distribution of traffic throughout the car parks.
Due to the region’s hot, desert climate, special considerations were given to environmental issues. The centre’s wave-like architectural elements, site orientation and skylights are designed to mitigate solar gain while providing an abundance of natural light. To achieve this, the majority of sunlight is filtered into the mall spaces through screens and clerestory windows.
Project Name: Bahrain City Centre
Location: Manama, Bahrain
Square Footage: 1.6 million
Design Architect: RTKL - UK Ltd.
Development Team: Majid Al Futtaim Group
Implementation Architect: Woods Bagot
Environmental Graphic Design: RTKL Associates Inc.
Lighting Design: Bliss Fasman
Landscape Design: Woods Bagot
Structural Engineering: Mott MacDonald
Services Engineering: Mott MacDonald
Stone Supply: INCOVECA