The site for this new Embassy was chosen in the northeast of Manama, next to the sea in a zone reserved for foreign missions,. The programme is of double nature in that it gives rise to two separate buildings each with a well defined function: a three-storey office building for the chancellery services of the Embassy and a two-storey residence for the Ambassador. These two distinct blocks are adjacent to each other within the same enclosure. The volumes were inspired from the neo-classical palaces in the center of Manama.
The upper floors of the office block are marked by horizonzal bands of fenestration on all façades. Each window is protected by a mashrabiyah. The travertine marble of the façades matches the colour of the sandy environment and the enclosure wall creates a sense of introspection.
The Ambassador's residence, square in plan, has a protective porch above the front entrance and no window openings on the ground floor. Above a band of fenestration in three bays is repeated on each façade. The private rooms open onto the back terrace and a closed yard.
It is constructed with reinforced concrete structure, travertime cladding, and teak mashrabiyah.
Source: Aga Khan Trust for Culture