Border Crossing Station - ACSA/AISC Steel Competition
Saudi Arabia and Bahrain Border
Entire Board Compilation
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Convergence is bringing two different cultures, communities, and lifestyles together as one. Through shifting and weaving of different components, this border crossing station will provide a space that emphasizes the cultural change between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. We achieved this by peeling and shifting the perforated screens that cover the customs and inspection buildings.
The women’s inspection has been extruded from the rest of the program. This gives them a hierarchy, because the woman’s journey through customs will be more of a priority than the mans. This is due to the cultural condition of women’s hijabs and the inspectors need to accurately identify them.
At the border crossing of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, there are 18,000 cars passing daily and upwards of 60,000 cars passing through on the weekends. The area is popular because of the significant change in culture for the Saudi Arabian people. In Bahrain, all people are allowed to drink alcohol and party. Women are allowed to drive and expose their face. The site is on a man-made island called Middle Island within the Persian Gulf.
The island is centered on the 16 mile span of the king fahd causeway. This island was built on the site of two shifting tectonic plates that caused a buildup of sand. The island is full of restaurants and shops and tourist attractions. For our site, we are converging the existing ten border stops: the Passport control, the vehicle inspection, the women’s identity check, and the agricultural/animal inspection, into two stations on each side of the border. We focused on the Bahrain station, but the scheme is mirrored on the Saudi Arabian side.
Board 1
Board 2
Board 3
Board 4
