Heatwave combines a geothermal well, which brings in cool air from underground, with a solar chimney that expels warm air. Reuters
Heatwave combines a geothermal well, which brings in cool air from underground, with a solar chimney that expels warm air. Reuters
Heatwave combines a geothermal well, which brings in cool air from underground, with a solar chimney that expels warm air. Reuters
Heatwave combines a geothermal well, which brings in cool air from underground, with a solar chimney that expels warm air. Reuters

Heatwave: How Bahrain's award-winning pavilion will live on beyond Venice Biennale


Razmig Bedirian
  • English
  • Arabic

Bahrain’s award-winning pavilion at the Venice Biennale of Architecture may inspire several new structures across the kingdom – its passive cooling technology offering construction workers shade and respite from the heat.

“The idea is to replicate this prototype across several sites in Bahrain,” explains Noura Al Sayeh-Holtrop, deputy commissioner of the project. “The pavilion served as a test for a shading structure that we hope to implement across Bahrain in the near future.”

Heatwave is commissioned by Shaikh Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, president of the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities. It is curated by architect Andrea Faraguna.

The project explores how architecture can respond to rising temperatures. The geothermal cooling system on display draws from the techniques used in vernacular architecture from Bahrain and the wider region. However, it has been bolstered by contemporary innovation.

The structure combines a geothermal well, which brings cool air from underground, as well as a solar chimney that expels the warm air out. These two forces are connected in what the designers call a “thermo-hygrometric axis” that creates a gentle, controlled climate inside the space – all without machinery.

Heatwave is commissioned by Shaikh Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, president of the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities. Photo: The National Pavilion of the Kingdom of Bahrain
Heatwave is commissioned by Shaikh Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, president of the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities. Photo: The National Pavilion of the Kingdom of Bahrain

“Temperatures are rising across the world, but their effects are unequal, and the Gulf is one of the regions that will be the most affected,” Al Sayeh-Holtrop says. “The urgency of the situation is what compelled us to focus on this topic for our national pavilion at the biennale. These public shading spaces are conceived to provide shade and cooling for the most vulnerable members of society and those most exposed to heatwaves: construction workers on work sites.”

The pavilion underscores this connection between climate, architecture and social equity through its scenography. Sandbags are piled around the central geothermal well – acting as seating to visitors.

“The proposal starts by acknowledging the alarming issue of rising temperatures and its consequences, specifically for the Gulf region,” Al Sayeh-Holtrop says.

“Yet, it is also a call not to be fatalist about the situation but to investigate what the current possibilities are, reinvesting existing technologies and practices and thinking of simple ways of deploying them in an affordable, modular and replicable manner.”

Heatwave, Al Sayeh-Holtrop adds, may be rooted in traditions from the Gulf, but it invites architects worldwide to consider “local solutions” to climate challenges.

The pavilion highlights the work that has gone into its construction. Photo: The National Pavilion of the Kingdom of Bahrain
The pavilion highlights the work that has gone into its construction. Photo: The National Pavilion of the Kingdom of Bahrain

“From Bahrain and from the Gulf, we aim to propose local solutions to global challenges that, while rooted in the contemporary realities of our urban conditions, are inspired by ancestral methods of dealing with the heat,” she says.

While Heatwave may go on to inspire innovative shading structures across Bahrain, there are plans for the project in Venice to be reappropriated after the biennale concludes in November.

“We are in discussion with a few partners in Venice to relocate the installation to a location in the laguna, where it can serve as a public shading structure,” Al Sayeh-Holtrop says. “In terms of sustainability, it would not make sense to ship this installation back to Bahrain, so we are looking for a site that is in or close to Venice.”

Heatwave is Bahrain's second Golden Lion win. The country’s pavilion also received the top honour at the Venice Biennale of Architecture in 2010. That project, entitled Reclaim, examined the social implications of extensive land reclamation in an island nation.

“Awards are always great motivations to continue working and talking about important issues,” Al Sayeh-Holtrop says.

“It's important for us in Bahrain to have a seat in international architectural dialogues and exhibitions and to use these platforms to shed light on the urgent issues that we are addressing.”

Cricket World Cup League 2

UAE results
Lost to Oman by eight runs
Beat Namibia by three wickets
Lost to Oman by 12 runs
Beat Namibia by 43 runs

UAE fixtures
Free admission. All fixtures broadcast live on icc.tv

Tuesday March 15, v PNG at Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Friday March 18, v Nepal at Dubai International Stadium
Saturday March 19, v PNG at Dubai International Stadium
Monday March 21, v Nepal at Dubai International Stadium

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Company%20profile
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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THE BIO

Ms Al Ameri likes the variety of her job, and the daily environmental challenges she is presented with.

Regular contact with wildlife is the most appealing part of her role at the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi.

She loves to explore new destinations and lives by her motto of being a voice in the world, and not an echo.

She is the youngest of three children, and has a brother and sister.

Her favourite book, Moby Dick by Herman Melville helped inspire her towards a career exploring  the natural world.

Jetour T1 specs

Engine: 2-litre turbocharged

Power: 254hp

Torque: 390Nm

Price: From Dh126,000

Available: Now

The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E77kWh%202%20motors%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E178bhp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E410Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERange%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E402km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDh%2C150%2C000%20(estimate)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ETBC%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting 

2. Prayer 

3. Hajj 

4. Shahada 

5. Zakat 

WOMAN AND CHILD

Director: Saeed Roustaee

Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi

Rating: 4/5

Know your Camel lingo

The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home

Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless

Asayel camels - sleek, short-haired hound-like racers

Majahim - chocolate-brown camels that can grow to weigh two tonnes. They were only valued for milk until camel pageantry took off in the 1990s

Millions Street - the thoroughfare where camels are led and where white 4x4s throng throughout the festival

The%20Woman%20King%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Gina%20Prince-Bythewood%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Viola%20Davis%2C%20Thuso%20Mbedu%2C%20Sheila%20Atim%2C%20Lashana%20Lynch%2C%20John%20Boyega%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA

Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi

Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser

Rating: 4.5/5

RESULT

Esperance de Tunis 1 Guadalajara 1 
(Esperance won 6-5 on penalties)
Esperance: Belaili 38’
Guadalajara: Sandoval 5’

RESULT

Copa del Rey, semi-final second leg

Real Madrid 0
Barcelona 3 (Suarez (50', 73' pen), Varane (69' OG)

MATCH INFO

Fixture: Thailand v UAE, Tuesday, 4pm (UAE)

TV: Abu Dhabi Sports

While you're here
Labour dispute

The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.


- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law 

Dubai Bling season three

Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed 

Rating: 1/5

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Some of Darwish's last words

"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008

His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.

THE SPECS

Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine 

Power: 420kW

Torque: 780Nm

Transmission: 8-speed automatic

Price: From Dh1,350,000

On sale: Available for preorder now

What went into the film

25 visual effects (VFX) studios

2,150 VFX shots in a film with 2,500 shots

1,000 VFX artists

3,000 technicians

10 Concept artists, 25 3D designers

New sound technology, named 4D SRL

 

Ibrahim's play list

Completed an electrical diploma at the Adnoc Technical Institute

Works as a public relations officer with Adnoc

Apart from the piano, he plays the accordion, oud and guitar

His favourite composer is Johann Sebastian Bach

Also enjoys listening to Mozart

Likes all genres of music including Arabic music and jazz

Enjoys rock groups Scorpions and Metallica 

Other musicians he likes are Syrian-American pianist Malek Jandali and Lebanese oud player Rabih Abou Khalil

TRAINING FOR TOKYO

A typical week's training for Sebastian, who is competing at the ITU Abu Dhabi World Triathlon on March 8-9:

  • Four swim sessions (14km)
  • Three bike sessions (200km)
  • Four run sessions (45km)
  • Two strength and conditioning session (two hours)
  • One session therapy session at DISC Dubai
  • Two-three hours of stretching and self-maintenance of the body

ITU Abu Dhabi World Triathlon

For more information go to www.abudhabi.triathlon.org.

The biog

Favourite colour: Brown

Favourite Movie: Resident Evil

Hobbies: Painting, Cooking, Imitating Voices

Favourite food: Pizza

Trivia: Was the voice of three characters in the Emirati animation, Shaabiyat Al Cartoon

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Updated: May 20, 2025, 5:20 AM`