Sky Bönan

Thresholds can be described as recognizable diffusers of transition. Thresholds ray to our memory and our unconscious understanding of movement. These visible and invisible elements dictate our perception of space, time, movement, direction, and choice. 

Al-Balad, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. A city defined by its ever-changing environment, challenges of continues overlap of different information, cultures and legislation bring to light the hard path in researching one’s own true belonging. This project analyses the boundaries, both visible and invisible, in the social and political realm. Through the analysis of conviviality, equality and social rights, the project attempts in finding the limits and possibilities in a spatial environment that lives through the in-between. The project stems from the analysis of the demolition and over development crisis happening in Jeddah, through the limits of legislative and social realms. 

Through a both literal and visual research, the project looks at designing a momentum – a spatial environment that works as bridge between the known past, the living present, and the untold future. Designed to stand on the limit of the UNESCO world Heritage Buffer zone, the outcome of the project is to design a multi-purpose spatial environment, ranging from prayer rooms to gathering places, where through visible and invisible elements the users will be able to remember the past, absorb the present, and discover the future, along territorial and legislative boundaries. 

One journey, one spatial environment. A threshold within the threshold through its six moments 

The design process for creating a unified space that accommodates six distinct moments was guided by a research-driven design methodology. The prominent and now visible boundary of the buffer zone played a crucial role in shaping the spatial environment through strong and deliberate forms. Along the continuous journey from moment 1 to moment 6, all the collected elements, both present and lost, seamlessly merge into a continuous path that aligns with legislative considerations. This path is defined by a wall that serves as the cohesive element unifying the entire space, simultaneously functioning as a threshold through its selective permeability. Thoughtfully placed openings within the wall frame specific viewpoints, providing glimpses into both the past and the future.

Experiential atmospheres are meticulously crafted throughout the design intervention by employing heritage materials, site-found materials, and reinterpreted forms and shapes. The intervention operates as a threshold within a threshold, connecting the past, present, and future. This is achieved by integrating lost materials and forms, preserving existing shapes, and envisioning a future sense of belonging in collaboration with the community. Along the journey, a pilgrimage of various materiality is encountered, ranging from sturdy yet delicate and impermanent structures crafted from reclaimed rubble to lightweight structures composed of canvas and wood. Alternating between permanent and movable elements, the intervention aims to be community-driven and interpretive. By providing appropriate guidance and incorporating suitable elements, users are encouraged to embark on their collective journey.

From the space dedicated to purification, where individuals can connect with their inner selves, to the knowledge area that accommodates both private and public spaces, enabling mixed use of the space, all within the threshold that connects the past through the old town and Baab Makkah to an unknown future development progress.