2026
THIRD SPACE* Studio
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Tar (طار) Public Musalla
Al Khobar Waterfront
Al Khobar, KSA
2026
Bayt al-Mahar
Guggenheim Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi, UAE
2026
Alien Ontologies, Post-Oil
Doha Design Biennale
Doha, Qatar
2026
Letters and Numbers/7roof w arqam
ATHR Gallery
Riyadh, KSA
2024
From East to West and North to South
Noor Riyadh
Riyadh, KSA
2024
The Observatory
SINDBAD: I Can See Land
Jeddah, KSA
2023
Tar (طار) Public Musalla
Al Khobar Waterfront
Al Khobar, KSA
2026
Tar (طار) is a monumental public musalla proposed for the Al Khobar waterfront, operating at the intersection of functional sacred architecture, contemporary sculpture and the spatial heritages of sound in the Gulf. The project addresses the historical coastline of Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province not only as geographic boundary, but as a vital locus of movement: a site where bodies, trade networks and marine resources have historically converged.
By drawing structural, material and conceptual parallels between the spatial logics of Islamic prayer and fijiri music - the ancestral maritime musical tradition of the region’s pearl divers - the monument articulates a physical space for collective memory, temporal discipline and devotion. Historically, pearl diving economies relied on these vocal and percussive practices as essential communal rituals. Gathered along the shoreline, coastal communities assembled in shared expressions of grief, hope and faith, invoking divine protection for sailors embarking on perilous seafaring journeys. Tar (طار) maps these historic shore-side gatherings onto the daily act of salah, recognising both fijiri and the musalla as spatial catalysts for assembly.
This synthesis is further emphasised by a linguistic and temporal alignment; etymologically linked to fajr (dawn), fijiri performances were fundamentally governed by solar cycles and specific times of day. The architecture reflects this shared rhythm through spatial mechanisms akin to a praxinoscope, where sequential framing and the motion of light render the movement of bodies and time as a continuous visual phenomenon along the waterfront.
Architecturally, the project translates the tangible heritage of maritime life into a contemporary sculptural language. The form, structural logic and spatial programme of the musalla derive from the acoustic geometries of traditional percussion instruments - such as the mirwas and tahr - alongside the structural framing of historic seafaring vessels. The monument is organised around a series of monumental panels that echo these mediums through raw timbers, taut membranes and weathered metalwork. Beyond their sculptural presence, these panels function as environmental and spatial filters along the coastal edge, defining the qibla orientation, framing views of the sea and visually echoing the acoustics of historical congregation. In doing so, Tar (طار) reclaims the Al Khobar waterfront as a landscape where the rhythmic, spiritual and material histories of the Eastern Province converge.