In this dramatic landscape, where mountains plunge into the sea, the city name Muscat is particularly fitting. In Arabic, Muscat means “place of falling down.” Rugged, oxide-brown mountains defines a monumental and severe landscape character.
The Omani people are proud of their long and distinctive architectural heritage. The NatureCulture team’s design draws in this heritage and scale. The monumental scale of landscape spaces affirms this as a place of national importance.
The design brief called for large expanses of lawn. In this hyper-arid region, lawn and other water-intensive planting have symbolic meaning to express power and the order of central governance. Water is an extremely precious resource and must be used wisely. NatureCulture’s design irrigates all lawn areas with recycled waste-water.
Monumental setting can feel overwhelming. NatureCulture’s design addresses this issue with human-scaled features like the sunken palm groves. These intimate palm groves offer reprieve from the otherwise monumental surroundings. Innovative structural soil specifications and installation techniques ensure the palms grow large and healthy.
NatureCulture’s design prioritises human-scale spaces—places people naturally gravitate to and use. This approach gives the area a sense of life and vibrancy.
The Library Courtyard serves as a key outdoor space, connecting the library and prayer hall while also accommodating high volumes of vehicle movements to and from the VIP passenger arrival court.
NatureCulture’s design ensures a distinctly pedestrian character. A uniform stone paving treatment integrates surfaces for both vehicles and pedestrians, while carved stone bollards clearly define vehicle access and routes to the passenger set-down area.