The Fountain Workshop - Fountain design, build and management
 

Qasr Al Muwaiji

This beautiful water feature adorns the public space at the Qasr Al Muwaiji Fort - an important historical site in the United Arab Emirates

Qasr Al Muwaiji is a historical monument in the United Arab Emirate’s third city, Al Ain.

The Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage commissioned architect Machado and Silvetti Associates to restore this important fort and convert it into a scholastic institute, museum, and library. Beirut-based landscape architect Imad Gemayel was commissioned to design the public space, and introduced The Fountain Workshop to the project.

Together the team conceived a design for a water feature that is both subtle and impressive. The design is firmly rooted in the Islamic tradition which views the garden as a place for restful reflection. The feature is a piece of art in its own right – the striking form of the fort walls and turrets ever present in reflections on its surface.

 

Project Facts

  • Location: Al Ain, United Arab Emirates (UAE)
  • Client: Abu Dhabi Department of Cultural Heritage
  • Services: Design and project management
  • Features: Reflection pool, water rill, sculptural water source
  • Partners: Machado and Silvetti Associates, Imad Gemayel Associates, AFC Carillion

Water emerges from a circular cut in a block of black granite.

The water flows along a beautiful channel set within the paving, arriving at a dark, and seemingly bottomless reflection pool.

The water exits the pool through an outlet that echoes its source.