The Dunes Gate

Idea projektu

This project addresses the environmental and urban challenges facing the coastal city of Quseir, where the historic port has lost its function and significance due to shoreline erosion, urban neglect, and lack of integration with the community. The proposal reintroduces the port as a multifunctional space that serves both ecological and social roles.
By analyzing prevailing wind patterns and coastal dynamics, the design incorporates architectural forms that facilitate the natural accumulation of sand, thereby creating protective dunes that help mitigate erosion. These forms are integrated with public and administrative spaces, offering a platform for community interaction, local trade, and coastal management.
The project aims to reconnect the city with its coastline through a clear spatial strategy that combines environmental performance with urban regeneration. It protects the shore, revitalizes a lost economy, and provides a sustainable framework for future coastal development. The port becomes a point of continuity between nature, infrastructure, and people. And also an intervention form to be a prototype to protect the coastline.

Popis projektu

This project reimagines the historic port of Quseir through a functional and spatially layered design that integrates infrastructure, landscape, and public engagement. The landscape is not treated as a passive backdrop, but as an active system that accommodates container and truck storage, forming the operational base of the project. Above this functional ground, the architectural structure rises to host public and cultural programs that reconnect people with the port’s heritage and coastal identity.
The project is organized through a modular “finger” system, where each finger includes both infrastructural and community-driven components:
1-Basement Level – Port Operation Zone
The basement of each finger is dedicated to port-related functions such as container storage, truck access, and logistical operations. Service ramps and circulation paths are integrated to maintain separation between industrial and public movement.
2-Ground and Upper Levels – Cultural and Community Hub
Positioned above the operational layer, the upper levels are designed as public platforms containing exhibition spaces, cultural programs, and educational areas. These levels allow the public to overlook port activities while experiencing curated narratives about Quseir’s maritime history.

Technické informace

The overall form of the project is shaped based on wind analysis and studies of natural dune behavior along the Quseir coastline. The site experiences dominant northwestern wind directions, and environmental simulations were used to identify how wind speed and direction could be used to encourage controlled dune formation.
The sloped roof design was selected as the most effective architectural response to the environmental conditions based on wind simulations and sand movement studies that allow wind to accelerate across the surface using the Venturi effect. This increase in wind velocity promotes the controlled deposition of sand in predefined areas, supporting the formation of protective artificial dunes.
To further enhance airflow efficiency, intentional gaps were introduced between the building volumes. These separations allow wind to pass through the project rather than being blocked by it, creating dynamic wind corridors between the “fingers” of the design. To guide and concentrate this airflow, curved walls were positioned strategically along the site. Their form redirects wind into the in-between zones with greater force and accuracy, increasing sand accumulation and reducing turbulence.
These same gaps also serve a functional purpose, accommodating container and truck storage for the operational port areas. Service roads run between these zones, enabling direct access to the basement-level loading docks. This integration of environmental performance with logistical function ensures that the form not only responds to wind and sand but also supports the daily operations of the port.
The container storage system is organized in linear clusters aligned with the project’s finger-like architectural layout. Containers are typically stacked two to three levels high and placed on 30 cm-thick reinforced concrete pavement to support heavy loads and prevent ground settlement. Each cluster is spaced 12 meters apart to accommodate two-way truck circulation and gantry crane operation. Cranes move along embedded steel rails located between the container lanes. Trucks access the storage area through 10–12 meter-wide lanes, allowing for safe maneuvering and turnaround. Ramps connect the exterior truck lanes to the basement-level loading docks, designed with a maximum slope of 6–7% for heavy transport, and surfaced with reinforced concrete and anti-slip finishes.
All structural and finishing materials have been selected to reflect the local architectural language and environmental context.
Primary Structural System:
The entire structural frame is composed of glulam (glued laminated timber), selected for its high structural performance and capacity for large spans. This material not only pays homage to El Quseir’s traditional wood architecture but also promotes sustainable construction practices. Inclined glulam frames follow aerodynamic logic, derived from local wind flow analysis, ensuring optimal structural resistance and a visually expressive profile.
Connections & Joints:
Engineered timber joinery is applied throughout the structure, with metal connectors discreetly embedded where necessary to maintain aesthetic continuity and ease of assembly.
Roof Structure:
The main roof is formed of curved timber ribs and panels, referencing the hulls of traditional Red Sea fishing boats. Its form is driven by environmental simulation to enhance airflow.

Dokumentace

Show PDF 1Show PDF 2Show PDF 3Show PDF 4Show PDF 5