Client: Durrat Khaleej Al Bahrain

Location: Bahrain

Type: Residential, Commercial, Leisure Masterplan

Site: 20 km²

Durrat Al Bahrain is a sustainable residential, commercial and leisure resort, a necklace of pearls suspended from the southeast shoreline of Bahrain. Providing a water based island lifestyle, the 20 km masterplan comprises a broad arc of six man made atoll shaped islands, each with an exclusive community of 172 villas that have either individual moorings or private beaches.

Slender bridges link the atolls to an inner ring of five petal shaped islands each of which has a 1.5 km waterfront with moorings that serve as neighbourhood hubs with community facilities and a shared beach of white sand. On the shore side of the development linked by the bridge are two crescent shaped promontories with shops, cafes, leisure facilities and 2,000 apartments, all with far reaching sea views across the development.

From an early stage a hydrodynamic study to analyse the effect of the islands on tidal sediment and the ecology of the area guided the shape and arrangement of the masterplan. The study also examined water flushing of the atoll beaches and helped to reduce and control potentially strong current flows between the islands at spring tides.