LUZ recontextualises the geometry of the Al Hambra Muqarnas from a spatial condition to a mass condition using a deconstructed [...]

Designed by Bahar Al Bahar and Sawsan Al Bahar

Bahar is a Syrian architect and designer living in the UAE, whose work operates at the threshold between the digital and the material. He believes that by understanding the potentials and limits of both, their integration can allow the richest and most rewarding results.

Born in Damascus but raised in Sharjah, Sawsan is a Syrian architect and artist, trained in architecture and visual media. She approaches art and printmaking as a cross-disciplinary practice, combining contemporary architecture production processes with traditional art production techniques.

The Muqarnas is a three-dimensional decoration composed of niche-like shapes, arranged in tiers that cover undersides of vaults and arches. LUZ recontextualises the geometry of the Al Hambra Muqarnas from a spatial condition to a mass condition using a deconstructed order of assembly, enhancing and transforming the spatial atmosphere by foregrounding inherent conditions of figuration, lighting, materiality, texture and corporeality.

After the geometry of a Muqarnas was analysed, hierarchies were traced and dissected into a collection shapes and profiles. The function of the geometry is inverted, forming a collection of pieces; the decomposed geometry is foregrounded. Each piece becomes the physical manifestation of a surface. The light source and qualities a Muqarnas emits are also inverted, with the light in the core of the pieces.

The final object is in essence, a solidified interpretation of the geometry of the Muqarnas. The solid objects are the source and the light, projected onto walls, becoming the surface corner condition. The regular halftone pattern on the object surface transforms into an organic pattern as it turns into projected light, becoming organic, ethereal, and fluid.


Al Fahidi District