While soaring skyscrapers have come to punctuate many skylines in the Middle East, the Sultanate of Oman is using another building type to celebrate the region’s culture. The low-rise Muttrah fish market completed earlier this year by Snøhetta marries the functions of a marketplace with theater-like seating areas that put the richness of the market’s activity on display.
The signature architectural element of the 43,000-square-foot market is a sweeping winged canopy that gives it an unlikely sculptural profile evocative of a gallery or event space. The canopy curves to echo the shape of the adjacent harbor where fishermen haul in their catch; passengers on the cruise ships which dock there regularly are immersed in the region’s rhythms and social traditions.
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