Pearling Path
Designed by OFFICE Kersten Geers David Van Severen with Bureau Bas Smets, the Pearling Path in Muharraq transforms a 3.5-kilometre UNESCO heritage route into a continuous landscape of architecture, infrastructure, and public space. Threaded through the dense old town, the project links a series of new squares, landscape rooms, and restored or newly built structures by architects including Anne Holtrop, Christian Kerez, OFFICE, and other contributors to the wider heritage programme.
Vacant lots become nacre-paved micro-oases, planted with tree grids rising through circular openings and cooled by hidden piping systems. Pearlescent concrete lampposts connect these sites like a luminous trail, guiding visitors through the maze-like fabric. At the shoreline, OFFICE’s pedestrian bridge spans the highway to reconnect the historic oyster beds with the city. Together, the squares, lampposts, bridges, and the diverse architectural works along the route form a finely calibrated network that reweaves public life, memory, and contemporary design into Muharraq’s urban grain.
