Market Island Market Island

Market Island

Due to the need to constantly move goods in and out, one of the challenges of Market Island is to move vertically and to maintain a connection with the port of the island, from which goods will be unloaded from boats coming from the port. Also, the constant sounds and smells of the market necessitate ventilation and large open areas on which the market can operate on.

My architectural proposal to amplify market island is a series of ramps and platforms that interconnect, allowing the market to take place vertically. Existing rooftops are combined, enlarged, or appropriated for use as the market platforms. Ramps are formed by bridging across platforms or by cutting into exisiting flat roofs to create pitched roofs that also function as ramps. These ramps allow for the movement of goods and people from the port to the markets across the complex new urban roof topography.

Mosque Island

On Mosque Island, the challenge is to create the cavernous, interior volumes and distribute them vertically. Mosques are a vital communal program in the entirely Muslim population of Male and so experience a high volume of traffic, so wide walkways and plazas for the large number of worshippers are necessary. The orientation of these large cavernous volumes towards Mecca cause a collision and interpenetration between the volumes and the existing urban fabric.

My architectural proposal to amplify mosque island is a staggering and positioning of the mosques on top of each other to ensure that each receive sufficient daylight and ventilation, as well as to create a series of wide walkways that connect the mosques to each other, and from Mosque island to other islands. The large cavernous mosque volumes are contrasted with smaller, fine-grained buildings that house the new population and provide the restaurants, cafes, and shops that typically support the large population on prayer days.