Petra and Wadi Musa, a story of two, a clear partnership becoming apparent overtime, both being permanent agents to the history of the Nabataea civilization. Petra is a world heritage site in Jordan, one of the world’s most mysterious ancient cities. And Wadi Musa is an adjacent town which unfortunately went through periods of terrible urbanism and witnessed uncontrolled development sprawl for years. Within this context the brief was to design a gate to protect the world heritage site ‘Petra’ & to stream line the movement of visitors.

The existing buildings at location consist of a hotel, a visitor’s center and a proposed museum, components that are rich however, none seem to connect visually nor physically on site.
The proposed design revolves around creating a transitional space where the visitor is transferred from a dense & developed urban setting, to the serene journey into the historic city, Petra, In a context where these different activities work together both in their organization, architecture and urban implements.
The design continues the natural flow of the context’s intertwining elements of Nature; the greenery, the Wadi, and the rocks and brings together an open gateway to the past, a museum to preserve its history and a vibrant plaza where locals and visitors can gather and meet.

Altogether at the edge of the slope, overlooking and celebrating the revitalized Wadi (Valley).
The architecture is based on the idea of chiseling down stones, revealing walls and planes of different heights, lengths and direction that define a relevant spatial experience.

Finally, the components on site are bound together harmoniously, providing a complete and complementing experience for the visitor. The design heightens one’s awareness of the past and present contexts while providing the necessary functions for a minimal architectural intervention.