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The Battle of the Nile - Nelson Museum

Part 1 Project 2012
Ali El Sabaawi
Arab Academy for Science, Technology & Maritime Transport - Alexandria Campus | Egypt
The Battle of the Nile was a major naval battle fought between British and French fleets at Aboukir Bay on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt. The French were defeated by the British forces led by Rear-Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson after they destroyed the flagship of Napoleon “L’Orient” , and it took place near an island which was named after Nelson.

The Museum is sited in the heart of the island, as the visitors approaches the site by boats they’ll experience the building as a wreck from a distance due to its deconstructed form. large piers will receive the users that will lead them directly into the entrance.

The project is inspired by this historical battle and mainly focuses on L’Orient destruction, creating a new landmark that reflects the value of this place. The buildings form is an abstraction of the explosive moment of L’Orient surface and between those random concrete planes are voids that are enclosed by a series of meshes mediate gradually between a sealed inner box and the world beyond¬¬, offering inhabitants intermittent glimpses of the elements.

The connection to the water and the landscape is heightened; visitors experience a gusting wind, splashing waves and the sounds and smells of a working harbor as they move through the building. There is, however, a sense of enclosure and protection, a suitable level of containment which allows users a sense of safety whilst they inhabit a series of floating platforms in constant motion.

As water washes over the finer grades of mesh, droplets are temporarily captured, before slowly filtering downward under gravity. The effect is rather mesmerizing, an abstract, pixelated, almost digital cascade of luminous squares provide animation.

Ali El Sabaawi

Tutor(s)

2012
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