The following text and images are courtesy MADA Architects. Click on images for larger color views and additional explanatory text. [Google Earth link] Stretching from the Red Sea coast to about 50 km (30 miles) inland, Wadi El Gemal National Park (WGNP) includes roughly large areas of terrestrial habitat and marine life, as well as Roman ruins, significant religious sites, quarries, and indigenous communities. The combination of marine and terrestrial habitats represents an important integrated ecosystem. The one-story, 250-sm (2,700-sf) Visitor Center is located at the WGNP’s northern entrance atop a hill. The building serves two main functions: 1. Orienting visitors and disseminating essential information about the park’s nature and inhabitants (Ababda tribes) through maps, brochures, tours, and presentations to increase visitors’ appreciation of, and sensitivity to, the distinctive natural, environmental and cultural resources of the area. 2. A reception and pit-stop that is predominantly open, serves basic visitors’ needs, such as refreshments, and presents local crafts. It also houses office space, a store room and provides ample uncovered parking at its front entrance. Restrooms are housed in a separate annex. Conceptually, the design of the building was inspired by the acacia tree, the only tree type abundant in this arid desert. The Visitor Center was designed to offer shade and shelter where multiple activities can take place. The simple floor plan allows for the client’s program requirements to be functionally and esthetically laid out while creating a playful semi-outdoor ambiance that lends itself more to the surrounding natural elements. The building's placement on the site is axial to an existing acacia tree, thus respecting its presence and using it as the prime element of its southward vista. The Visitors’ Center introduced in its composition the same materials used by the nomadic Ababda tribes in erecting their Bersh houses. The design was also inspired by the traditional Roman construction methods, found in remnants of watchtowers, fortresses, and watering stations in the WGNP. The Visitor Center is conceived to be a "model" that demonstrates how local resources can be redefined and how the available know-how can be developed to bring into being other constructions. Hence the design is laden with sublime messages that aim to guide the ordinary building practice of tourist resorts in the region.   Wadi El Gemal Visitor Center in Marsa Alam, Egypt by MADA Architects 2009.12.14     Click on images below for larger views.