Project story · Dubai, United Arab Emirates
A mall that faces the water
In Dubai, Harbour Mall steps long travertine terraces along the harbour edge, with palms, a skylit atrium and a promenade that anyone can use.
By byJOOM · Harbour Mall · Retail
Stone and water
Harbour Mall is a waterfront shopping and leisure centre in travertine, with a promenade and a glazed atrium. It sits on the water: long, layered terraces of pale travertine with fluted columns and bronze-framed glass step along the harbour, planted with date palms and olive trees. Behind it, the city skyline stands in the haze.
A day out, not only a trip to the shops
The centre is for shopping, dining and family days out. It has three levels of shops around a skylit atrium, restaurants and cafés on the water, a cinema and family play areas, and a public promenade along the harbour. A mall can be a destination for a family's day, and the design tries to make it one.
A promenade for everyone
The promenade is part of the public realm. In the pictures people walk along the water beside rock edges and planted terraces, and the entrance is reached from the promenade rather than from a car park. Generous public edges welcome people whether or not they come to shop.
Columns and a glazed atrium
Inside, galleries look down into a tall atrium that frames the view of the harbour. Escalators cross the glazed central space under a skylight, and bronze-framed shop fronts line the galleries. The fluted travertine columns on the outside are repeated as a calm rhythm within.
Natural stone, planting and generous public edges that welcome people whether or not they come to shop.
A restaurant on the harbour
Restaurants and cafés face the water. In the picture a table by the window looks over the harbour, with palm trees and the skyline beyond. The design gives the best view in the building to people who are eating, which is a generous way to plan a mall.
Stone, planting, public edges
Natural stone, planting and generous public edges give the building its durability. A mall reaches out to the shore, so that visitors and passers-by share the same waterfront.
