Muscat’s Marsa Plaza / ACME

ACME has completed Marsa Plaza, Oman’s largest new urban square in a generation. Situated in the centre of Al Mouj Quarter, on the western edge of Muscat, Marsa Plaza creates a new urban space at the edge of the Marina. Opening out into the water and defined by steps and shading canopies, the square creates a number of informal spaces for water features and people-watching, seating terraces and an amphitheatre for performances. The ground plane of the square, the walls of the buildings and the shading canopies have all been designed as one to create a unified visual spatial identity and to blur the boundaries between the separate elements. The materiality and patterns have been developed from the local context, using local Omani stone and patterns developed from traditional geometries and vernacular types.