Honorary Ceremony for Students Participating in Project Adopted by the Southern Municipality UoB Students Plan and Design the Waterfront of Al-Dur Coast Dr. Haifa Bint Ibrahim: The Projects Represent the Excogitation of Modern Ideas with A Youthful Vision

Sakhir – University of Bahrain (Ali Al-Sabbaq)
2 July 2022
Students of the Environmental Architecture Program at the College of Engineering at the University of Bahrain (UoB) presented their projects for planning and designing the waterfront of Al-Dur coast in the Southern Governorate, in a celebration that honored the students who participated in the project, which was held in cooperation with the Ministry of Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture.
The Dean of the College of Engineering at the University, Dr. Sheikha Haifa bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa, said that involving students in the production of development projects is in line with the University’s endeavor to prepare them for professional practice through sustainable projects, noting the valuable opportunity given by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Agriculture to students in this regard.
Dr. Sheikha Haifa bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa mentioned, in a speech during the honoring ceremony, that these projects represent the excogitation of modern ideas with a youthful vision, as they designed the waterfront to be a landmark for visitors, in line with the national strategy for the development of waterfronts and public coasts. She also said, “Throughout this experience, students learned several concepts related to the environment and its effects, green areas, afforestation, beautification, and more, through the suggestions they presented”.
As sixteen male and female students presented their proposed plans and designs for the project’s waterfront, at the courtyard of the E-Learning Center on the University campus, where officials of the Ministry of Municipalities and Agriculture and university professors were briefed on the students’ projects, which they talked about prior to the honorary ceremony.
The event was attended by the Director-General of the Municipality of the Southern area, Assem Abdullatif Abdullah, the Director-General of the Municipality of the Northern area, Lamia Yousef Al-Fadala, the Dean of the College of Engineering, and the Head of the Department of Architecture and Interior Design, Dr. Huda Mohammed Al-Madhoob, along with faculty members and guests.
The Director General of the Municipality of the Southern area, Asim Abdullatif Abdullah, expressed his admiration and pride in the students’ outcomes, expressing his optimism about the ability of the National University to provide the market with qualified cadres, generation after generation. He also said, in a short speech he delivered on the occasion: “After seeing the projects today, I am confident that the University of Bahrain – which I graduated from – is the birthplace of talented creative engineers, whom the country needs within the comprehensive development process.”
For her part, Head of the Department of Architecture and Interior Design, Dr. Huda Al-Madhoob, said: “Cooperation with the Southern Municipality has made it possible to link the academic perspective with practical practice by including real projects in the curriculum”.
Furthermore, in a speech during the ceremony, she stated: “The goal of Al-Dur coast project is for students to participate in the planning and design of Al-Dur Coast site. This project was implemented within the requirements of LNDA 310 course for third-year students in the Bachelor’s in Environmental Architecture program, which specializes in the design of urban natural areas, taking into account the environmental and technological aspects of the site, and a focus on increasing public green spaces, and social outdoor activities, to achieve sustainable development goals”.
Also, Dr. Al-Madhoob stated that ” Through this project, the course’s students acquired a set of creative concepts and different practices that take into account the aesthetic, environmental and social aspects of the site.”
Head of the Parks and Recreations Department in the Southern Municipality, Alaa Shamlan Al-Shamlan, noted the partnership between the National University and the Municipality, stressing the importance of continuing the bridging between the two sides in recreational and beautification projects within the directions of Municipal Affairs, to upgrade waterfronts, streets and public areas, and increase afforestation, beautification, and green flats.
Moreover, Al-Shamlan stressed the effective role of the professors from the Department of Architecture and Interior Design in supporting students to complete projects and encouraging them to create innovative creative ideas.
For her part, coordinator of the Environmental Architecture Program, Dr. Wafaa Hassan Al-Madani, explained that “The project was within the requirements of LNDA 310, which is concerned with the design of urban natural areas,” noting that “students were directed to take into account the environmental and technological aspects of the site and focus on increasing public green spaces and outdoor social activities, in response to the sustainable development agenda”.
Al-Madani noted that “The students conducted comprehensive and in-depth studies on the site, and the result of this endeavor was a variety of creative concepts that achieved a distinctive response, as the students took into account the nature of the site from the aesthetic, environmental and social aspects.”
The students presented a film about the project, its stages and contents, before they were honored by officials of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and the Dean of the College of Engineering at the University. The students’ projects were characterized by depth and diversity, as each student took an aesthetic, environmental, or historical general idea for his design of the waterfront at Al-Dur.

• 
• 
• 
• 
•