Baltim Culture Complex
Karim Enany
student
Faculty of Fine Arts, Alexandria University in Alexandria
Egypt
Architecture
Baltim's Culture Complex aims to revive the lost history of the place by creating a narrating museum that blends with the sand dunes and the varrying… more
Esmaeil GHASEMZADEH
advisor
Islamic Republic of Iran
My architecture begins in silence — in listening to the ground before drawing a line.I do not seek… more
As a juror, I read this project first of all as an attempt to turn the site itself into a cultural device. The way the main mass is sunk into the ground and stretched along the dunes helps to break down the scale and keeps the complex from feeling like a foreign object on the coastline. The tower, the museum strip and the cultural plateaus together create a strong silhouette and a recognisable figure for the city.At the same time, I feel the project is still somewhere between landscape and building. In some places the continuous surface works well, but in others it starts to blur how the different parts of the program are organised and how a visitor is supposed to move through them. The relationship between the narrating museum path, the creative hub and the theatre zones could be drawn out more clearly in plan and sections, not only in overall form.Structurally, the proposal is very ambitious. The large spans, double-curved shells and the vertical element of the tower need a clearer structural idea behind them – what carries what, where loads go, how these forms could realistically be built. In a project of this size, the construction logic is part of the architecture, not just a technical afterthought.
Given the climate, I would also expect a stronger layer of environmental thinking. The way the building follows the terrain already helps with shading and protection, but more precise strategies for sun control, natural ventilation and outdoor comfort would make the complex feel more rooted in its context, not only formally but also in use.
My advice is to clarify the way the different parts of the program are organised inside the continuous form, especially the connection between the narrating museum, the creative hub and the theatre areas, so that the visitor’s route becomes more intuitive. I would also encourage you to define a clear structural concept for the large spans and shells, and to push the climate-responsive aspects further, with more precise shading and ventilation strategies that respond directly to the local conditions.
27.11.2025
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