The Riwaq, Hove Seafront, Brighton Festival, East Sussex Building Development, English Architecture News
The Riwaq on Hove Seafront
11 May 2022
Architects: Marwa Al-Sabouni and Ghassan Jansiz
Location: Hove, East Sussex, Southern England, UK

Photos: Jim Stephenson
The Riwaq, England
Syrian architects Marwa Al-Sabouni and Ghassan Jansiz bring a unique architectural element to this year?s Brighton Festival by building a temporary community arts space on Hove seafront in the form of a traditional Arabic arcade.

The Riwaq – the Arabic word for colonnade – is a semi-open space based at Hove Lawns providing a unique contrast and framing to the coast beyond. The bespoke horseshoe-shaped structure, a staple of Islamic architecture, spans almost 30 metres in diameter and serves as a transitional creative threshold between the surrounding city and the great outdoors.
The Riwaq will host an eclectic programme of free cultural and community events for the duration of the Festival, running 7 ? 29 May. Local organisations and artists staging artistic takeovers include Best Foot Music & In-House Records, whose work celebrates international musicians and the power of creative rehabilitation; award-winning learning-disabled arts company Carousel; and Little Green Pig, showcasing young and underrepresented writers in Brighton & Hove. A wider programme of family events, spoken word and live music and dance performances takes place Wednesdays to Sundays – from ...