Murad Boutique Hotel Adopts a Language of Incomplete Paper Forms

Amid the labyrinthine streets of Muharraq, Bahrain, the Murad Boutique Hotel by Studio Anne Holtrop sits quietly within the UNESCO-listed Pearling Path, its weathered facades steeped in the memory of the nation’s storied pearling era. With the resonance of family histories and the lilt of the sea still whispering along its walls, this renovated former merchant’s residence holds stories embedded in its fabric.

The concept for the rehabilitation emerges from the act of cutting paper: straightforward rectangles, incomplete and indented, layered and reimagined at every turn. There is no pursuit of seamless precision here. Rather, the character of each spatial form stems from the quality of the paper-cut edge—slightly awry, revealing the hand in the making. As these fragments are arranged into façade screens, floors, and stairways, the inevitable misalignments begin to animate the spaces, echoing the organic irregularities so present in the time-worn house.

This approach goes beyond artistic intervention, reflecting the enduring legacy of the Murad family, merchants whose fortunes ebbed with the tides. By embracing incompleteness, the design honours Bahrain’s craftsmanship, creating an architecture that resonates through both touch and sight. Seemingly accidental misfits become purposeful markers of a lived, hand-hewn history shaped by time. Now housing a seven-room guesthouse, a restaurant, an enclosed garden, and a tea room, the Murad Boutique Hotel offers an encounter with history shaped through a unique architectural language.