THG provided concept and master planning services for the Crescent Center development in the Middle East. This cultural attraction is designed to provide visitors with a moving, personal encounter with Islam and the evolving culture around it through a deepened experience of its history, values, and beliefs.
The major program components consisted of hotels, residential condominiums, a retail, dining, and entertainment center, and a cultural and entertainment complex called Al Buraq – an extraordinary leisure, learning, and entertainment opportunity for all ages. Al Buraq showcased a vision of the culture of the Islamic world, past and present, through cutting-edge technology and all the resources of contemporary storytelling: an epic-sized 3D movie, a swooping coaster ride, and an inspiring simulator. This unique combination of guest engagement technology, classic design, and spiritual insight added up to an exciting and vivid expression of Islam at once ancient, modern, and eternal.