Matrah is a port city in the metropolitan area of Muscat, the capital of Oman. Now it, like the country as a whole, is experiencing an influx of tourists, so a new one was built next to the existing fish market (1960). Its curvilinear shape echoes the crescent-shaped outline of the embankment and harbor.
The main component of the project is a canopy made of aluminum profiles; asymmetrical façade openings create an additional play of light and shadow.
The interior on an area of 4,000 m2 accommodates 136 traders and 36 fish cutters, refrigerators, areas for packaging goods, a warehouse, administrative premises, as well as a small market for vegetables and fruits (48 seats) and meat and game (eight seats). For locals and tourists (including those arriving on cruise ships: the nearby Port of Sultan Qaboos has recently been refurbished for such ships) there is a coffee shop and a fish and seafood restaurant.
The old market is planned to be demolished to accommodate 140 parking spaces for the new building; meanwhile, traders are outraged that renting a place in the Snøhetta building will cost them five to six times more than in the old fish market.