I was the Resident Architect for the new Souq in Nizwa from 1990-1992, working for CowiConsult. Marfa Daris Park began as a provisional sum in a local roads improvements contract, and I was given the opportunity to come up with a design and oversee the construction of the park.

We had some prior experience for this, having designed a "pocket park" at the base of the new road bridge upstream from the souq. Up to that time the local kids had never seen play equipment, and it was very popular.

The design philosophy for Marfa Daris Park recognised its importance as a historic stopping point on the former Frankincese Trail, a place of religious significance long before there was a local mosque, where the broad steps down to the falaj were used for washing prior to prayers on a level area of stony ground adjacent. The same point, close to the emergence of the falaj out of the main wadi bed, was also a place of great cultural significance: HM Sultan Qaboos would often make stops there to show visiting dignitaries the falaj and explain its importance.

The masterplan for the park was an outcome of its geography, the religious and ceremonial importance, and the need for a local park that would be popular with the local populace. Falaj Daris itself forms the boundary to the main wadi, with a meandering path alongside that loops up to an elevated bandstand on a prominence at the western end of the park.

The stone steps down to the falaj are the focus of the religious/ceremonial axis. A magnificent Ficus Religiosa fig was located in a large circular planter with stone benches opposite the steps, and this acts as a fulcrum for a ceremonial axis that is straddled by a Reception Building in the form of a traditional tower with a watchman's apartment accommodated at the upper levels.

Gardens and lawns flank the ceremonial axis, intersected by paths and gazebos along its length and leading to an amenities building adjacent to play areas for children. The local kids love excitement, and scrambling around the hills in the area, so the play areas were zoned up the side of the wadi from safe areas for toddlers at the bottom, past a series of play areas for older kids and culminating in long slope slides on a rocky hillside shaded by canopies to protect them from the heat of the summer sun. A BMX track was formed in the original scrub and acacia trees along the hillside, much to the pleasure of the neighborhood children.

The progression from formality to the natural ruggedness of the area continued beyond the play area and culminates at the bandstand, high on the hillside and providing a visual focus at the far end of the ceremonial axis.

Wadi Daris floods regularly following thunderstorms on the jebel, so it was necessary to ensure that floodwaters would not damage the buildings, and the stone bases and level changes ensured that they were protected and kept above normal flood levels. Runoff from the roads and populated areas uphill of the park is all intercepted by stone-lined culverts which carry it beyond the falaj into the main wadi to avoid polluting the falaj water and the fish that can be seen swimming in it.

The buildings themselves were constructed in modern materials, but rendered with traditional sarooj plaster - a rich-coloured render that is made by firing large quantities of clay plugs on pyres of date-palm trunks, with the ash and fired clay crushed and mixed into a powder and mixed with water.

Recent photos attest to the success of the landscaping design carried out by Paul Cracknell, the success of the park in its unique combination of cultural and recreational facilities, and its selection as the focus of the UNESCO award.