An arid medieval trading hub where curved streets, shaded arcades, and the legendary White Horse monument form the heart of a thriving merchant city.

The Merchant’s Quarter is a bustling commercial district within a medieval city inspired by Arabic and Moroccan architecture. An organically grown free trading hub, the quarter draws merchants, travellers, and caravans from across the region, forming a crossroads where goods, cultures, and ideas meet.

At the centre of the scene stands a statue and fountain of a knight mounted on a white horse — a historic figure whose legacy inspired the White Horse Trading Company, the city’s most influential mercantile faction. The monument acts as both a civic landmark and a natural gathering point where trade is negotiated and travellers pause after long journeys.

The buildings are arranged in a gently curved frontage that wraps around the central statue, creating an open angle with strong sightlines and visual impact for display. The buildings to either side of the main entrance form a secondary 90-degree corner that creates a more enclosed town-square feel the closer you move to the focal point, a feature many old-world cities and towns naturally acquire that gives occupants a sense of safety as the walls wrap around them.

Architectural details are drawn from medieval North African and Middle Eastern cities, including arched doorways, decorative window grilles, shaded arcades, balconies, towers, and domed rooftops. At street level, market stalls with fabric awnings, hanging lanterns, and stacked goods bring the quarter to life, while upper levels house offices and interiors, including the headquarters of the White Horse Trading Company overlooking the square.

Designed as a display-focused model with strong narrative potential, The Merchant’s Quarter captures the character of a city defined not by conquest, but by commerce, cooperation, and the enduring symbol of the white horse.

This model was designed to evoke the feeling of a historic merchant district that has grown organically over generations, rather than one created by rigid planning. The gently curved layout and layered façades were chosen to frame a strong central focal point while remaining open and readable from multiple viewing angles.

I aimed to balance architectural realism with accessible storytelling, using familiar medieval forms — arches, arcades, towers, and market stalls — arranged to suggest movement, trade, and everyday life. The White Horse Trading Company provides a light narrative thread without defining the setting too narrowly, allowing builders to place the model within historical, fantasy, or custom medieval worlds.

Above all, The Merchant’s Quarter was designed as a cohesive display piece that rewards closer inspection, with varied sightlines, vertical detail, and a strong sense of place shaped by trade rather than conflict.