Our gulf cities are ones that are rich with undermined and untold stories, indeed as humility is part of the social fabric of the cities of the gulf, there is often an overlook of the fascinating characteristics they behold in their form.
The proposal hence takes a typical scenario of city, namely cultural part of old Sharjah, and reiterates and exposes the glamour of its stories leaving a space that is ‘vibrant and live’ with every element expressed in modern yet culturally appreciative manner.
By capturing the idea of nomad’s tents, a further study of its tectonic structure and skin set a trajectory for the design. As a result, the project is a combination of the stereotomic, heavy and permanent structures of settlers with the ephemeral, tectonic and mobile ones of nomads.
The proposal looks at a vacant lot within the complex urban fabric and reactivates using local notions of the cultural tales of trade and tradition. While the modern world is driving toward universal anonymity in design, the unforeseen circumstance is to create a space but not a ‘place’.
A place is one that promises to keep the past and provides opportunities of the future. A design set in two stages: first that dealt with exploring a structural language and second that reinterprets & applies it within a real-life program.
The first stage of the project was an exploration of the tectonic materials and its timeliness, which would be used as a generative tool for the project in the next stage.
It was also essential to address issues of context and environment and their relationship with the building’s functions and form. Source by Ali J Al-Sammarraie.
- Location: Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
- Design: Ali J Al-Sammarraie
- Category: Student Work
- Instructor: William Sarnecky
- Area: Gross Floor 520.0 sqm
- Year: 2016
- Images: Courtesy of Ali J Al-Sammarraie
