Author: Saad Shaheer

Studio: ARCS 5106 – MArch Option Studio 2 – The Sixth Continent

Professor: Neil Spiller 

Year: Winter 2021

Project Description

This project focused on designing a living and working space for an artist and architect of choice on a site of choice. My chosen characters were Mondrian and Peter Zumthor. The project adapted Mondrian’s rectangular geometry and primary colours and Peter Zumthor’s texture, and light and shadow. The interaction of these individuals informed the architecture of the space. My chosen site was Al Basatakiya, a heritage village in Dubai, UAE. The site’s materiality, architectural motifs, and narrow alleys suggest rich experiences of shadow and light articulations, which informed most of the design decisions in this project.

The site organization and alleys offer a very rich experience in light and shadow which can be read as an urban clock. The site shadow articulations and narrow alleys helped to inform many of the decisions in this project in terms of designing vertically, considering orientation and openings The space design and form is responding to the alleys width and the towers architectural articulation and structural design. The design consists mainly of 4 volumes connected by scaffolding structure. This strategy allows the design to touch lightly on site without blocking views of the alleys.