Continuing our search for a contemporary courtyard home, we worked on another International Design Competition for the Dubai government.
The brief called for new residential designs for Emirate citizens – modest in size – to act as a template for family homes, fusing tradition and the new. The generic site was limited to 450m2, with the house a maximum of 300m2, to accommodate 4 bedrooms.
UAE House
Once again, our ambition was to design a prototype for a courtyard house for the 21st century that captures the ancient traditions of Arabic architecture yet exploits the latest sustainable principles to make the house comfortable without recourse to fossil fuels. At the same time, we sought an entirely contemporary design, informed by the past but looking to the future.
Our design concept is founded on a fascination with the courtyard house, but this time as an atrium plan. The design was for an atrium house with accommodation on all four sides, planned in a pinwheel layout, where single and 2-storey volumes alternate to wrap a central atrium. These volumes are connected by glazed inks.
The enclosing walls are formed in thick stabilized rammed earth. A pool within the open atrium creates passive cooling for the house. The central court, sheltered from the sun is enclosed by a glazed screen which opens up in cooler parts of the day.
| Status | Unrealised |
| GIA m2 | 300 m2 |
| Project Team | Chris Gray |
| Photography | © OfLightStudio |
