atelier masōmī’ was commissioned by The Alef Group to design a masterplan for a new residential community in the arid landscape of Sharjah, UAE. The development was fittingly named Hayyan which means to be alive in Arabic. The client envisioned a place that connected residents to nature and the environment.

I was responsible for the design, developing and delivery of a feasible concept package for the mall. The design process began by addressing constraints such as the location on a complex conrner site; programmatic requirements: a convencience supermarket, shops and restaurant amenities for the residential community, offices for the management of the mall and the community.

The mall is designed in keeping with simple principles that respond to the local context. Public throughfares traverse an almost monolithic mass, activated by large light-wells penetrating the entire cross section of the building from floor to roof. The light-wells also serve to ventilate the passages similar in effect to the ancient arabic wind towers.

A sunken garden is carved down into the landscape to provide a unique experience for public and patrons of the restaurants. The mass is then broken down further by dressing the top in moucharabiwe, an almost transparent steel veil to allow views for the gym and offices but also provide solar shading.