Muwaileh research library

Category: Architecture

Year: Fall 2016

Location: Sharjah, UAE

Instructor: Igor Peraza

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The Muwaileh Research Library functions as a hub for people to gain and exchange knowledge by meeting in the facility. It becomes an indoor community space that is crucial in the hot and harsh environment of the United Arab Emirates. The whole project is about light and interconnection between spaces. Glass doors, skylights, apertures and repetitive louvre elements,- all these systems compliment each other to create a unique personal experience of the library. Series of slits between the floors, locally unified parts of the project, allowing interactions of individuals in both directions, horizontal and vertical. The design was inspired by the works of RCR Architects, using Joan Oliver Library in Barcelona, Spain as a prerequisite to the project.

The project is located in Muwaileh District, Sharjah, UAE. Buildings of this area share the same undefined typology, but strict rules and regulations regarding setbacks and heights. The area is a set of infill buildings stacked up side by side along a few strips. As an infill project, the Library had to follow the same grid as its context. Due to the unique qualities of the Muwaileh neighborhood, we were first tasked to observe and analyze local people’s behaviors and interactions with daily visitors (due to commercial function of the area). Studying its climatic and functional aspects also were part of the research. Consequently, the project is both a direct respond to the site and its further interpretation, giving its own uniqueness.