Architecture—03 / 24

AK Residence

Al Ain, UAE/Private villa/2022 — Current/Alchemy Design Studio

Interlocking indoor and outdoor rooms, cantilevered volumes and a central courtyard — a house built around shade and a single organising void.

AK Residence — Long roof planes extend the house's order beyond the rooms and into the boundary treatment. — 01Long roof planes extend the house's order beyond the rooms and into the boundary treatment.

Location: Al Ain, UAE
Year: 2022 — Current
Sector: Residential
Scope: RIBA Stages 1–4 — concept to technical design
Status: On site

My contribution

My role: Senior Design Architect
Responsibility: RIBA Stages 1–4 — concept to technical design

Key contributions

Led RIBA Stages 1–4 under the Design Director
Set the spatial strategy of interlocking indoor/outdoor zones and the central courtyard
Directed junior architects on planning, façades and 3D
Coordinated structural and MEP
Oversaw translation into the Stage 4 package
Set exterior material and lighting direction

The project

The site is generous and exposed, so the house makes its own microclimate. Volumes interlock and cantilever to shade the ground below, and a central courtyard organises the plan: rooms open onto it, circulation runs around it, and the desert light is filtered before it arrives indoors.

Carried through RIBA Stages 1–4, the design was translated into a technical package with the design intent tracked line by line — markups, clarifications and material direction issued so that what is being built on site is what was drawn.

AK Residence — Layered screens allow the street frontage to remain composed while protecting the forecourt behind it. — 02Layered screens allow the street frontage to remain composed while protecting the forecourt behind it.

AK Residence — The entrance is set within the horizontal composition, rather than competing with it. — 03The entrance is set within the horizontal composition, rather than competing with it.

AK Residence — The cantilever makes the arrival court part of the house before the front door is reached. — 04The cantilever makes the arrival court part of the house before the front door is reached.

AK Residence — A shaded colonnade gives the approach depth, rhythm and a measured pace. — 05A shaded colonnade gives the approach depth, rhythm and a measured pace.

05A shaded colonnade gives the approach depth, rhythm and a measured pace.

AK Residence — The timber-lined portal concentrates detail at the point of entry. — 06The timber-lined portal concentrates detail at the point of entry.

06The timber-lined portal concentrates detail at the point of entry.

AK Residence — Overlapping volumes form sheltered pockets along an otherwise exposed frontage. — 07Overlapping volumes form sheltered pockets along an otherwise exposed frontage.

AK Residence — The courtyard brings an outdoor centre into the plan, with circulation arranged around its edges. — 08The courtyard brings an outdoor centre into the plan, with circulation arranged around its edges.

AK Residence — A planted side passage gives the glazed rooms a closer, more private outlook. — 09A planted side passage gives the glazed rooms a closer, more private outlook.

“The house makes its own microclimate.”

AK Residence — Changes in volume frame the garden without closing it off from the interior. — 10Changes in volume frame the garden without closing it off from the interior.

AK Residence — Facing rooms share the courtyard, keeping the house visually connected across the open space. — 11Facing rooms share the courtyard, keeping the house visually connected across the open space.

11Facing rooms share the courtyard, keeping the house visually connected across the open space.

AK Residence — An upper floor becomes the roof of the outdoor living area below. — 12An upper floor becomes the roof of the outdoor living area below.

AK Residence — Stepping paths divide the garden into smaller courts, water edges and places to sit. — 13Stepping paths divide the garden into smaller courts, water edges and places to sit.

Process

Taken from concept through the Stage 4 technical package. The plans organise interlocking indoor and outdoor zones around the central courtyard, with cantilevered volumes shading the ground plane and the façade resolved in detail.

DWG 01Ground Floor Plan — living spaces and outdoor rooms are arranged around the central open court.
DWG 02First Floor Plan — bedroom wings retain the court as the organising void of the house.
DWG 03Basement Plan — shared rooms occupy the centre, with smaller support spaces grouped along the edges.
DWG 04Façade sheet — the elevation and cantilever junctions are coordinated as one construction study.
DWG 05Material elevation — stone, timber-toned panels and dark accents articulate the horizontal façade.
DWG 06Cantilever details — the projecting edge is resolved at its wall and slab junctions.

Colophon

Location: Al Ain, UAE
Year: 2022 — Current
Sector: Residential
Typology: Private villa
Scope: RIBA Stages 1–4 — concept to technical design
Status: On site
Role: Senior Design Architect
Client: Private client
Storeys: B + G + 1
Software: AutoCAD, Revit, Adobe CC