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

AK Residence

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

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

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 — Render — street front with the gate and screened forecourt — Render — street front with the gate and screened forecourt

AK Residence — Render — front elevation from the road — Render — front elevation from the road

AK Residence — Render — entrance court under the cantilever — Render — entrance court under the cantilever

Render — colonnade along the entrance path

AK Residence — Render — entrance portal in timber and stone — Render — entrance portal in timber and stone

AK Residence — Render — corner of the house from the street — Render — corner of the house from the street

AK Residence — Render — Aerial of the central courtyard — Render — Aerial of the central courtyard

AK Residence — Render — garden path along the glazed wing — Render — garden path along the glazed wing

AK Residence — Render — courtyard from the garden — Render — courtyard from the garden

“The house makes its own microclimate.”

AK Residence — Render — the central courtyard — rooms opening onto it — Render — the central courtyard — rooms opening onto it

Render — pool terrace under the cantilevered living floor

AK Residence — Render — Aerial of the garden court and pool — Render — Aerial of the garden court and pool

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.

Ground floor plan
First floor plan
Basement floor plan
Façade detail
Elevation with finishing materials — stone cladding, light paint, HPL wood, timber louvres, dark marble
Cantilever details 01 and 02 — the Stage 4 façade sheets

What I did

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

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