14. : ﻣﺸﺎﺑﻪ ﻣﺜﺎل
LOCATION: ABU DHABI, UAE
CLIENT: SALAMA BINT HAMDAN AL NAHYAN FOUNDATION
SIZE: 8.000 M² NEW BUILDING
YEAR: 2013 –
STATUS: ONGOING
ARCHITECT: CEBRA
ENGINEER/ARCHITECT: GHD GLOBAL
CONSULTANT: YALE UNIVERSITY CHILD STUDY CENTER
MASTER DEVELOPER: ROYAL ARCHITECTS PROJECT MANAGEMENT
LLC
The Salama bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Center of Excellence
in Early Childhood Development is the first project of
its kind in Abu Dhabi and it will serve as a prototype
for future child care centers in the region.
The building design is based on an ancient court yard
model where the building itself embraces an inner world
– an enclosure around intimate outdoor court yards
where children can play and learn in a protected
environment. This way of laying out a building is very
much like the local “bait al sahel”, and this is one of
several ways in which we have tried to relate our
architecture to the history of Abu Dhabi.
The overall volume is designed as a tent (khaimah)
inspired structure composed from circular shapes and
Booleans. The idea is to create a building that looks
as if it is gently protecting something valuable and at
the same time expresses childhood and playfulness.
Three outdoor play areas each contain a giant magic
three, which serve as a wind towers (barajeel) as well
as active playing equipments in which ropes, swings and
much more can be suspended.