A Space for Contemplation

American University of Sharjah, College of Architecture, art and Design, Sharjah

Project idea

The project was assigned to the Second Year Interior Design students by Professor Juan Roldan who instructed and guided us throughout. The space was meant to be located at the Bait Abdul Rahim Jassim at the Sharjah Art Foundation.

Project description

One of the main objectives of this project's design was to create an atmosphere in the space by playing with the light and shadow and keeping material variety at a minimum. The space was meant to embody the feeling of hopelessness and how we must find the light that brings us out of our dark and vulnerable times into a more hopeful state of being. With that, the space has been divided into four parts with two areas for contemplation and a transition space between them. Upon entry, light begins to get filtered out of space and we are brought into a comparatively dark area. The first space is a minor contemplation space that looks out to a shallow pool of water. Visitors can sit down and contemplate upon it or continue their procession to the main space by walking through a dark transition area that curves and blocks views to any of the other two areas. Finally, light breaks into the main space through an oculus creating a contrast between the inside and outside conditions and the visitors are given a view to the beautiful coral wall of the Bait.

Technical information

The renders in the drawings were done using black ink and scanned into Photoshop. The model uses chipboard to represent the walls of the Bait. The walls of the pavilion were built using clear acrylic sheets of 4mm thickness and have a thin layer of black printed laser copier film stuck over it. The ceiling is built using a sheet of 4mm black acrylic.