COURTYARD MUSEUM

A museum and community center for the proposed city of Ruwais, United Arab Emirates. Located at the northern end of a boardwalk which runs along the eastern shore of the city’s planned harbor, the museum creates an anchor for the boardwalk and engages it with an adjacent residential neighborhood. The building’s form is based on the courtyard typology common to the Middle East with an enclosed structure split in two, creating a courtyard with free circulation between the museum interior, exterior, and boardwalk. Opposite corners of the two forms are raised to create additional connections between the courtyard and surrounding site. Both the museum and courtyard are covered by a shading system which limits direct sunlight, but creates an airy, open, light-filled environment.