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Architects: Massive Order
- Area: 375 m²
- Year: 2013
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Photographs:Nelson Garrido
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Manufacturers: Abyat, Ikea, Villeroy & Boch
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Lead Architect: Muhannad Al-Baqshi
Text description provided by the architects. The main design feature for Altruistic Residence centres on the fact that the lot sits on a narrow short street, the question was: how can a building on this street help make it feel better and bigger? The answer came in two folds. First, the form has to be stripped with horizontal lines to visually elongate the street and give a visual resting point amongst the neighbouring architecturally busy elevations; hence, the elevation was cladded with a pattern of wide frames. Second, the form ought to be abstracted.
In order to abstract the main facade, all familiar building elements such as a main door and repetition of windows were replaced with openings that follow carefully composed frames. The language of frames is then echoed in the interior through the treatment of the false ceiling, which resulted in frames of light. Similarly, the colour palette extends from the external cladding into the interior spaces. The colours range from creamy to sandy tones, reflecting the desert nature of the site.
Each floor in his three stories structure houses an apartment containing a living space, three bedrooms, and a service quarter. The vertical circulation core is split into two access points; one through the elevator acting as the main mode of circulation, and the other one is the service staircase. In addition, each unit has its own outdoor space. These outdoor spaces expand the users’ views and give a personal breathable exterior place in an otherwise compact neighbourhood.
