Entrance Shot
Exhibition Corridor
Clay Workshop - Exterior Working Space
Metal Workshop
Luxor Overview
Linear Site | 4700m2
The linear site is located in a residential area that has a village atmosphere. The shortest side is facing on the main street that leads to the only bridge in Luxor. The site is surrounded by public buildings, most importantly the cultural palace, the youth sporting center, court building, and civil services building. It is characterized by its very linear proportions, which created a challenging urban situation to solve and required an innovative architecture typology that fit the space program, and the relation between the outdoor and indoor. The big size of the plot allowed for a plenty of outdoor spaces featured with green areas, and skyline of kaya trees whose parts of was kept as part of the landscape and helped to create an atmosphere for artists together and interact.
The linear site is located in a residential area that has a village atmosphere. The shortest side is facing on the main street that leads to the only bridge in Luxor. The site is surrounded by public buildings, most importantly the cultural palace, the youth sporting center, court building, and civil services building. It is characterized by its very linear proportions, which created a challenging urban situation to solve and required an innovative architecture typology that fit the space program, and the relation between the outdoor and indoor. The big size of the plot allowed for a plenty of outdoor spaces featured with green areas, and skyline of kaya trees whose parts of was kept as part of the landscape and helped to create an atmosphere for artists together and interact.
Site Context
Site Plan 1:2500
Exploded Axonometric Zoning
Ground and First Floor Plans 1:200
Conceptual sketch of intended atmosphere
The project is located in Luxor with the aim of providing an art center to represent and showcase the contemporary art scene of Luxor city.
The site is surrounded by greenery and has a village-like atmosphere. It is linear and narrow with an area of 4700m2, which led the building to take a longitudinal form distributed along the plot.
The concept of the design proposal revolves around the informal spaces or ‘corners’ created by the shifting and rotation of 8x8m cubes. This resulted in creating a certain immaterial atmosphere (spatial quality) through the material (walls, bricks).
The building welcomes both artists and visitors. The design provides separation between public, semi-public and private while maintaining the immaterial atmosphere. The fence wall was made attractive for visitors to look at and therefore become interested in exploring the building.
One of the challenges was to create a certain immaterial atmosphere through the material. Another challenge was the narrow and longitudinal size of the linear site, which led the building to take a longitudinal form distributed along the plot. The last challenge was to make the fence wall attractive for visitors to look at and therefore become interested in the art center. The final design provided the separation between public, semi-public and private while maintaining the immaterial atmosphere.
A possible expansion to the project could be achieved by adding another residential level above the first floor, in which each 8x8m cube would hold one small family-sized apartment for families (2-3 persons) willing to spend a few days in the art center.
