February 14, 2022

Residential design showcasing a contemporary take on Emirati Architecture. Source: Team HARMONY

Author: Nesrine Oussadou, project manager of Team Harmony and architect and urban planner at AE7.

« The Solar Decathlon experience has developed me on both aprofessional and personal levels. Professionally, despite being young, the role of a project manager exposed me to different disciplines related to the construction of a house. I have worked and dealt with experts in the domain and learnt a lot from their experiences. My knowledge has grown in many fields and I became more aware of sustainable architecture and technologies of today. Personally, it taught me virtues of leadership, being a friend, appreciation and caring nature. An important life lesson that I adopted from this experience is that in order to lead you need to be a good listener, take decisions wisely and absorb all kinds of personalities and attitudes in order to ensure the success of a project. It also taught me to be authentic, passionate, trusting and free for productive and creative work. This is just another step in my journey of sustainability and one of the many masterpieces for the world. »

Nesrine Oussadou

Now to the project. The main design concept of our house is adapting the Emirati culture and their housing ideas by upgrading it with modern techniques that target sustainability, energy efficiency and smart solutions. For the design development, we found it crucial to interview several local artists and architects to get a full understanding of what makes the Emirati Architecture unique and how it evolved through the history. Our house represents the modern Emirati house that integrates many innovative ideas starting from creating flow and flexible spaces to creating multiple experiences. It features concepts of the multifunctional Bedouin tent as a living, gathering and working space. Barajeel to cool down spaces, sandy color for the effect of an earthy palette, vegetative screen as well as smart farm for self-sufficiency and a double skin BIPV façade that showcases inspiring quotes about sustainability by the nation leader His highness Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan represented through artistic calligraphy in a brush of golden colors. This house is not just a transition from old UAE to modern UAE, it’s an educational Architecture gift from UAE to the whole world. Supporting our cause for humanity, we use the contemporary crafts created by women across the MENA region and also the products made by refugees for their empowerment and showcase their talents to the world.

Team Harmony is excited and privileged to be part of Dubai Expo 2020 the world’s biggest stage showcasing our house to the whole world. We are taking this opportunity to exhibit Emirati architecture and culture integrated with a green futuristic vision. We believe that the future of building in a sustainable manner is key for the responsible harvesting of the natural resources. Also, designing with a human-centric perspective is significant for utilizing the latest technologies to improve human health and well-being. Dubai Expo is the greatest opportunity to unfold these values. This is the most anticipated event around the globe and we are pleased and honored to share the values of Dubai Expo ‘Connecting Minds and Connecting the Future’ by the ambitious graduates and undergraduates of the British University in Dubai. Thank you SDME for giving us this wonderful opportunity and we are really looking forward to being a part of Expo 2020, Dubai.