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THE SOUK | Dubai

Status: Selected Winner (Remains unbuilt till date)
Project year: 2019
Client: Dubai design week
Area: 125 Sqm

The Souk is a cluster of three identical pods, straddling between an installation as a construct, and a space, as it purportedly creates a smaller version of the ubiquitous, Middle Eastern bazaar; an urban microcosm, where the network of people and commerce create the unique urban character. 'The Souk' takes its inspiration from this, and tries to re-interpret it in the temporary setting of the exhibition. At the urban scale, the Cluster would act like a node, with its unique design and the micro-urban space. At the cluster level, the pavilions offer 3 focus areas of interaction and a public square trapped in between the cluster. The geometry of the pavilion is derived from the most common element, seen widely, in some of the most popular Islamic murals / patterns that adore some of the iconic architecture in the Islamic world- The Decagon. The Souk transforms the two dimensional Decagon into a seemingly complex, but, easy to build, three-dimensional construct. The decagons have been layered vertically to create a dynamic space, which showcases the structural, material and the poetic possibilities in timber and the sophisticated detailing of structural joinery in architectural timber. The pavilion is completely pre-fabricated and assembled at site over a period of two days. 

Legend 1. Pods 2. Seating 3. Central Souk Area

Project Details

Design Team

Lalita Tharani , Mujib Ahmed, Prasidh, Naufan Naseer

Structure

Web Structure, Singapore

Lighting

Bo Steiber Lighting Design, Singapore

Awards / Honour

Selected Winner (Remains unbuilt till date)

Selected Publications