Qasr Al Hosn (a 250-year-old Fortification and enveloping Palace) is set amid a natural coastal desert landscape reminiscent of Abu Dhabi’s origin. The terrain is a sand flat with minimalist indigenous planting to reflect the topography in which the building was initiated c.1760.
The geometric alignment of the paving and planting acknowledges the immediate urban surroundings and continues the Cartesian city geometry into the plot.
The landscape in this area is a completely different language to that of its neighbours, yet naturally threads together the two to form a coherent experience of the entire site. The inspiration for this pattern is borne from nature as the Voronoi tessellations emerge in different scales in cell structures as well as being apparent in the cracked baked sabkha salt flats of the coastal desert planes of Abu Dhabi.
This architectural device not only unifies the two eras of Modern and Traditional Heritage but also provides a sense of place and time, with Abu Dhabi formerly known as ‘Milh’ (meaning Salt), referencing it as a place that the tribes would visit from the hinterland to gather salt for seasoning, preserving food and trade. The polygon shapes form a diagonal pathway through the site along the ‘desire line’. As the pathways meander through the park-scape the surrounding topography changes from horizontal planes to slanting surfaces that gradually grow into actual buildings that provide shaded areas for contemplation, culminating with the Al Hosn Musalla, the Mosque, at the northern corner of the site.
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Last year more than 40 countries took part in the WAN Awards with strong showings from Europe, the Americas and Asia-Pacific. And we saw some truly outstanding interior designs, take a look at the winners from last year here.