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Bespoke Villa Featuring Golden Accents and Curved Windows With Traditional Arches

Author:
Arba Rrushi
Bespoke Villa Featuring Golden Accents and Curved Windows With Traditional Arches

Project in-detail

Curved windows framed in traditional arches complement gold accents and elegant beige plaster in a villa designed for family living in Dar Al-Sakina, where functionality and cultural heritage seamlessly converge.
5 key facts about this project
01
Majlis designed to facilitate social interactions while respecting privacy.
02
Curved windows enhance natural light and blur the boundary between indoors and outdoors.
03
Traditional arches paired with modern materials create a unique architectural narrative.
04
Landscaping features integrate water elements for a calming environmental effect.
05
Gold accents detail key areas, adding a touch of luxury to the overall design.

### Project Overview

**Project Name**: The Door of Serenity
**Location**: Dar Al-Sakina, UAE
**Objective**: The design seeks to create a family residence that embodies tranquility and understanding, integrating traditional and modern architectural elements to promote the well-being of its occupants.

### Spatial Organization and Functionality

The villa features a three-level spatial arrangement, each floor serving distinct functions. The **Ground Floor** (124.29 m²) is designed for ease of accessibility, encompassing living areas, a storeroom, a kitchen, and a **majlis**, which serves as a focal point for social interactions. A garage accommodates two vehicles, reflecting the local cultural context of vehicle ownership. The **First Floor** (58.84 m²) includes a service block that houses quarters for staff, thereby enhancing privacy for both family members and personnel. The **Second Floor** (119.57 m²) is dedicated to private living spaces, featuring four bedrooms, including a master suite, each equipped with en-suite bathrooms and dressing areas, totaling a building area of **302.79 m²**.

### Architectural Elements and Materiality

The villa's facade presents a dialogue between traditional Emirati architectural influences and contemporary design sensibilities. Key characteristics include arches and decorative patterns crafted from modern materials, enhancing both aesthetic appeal and cultural resonance. Window openings shaped to reflect celestial themes provide ample natural light while reinforcing the narrative link to local folklore. The material palette comprises glass for transparency, plaster that supports the building's form, gold metal for decorative accents, and marble on the eastern facade, all contributing to a layered and dynamically expressive architectural identity.

Landscaping elements further enhance the design, incorporating greenery and water features that foster a sense of tranquility. The layout achieves a functional segmentation of public and private spaces, ensuring the family's privacy while accommodating hosting activities within shared areas. Through careful consideration of design and materiality, the villa serves as a representation of family life interwoven with cultural identity.

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MICROHOME 10: Celebrating Small-Scale Living with €100,000 Prize Fund and Kingspan’s Innovation

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Competition organisers

The MICROHOME 10 competition invites participants to submit visionary designs for off-grid, modular microhomes that push the limits of sustainable, small-scale living. Organised by Buildner in partnership with Kingspan and Hapi Homes, this tenth edition sets the challenge of designing a dwelling for two people within a maximum floor area of 25 m², encouraging bold solutions adaptable to any urban or rural location. The competition continues Buildner’s mission to foster innovative approaches to compact, energy-efficient housing that can address pressing global challenges.

This year’s edition offers a generous total prize fund of €100,000, including the Kingspan Award for designs that integrate high-performance Kingspan products and the Hapi Homes Award for a project selected for real-world construction. In addition to cash prizes, the winners gain international exposure through Buildner’s media partnerships, publications, and a dedicated MICROHOME magazine, further amplifying their ideas to the wider architectural community.

Key dates for MICROHOME 10 include the closing date for registration on 25 September 2025, the submission deadline on 29 October 2025 (11:59 p.m. London time), and the announcement of winners on 9 December 2025. These milestones ensure participants have clear timelines to develop and present their concepts, with early registration discounts available to support students and emerging designers worldwide.

MICROHOME

Design a new small-scale home concept in the 10th edition of MICROHOME — 100,000 € prize + construction

100,000 € Prize Fund / Kingpsan Edition #10 ideas COMPETITION
Prize 100,000 € + Potential realisation
Eligibility Open to all
Final registration deadline 25 September 2025

Enter an open architecture
competition now

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