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Bespoke Villa Featuring Golden Accents and Curved Windows with Traditional Arches

Bespoke Villa Featuring Golden Accents and Curved Windows with Traditional Arches
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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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The Buildner’s Unbuilt Award 2025: Celebrating Architectural Creativity and Visionary Unbuilt Designs with a Total Prize Fund of €100,000

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Competition organisers

The Buildner’s Unbuilt Award 2025 is an international architecture competition dedicated to recognizing and celebrating the value of unrealized architectural designs. It invites architects, designers, and students worldwide to submit visionary projects that have not yet been constructed, highlighting the power of ideas and the creativity behind the design process. By focusing on unbuilt work, the competition aims to bring forward concepts that shape the future of architecture and push the boundaries of the profession. 

Participants can compete in three categories based on project scale: Small Wonders (up to 100 m²), Medium Marvels (101–999 m²), and Large Visions (over 1,000 m²). Each category winner will receive €20,000, and additional prizes include honorable mentions, student awards, and a special Best Presentation Award. Winning projects will gain significant international exposure through Buildner’s publicity campaign and a feature article on ArchDaily, providing a unique opportunity to showcase creative ideas to a global audience. 

The Buildner’s Unbuilt Award 2025 encourages entrants to submit any type of unbuilt project, from conceptual visions to detailed designs, celebrating bold innovation without the constraints of realization. Important deadlines: registration closes on October 30, 2025; submissions are due by November 20, 2025; winners will be announced on December 17, 2025.

Buildner's Unbuilt Award 2025

Celebrating your unbuilt architecture visions with a €100,000 prize

100,000€ Prize / 2025 ideas COMPETITION
Prize 100,000 €
Eligibility Open to all
Final registration deadline 30 October 2025

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