urko sanchez reinterprets african vernacular architecture in UAE with thatched pavilions

"The project organizes arrival, orientation, and learning through a network of modest structures built from earth and dispersed through vegetation and open ground. The development brings together entrance buildings, ticketing spaces, retail areas, and an educational camp designed for field programs and workshops, each component contributing to a sequence that guides visitors from the perimeter of the reserve toward spaces for gathering and observation."

"The design by Urko Sánchez Architects draws from traditional African building typologies, reinterpreting familiar forms through contemporary construction methods and spatial planning. Rounded volumes and deep thatched roofs shape the overall composition and silhouettes that appear almost sculpted from the ground itself, with several structures featuring conical or softly curved profiles while others stretch into elongated pavilions with sweeping rooflines that hover above open terraces."

Sharjah Bridi Park by Urko Sánchez Architects integrates a series of low, thatched-roof pavilions throughout the Al Bridi Reserve to support research, education, and ecosystem study. The design combines entrance facilities, ticketing, retail, and educational camps organized through gentle circulation paths that connect visitors from the reserve's perimeter to gathering and observation spaces. The architecture reinterprets traditional African building typologies using contemporary methods, featuring rounded volumes, conical forms, and sweeping rooflines that create a unified family of structures. Timber frameworks and thatch construction establish the structural language, with buildings appearing sculpted from the ground while maintaining visual and functional harmony with the surrounding vegetation and terrain.

Read at designboom | architecture & design magazine