Ahmed Nawaf Alsuwaidi, Mohamed Shaltout Ali, Said Husam Elbeiouk. Supervisors: Dr. Vittorino Belpoliti | Arch. Mariam Hassan
DESIGN GUIDELINES FOR A CHILDREN’S CENTER: THE CASE OF KALBA CITY, SHARJAH
Children have always been the focus of attention and care by the Rulers and the government of Sharjah. Many facilities and activities have been provided that enhance their participation in society and fill their free time with useful things. Therefore, it was necessary to develop the architecture of children's centers to keep pace with the continuous technological development. That is, the Department of Public Works takes this role, and this project assists them in delivering the best solutions. The following research explores the best techniques to create guidelines for any children’s
center in the UAE. Thus, the first case study to apply these guidelines will be in Kalba City in Sharjah. One main objective of the study is to create a definite architectural identity for the project in Kalba City that can be replicated for future projects under the authority of Sharjah Children, the agency that manages these centers. The research will follow a definite methodology to achieve the desired objectives. For the first chapter, the literature review will be combined with the case studies and divided into four main pillars: psychology, pedagogy, biophilia, and authority identity. Global and local literature and practices were discovered to create a solid scientific base for the project. Moreover, to make the project specific to the case of Kalba City, the methodology continues by presenting the
interviews and field studies done during the project period. The interviews were done with clients, academic psychologists, and educators from the field. In contrast, the field studies covered the children's centers under the authority of Sharjah Children, highlighting the recent refurbishment of the Al Qarayen Children's Center. The project program and guidelines were created as the first element of making the thesis more site oriented. The fourth chapter of the research covers the site analysis of the assigned site in Kalba City. The second part of the chapter introduces the general open architectural proposal that will be used as the architectural identity for the authority. The open proposal of the children’s center can fit anywhere, including architectural philosophies like a unifying object, the village experience, an open, transparent ground floor, and a biophilic integrated experience. The specific proposal combines the program, guidelines, and site analysis with the general proposal
to create a definite building representing the research results. To sum up, when considering the client's requests, exploring the design of guidelines and recreating the architectural identity for a children's center to deliver intangible values is not easy. Thus, well-structured literature, a complete methodology, and the usage of the most suitable architectural elements would lead to desired results that can extend to change the visual presentation of the authority identity, the logo.
center in the UAE. Thus, the first case study to apply these guidelines will be in Kalba City in Sharjah. One main objective of the study is to create a definite architectural identity for the project in Kalba City that can be replicated for future projects under the authority of Sharjah Children, the agency that manages these centers. The research will follow a definite methodology to achieve the desired objectives. For the first chapter, the literature review will be combined with the case studies and divided into four main pillars: psychology, pedagogy, biophilia, and authority identity. Global and local literature and practices were discovered to create a solid scientific base for the project. Moreover, to make the project specific to the case of Kalba City, the methodology continues by presenting the
interviews and field studies done during the project period. The interviews were done with clients, academic psychologists, and educators from the field. In contrast, the field studies covered the children's centers under the authority of Sharjah Children, highlighting the recent refurbishment of the Al Qarayen Children's Center. The project program and guidelines were created as the first element of making the thesis more site oriented. The fourth chapter of the research covers the site analysis of the assigned site in Kalba City. The second part of the chapter introduces the general open architectural proposal that will be used as the architectural identity for the authority. The open proposal of the children’s center can fit anywhere, including architectural philosophies like a unifying object, the village experience, an open, transparent ground floor, and a biophilic integrated experience. The specific proposal combines the program, guidelines, and site analysis with the general proposal
to create a definite building representing the research results. To sum up, when considering the client's requests, exploring the design of guidelines and recreating the architectural identity for a children's center to deliver intangible values is not easy. Thus, well-structured literature, a complete methodology, and the usage of the most suitable architectural elements would lead to desired results that can extend to change the visual presentation of the authority identity, the logo.
