AMA Residence

Ahmed Residence

Ajman, United Arab Emirates

LOCATION

Ajman, United Arab Emirates

Project Facts

Project AMA Residence
Client Eng. Ahmed Mehmood Ahmed
Built-Up-Area 13,000 sq. ft (1207 sq. metres)
Services Architectural Concept, Schematic and Detail Design, Interior Design and Detailing of all Custom elements, Construction Supervision
Status complete, 2015
Budget US$5 million

Project Features

Ground Floor Family Entrance and Hall, Family Majlis, Family Guest, Washrooms, Family TV Room, Family Dining, Family Kitchen, En-suite Guest Bedroom with walk-in Wardrobes, Office, Lift, Main Kitchen

First Floor Family Lounge, Master Bedroom Suite (Living Area, Dressing Area, Walk-in Wardrobes, Kitchenette, Bathroom and Sauna), 7 Double Bedrooms with ensuite Bathrooms and walk-in Wardrobes, Children’s Study Room.

Lower Ground (Basement) Floor, 2 Entertainment Halls and associated Washrooms, 2 Children’s Play Areas, Food Stores. Regular Stores.

Guests Guest/Majlis Entrance and Hall, Male Majlis, Formal Dining, Guest Washrooms

Maids’ Quarters Maid’s Room with Bathroom, Storerooms, and a Laundry

External Entertainment Lawn and Gardens

The challenge of designing this eight-bedroom family residence in Ajman were numerous. The client is the Director for Conservation in Dubai who is interviewed frequently by media and wanted to conduct these in his home and thus the house had to reflect his title with accurate credentials; the family is small at the moment but will grow over time thus the house had to accommodate the forecasted eventual size of the family; separate seating and dining requirements for close family guests and general guests; an office where clients could be received and the perfect entertainment venue that could host from birthdays to engagement parties of the family.

The result is a 13,000 sq.ft (1,300 sq. metre) multi-faceted building constructed over three storeys where each storey is used to zone the various requirements, and the ground floor further sub-zoned to separate the ‘family’, ‘family guest’, ‘guest’ and ‘service’ circulation patterns. Each of the spaces then is carefully integrated with the adjacent, some doubling up in function such as the Male Majlis as guest salon and as ‘holding’ area for visitors waiting to be called to the office. Thus the massing of the building is controlled to respond to the required scales of a personal home.

Though a three storey building, on approach the home appears two storeys only. The First Floor is completely private, housing all the ‘family-only’ areas while the entertainment spaces are all located further away from here – in the semi-basement area. On arrival this ‘semi-basement’ entertainment area is not visible, as it is space that would be used at the time of family events.

Once at this lower level the open space provides and entertainment lawn and a more grandiose elevation to the building – in response to the entertainment function of the building.

However, at such time, this becomes the most important component of the house, and hence it has a celebrated ‘civic’ scale entrance located on the side of the house at the lower level. Landscape is moulded to reach this level without the feeling of descending to a ‘basement’. Once at this lower level the open space provides and entertainment lawn and a more grandiose elevation to the building – in response to the entertainment function of the building.