Entry for Arquitectum's 2012 "Dubai Sharjah 2012 - Water Village" international architecture competition. The site is an existing artificial island within an artificial lake in a rapidly developing, yet still largely undeveloped area of Sharjah, just east of Dubai. Sharjah is a largely traditional emirate in stark contrast to Dubai. It's population is rapidly growing, and many commute daily to work to the neighboring city. The program called for a 200-room hotel, "central park and gardens", 10 playgrounds, 100 "covered areas" and separate water sports/pool facilities for men and women. My main interests here were 1) Conceiving the project as a working class islamic family resort, an alternative to the high end westernized tourist resorts in nearby Dubai, and 2) See how literally I could translate from parti to program layout to architecture proposal, solving the problems along the way while always trying to keep true to the original parti. The parti is essentially a reflection of the islamic family, and what I see as two different realities in its everyday life. The parti's logic is consistent with the logic of the space planning in the program layout. The resort is in the end a reflection both through form and through actual use, of an interpretation of the islamic family and their values. The project was awarded an honorable mention. From the project statement: "The new ‘water village’ is proposed as an affordable beach resort for the burgeoning nuclear families of Sharjah. Fostering a sense of family unity as well as the independence of individual members, parents and older children can enjoy water-based activities while preschoolers are safeguarded at any of the resort’s ten day care center/playground areas. Observing Shari'ah, separate swimming beaches, swimming pools and water sports facilities for men and women are provided. After enjoying these facilities independently, both genders reunite as parents and older children return to the playgrounds for the preschoolers, and go on to enjoy the public amenities of the resort together as a family. The Sharjah Islamic Family plan is organized according to our concept of the Islamic family. The project’s imprint on the urban weave as an Island Resort graphically reflects this idea. Hierarchized at center is the circular hotel, representing the united family. The polarization brought about by sexual jurisprudence lends the plan a new elliptical dynamic. While the bases stated no height limit, we decided to keep the heights at a human scale to be consistent with Sharjah’s cultural identity, indifferent to the glitz and opulence of next-door Dubai. The central hotel building is in turn an envelope for the mosque located at its center. Its 60m tall minaret acts as a beacon, a reminder to families of the values of Islam." Read less