A M Qattan Foundation
A M Qattan Foundation
Competition to design a community centre in Ramallah, Palestine
The Al Qattan Foundation has played a significant and positive role in the occupied territories of Palestine, working for the last twenty years to strengthen the cultural heritage of the area and its people. A competition was held with four International practices invited to design a new headquarters for the Foundation.
The design submitted was based on the traditional courtyard houses of the area, with the hillside setting allowing a cascading series of levels that flowed into the surrounding olive groves.
Local stone was chosen to face the buildings that were to be decorated with texts chosen to emphasise the cultural and literary basis of the foundation. Windows were set deep into reveals to minimise solar gain while the top-lit gallery made use of shaded North Light to illuminate the space.
A courtyard planted with vines provided shelter from the intense sun with views stretching over the valley to the city beyond.
A courtyard planted with vines provided shelter from the intense sun with views stretching over the valley to the city beyond.
Local stone was chosen to face the buildings that were to be decorated with texts chosen to emphasise the cultural and literary basis of the foundation.
