A Syrian client living in Dubai with a cool, unconventional lifestyle entrusts us a party house, which would also be a place for connection and a spiritual experience in an open-minded, communal, creative atmosphere. Therefore, the social space would be important. Only two large rooms and an annex – in case an extension should be carried out later – would be necessary.

The house aims to be in line with the landscape and connected to nature, with curve lines mainly. The topography is harsh, mostly due to a very steep slope. The regulations didn’t give us many options either. We decided to develop the house is in a very narrow strip at a constant elevation.

Our topographic plans were more detailed than usual as we wanted to take advantage of all feasible opportunities the terrain could bring. Controlling the impact of the walls was a must, so we worked in a very free-flowing way with a fractal strategy. Access is set up on the roof, in the upper side of the house – in a way, it’s like plunging under a water plane through a courtyard that’s located between a fractal-shaped retaining wall and the back of the house.

This way one arrives to a large communal space – open to the views – that practically becomes a porch, so that the large glass windows on the wall panels can no longer be seen.