House of the Future | Michele Fabbri

As intended to create a new standard for building in Dubai, the house has been designed to be both terraced and stand alone. 

The house is surrounded by a wall fence on each of four sides of the plot and hasn't any direct view on the Main Street. This “introversion” is focused on giving the maximum privacy to the residents and to make it cosy, welcoming and safe as well.

Actually the house mainly develops on the inside: the living room, two bedrooms and the office are facing the inner garden and also remaining rooms (majlis, other bedrooms, kitchen etc.) overlook private courts.

In order to respond to the climatic conditions, a particular attention has been paid to building criteria and materials.

As to that, no surface of the building is exposed to direct solar radiation: roofs are covered by floating floors, sun screens or photovoltaic panels, on blank walls we can find a ventilated façade with WPC cladding and glazed surfaces are shielded by sun screens.

The WPC (Wood Plastic Composite) has been chosen for its low specific heat capacity (to prevent overheating), sustainability, durability and low maintenance request. On the contrary, inside the building we can find materials with high specific heat capacity (ceramic, concrete) to preserve cool. Moreover, exterior walls have a heavy mass composition (concrete structure, graphite insulation and brick counter-wall) to promote thermal phase shift.

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The house is equipped with several outdoor spaces.

There is an entrance patio, the "jasmine garden" facing the majlis, a separate courtyard for household chores, a large pergola with an outdoor lounge and the actual garden. This one is designed as a modern Arab garden with a fountain, fruit trees and palms (for shading the inner façades of the building too). 

But also other scenarios are foreseen for the garden: a simple green lawn, a swimming pool or the extension for a recently married couple.

Last but not least, on the rooftop we can find a huge terrace with a breathtaking panoramic lounge, a solarium and the Jacuzzi.

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Two vertical elements feature the house design.

The first one is a wind tower, inspired by traditional Arab architecture. In the daytime it catches outer air and refresh it passing through an underground channel. Combined with a CMV (Controlled Mechanical Ventilation), air filters and an aspiration system (when needed) it promotes natural ventilation and cooling.

Of course, during the warmer season, this isn’t enough to grant the indoor comfort. So, in addition, there’s a traditional channeled air-conditioning.

By night, opening windows, a pyramid-shaped ventilation chimney with louvers allows the stack effect which enables the passive movement   of air through the building. This can be done manually or by a home automation system.

Thanks to photovoltaic panels on the roof and an underground water tank, the house can be self-sustained.