Interior Designer | Designing through empathy
Children of the Sun (أولاد الشمس)
Concept
A trauma-informed, child-centered orphanage designed as a nurturing residential environment rather than an institutional space. The project creates sensory-friendly, home-like communal areas that support emotional safety, social connection, and cognitive development, allowing children to heal, grow, and form secure attachments.
Schematic Phase I
Problem : Rigid, efficency-driven orphanage design often overlooks emotional needs, affecting attachment and development for chidern.
This age range was selected because it represents a particularly vulnerable stage of development.
Site location, El Sheikh Zayed City
The context diagram showcases the surrounding area near the site, El Yasmine Compound.
Entrance to the compund villa
The conceptual idea emerged from researching how children interpret geometric shapes.
Using the keyword “community” as a guiding framework to develop and iterate the forms.
A sketch drawing of a hallway showing how the form could be implemented into the space.
A sketch drawing illustrating how the form could be implemented within children’s spaces.
Schematic Phase II
Explored the form more freely, experimenting with it across different spaces without being constrained by its original shape.
Childern's Room
Activity Room
Local and sustainable material selection to support a trauma-informed environment for children.
Activity Room
Music Room
Art Room
Classroom
A section showcasing the multipurpose room and how its elements come together.
Design Development
The first floor supports learning and development through clear spatial planning, allowing children to navigate the space easily.
The second floor provides a residential setting where children can rest and end their day comfortably, with a layout that supports easy navigation.
Childern's Room
TV Room
Activity Room
Music Room
Art Room
Classroom
A cross section showing the interaction between the first and second floors, where material choices and form create a trauma-informed environment.
The elevation showcases how a hallway can become more interactive, creating a journey through the space.
This space functions as an activity room, designed to encourge interaction and sense of ease.
This space functions are music room, designed to express, interaction, and shared learning.
This space functions as an art room, designed to encourge creativity, focus, and self-expression.
This space functions as a childern's bedroom, designed to provide a sense of safety, familiarity, and rest.
A digital model showcasing the three rooms coming together as one cohesive space.
Senior Design Booklet
Video Explaining the whole story