Qasr al Muwaiji Research Center and Museum

The adaptive reuse and substantial addition to Qasr al Muwaiji (in association with landscape architect, Imad Gemayel Architecture), a historic fort and grounds within the city of Al Ain, is intended to serve as a comprehensive learning, research and exhibition facility that is committed to preserving and providing access to collections relating to Gulf history. The Centre will be dedicated to His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, President of the United Arab Emirates, who was born within the Fort.

Principal elements of the project include a permanent exhibition located within the refurbished fort that culminates in a tour of the original rooms of the historic Palace. The new structure is clad entirely in glass, offering unobstructed views of the grand Fort, and bearing lightly on its hallowed grounds.

The complex offers uninterrupted access to a vast garden set under the continuous canopy of the trees, and includes a range of amenities such as fountains, pedestrian plazas and shaded parking. The date palm grove itself is preserved as a working plantation, and is fed by an active and decorative falaj system to recall the traditional farming practice.