MOS Rooflight

The Mall of Syria is part of a 100 hectare masterplan for a new town located along the route between Damascus and Beirut, approximately twenty minutes by car from Damascus old town. The rooflight is located in the central indoor courtyard of the shopping mall that is directly linked to the outdoor town central square, and marks one of the main access routes to the mall.

Project Details +

Project Details

LOCATION: Damascus, Syria
CLIENT: Majid Al Futtaim Group
DATE: 2010 - 2015
STATUS: Scheme Design
SIZE: 3762 m² Rooflight area (Length 99m x Width 38m, Height 15m-18m)

Credits +

Credits

ACME: Stefano Dal Piva, Friedrich Ludewig, Keigo Yoshida

The client’s aspirations were to provide a cover for the mall’s central space with a strong architectural character but also with a simple construction method using materials and skills available locally. It was proposed to reinterpret Syrian traditional architectural elements, such as arches and vaults, in order to create a form that is both contemporary and rooted in Syrian culture.

Exploded axonometric

Plan and bending stress optimization analysis

The project consists of an array of parabolic vaults parallel to the long side of the courtyard. The vaults are supported by flared columns to form arches lengthwise. The canopy is strewn with small openings to allow daylight, in the style of the domed ceilings of traditional Damascus hammams. The project is conceived as a thin concrete shell where the vaults form ribs providing intrinsic strength to the structure.

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