Common Room
Designed to double up as a waiting area and social space for visitors and staff at Hargeisa City Town Hall, the project is a unique small space that reimagines how architecture and design can add value to the distinctive spatial character and the social and cultural practices of its setting. It is a modest intervention with a big impact, which greatly improves its context. It was designed by Rashid Ali Architects and constructed with a local carpenter and students at a local architecture school. This was a means to collaboratively experiment with unfamiliar materials and building techniques with local craftspersons, community and students.
The Common Room is the first structure made entirely out of timber in Hargeisa. It is positioned in front of a small existing building functioning as the city government’s land registry office, within a large public courtyard surrounded by a cluster of municipality buildings dating back to the British colonial administration. It is designed to double up as a waiting area and social space for visitors and staff at Hargeisa City Town Hall.
Common Room for Hargeisa is a unique small project that reimagines how architecture and design can respond and add value to the distinctive spatial, social and cultural practices of its setting. It is a modest intervention with a big impact, which greatly improved its context. It was designed by Rashid Ali Architects and constructed by a local carpenter and students from the nearby university’s School of Architecture. This was a means to collaboratively experiment with unfamiliar materials and building techniques with the local crafts persons, community and students.
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Location
Completed Year