Abu Dhabi Public Library

The Abu Dhabi Public Library is a community-focused design by Hebah Abdulhameed that places a green heart at the center of the building to draw people in and connect the interior with its surrounding garden. Located in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, the project treats the library not as a quiet container for books but as a social space tuned to human scale, where reading, gathering, and the landscape outside meet.

The central green heart works as the organizing idea. By bringing planting and open space into the core of the plan, Abdulhameed turns the garden from a backdrop into an active part of the building, giving visitors a comfortable and interactive area that anchors the rooms around it. This green core acts as an attraction point, pulling foot traffic inward and offering a calm setting that softens the boundary between the built interior and the natural ground it sits on.

Designing a library for people

A modern public library has to balance many roles at once. It serves as a study space, a meeting place, a children’s area, and increasingly a community hub, so its plan must guide people clearly while keeping noisier and quieter zones apart. Daylight, acoustics, and easy circulation matter as much as shelving, because a library that feels welcoming will hold visitors longer than one that simply stores material. Placing a garden at the heart of the scheme is a direct response to these needs, giving every surrounding space a shared point of orientation and a source of natural light.

The emphasis on integrating landscape also suits the climate and setting of Abu Dhabi, where shaded greenery and sheltered outdoor rooms offer relief and encourage people to linger. By weaving planting through the building rather than confining it to the perimeter, the design keeps the comfort of the garden within reach from inside.

Hebah Abdulhameed’s library shows how a single strong idea, a green heart open to the community, can shape a building that feels generous, legible, and rooted in its place.