Public Library

This public library in the United Arab Emirates, designed by Malak Husain in collaboration with iki Architects, uses green area and landscape to create a space where the public can engage in reading and spend time with nature inside a playful building suitable for all ages. The concept treats the building and its grounds as a single welcoming gesture, drawing visitors in from the surrounding environment rather than standing apart from it.

One of the central design moves responds directly to the desert climate. Because of the harsh conditions, an underground open plaza was created to serve as a multi-purpose area for users, naturally shaded by both the landscape and the building itself. This buried courtyard borrows from a long tradition of climate-responsive architecture in arid regions, where shade, thermal mass, and recessed spaces keep interiors comfortable without relying entirely on mechanical cooling. The result is an outdoor room that stays usable through the heat of the day.

Designing a library for everyone

A public library carries a particular set of design responsibilities. It must hold quiet reading areas alongside more social, active zones, and it has to feel open to children, students, and older visitors at the same time. The playful character described here speaks to that range of ages, while the landscape integration gives the building a softer, more inviting threshold than a sealed institutional box would offer. Daylight, sightlines, and clear circulation all matter when a single space is meant to serve so many kinds of users.

Set within the wider context of United Arab Emirates architecture, the project reflects a broader regional interest in pairing contemporary public buildings with environmental strategy. The use of landscape architecture as an active design tool, rather than decoration, shapes how people approach, enter, and linger in the library. Green space becomes part of the program, offering relief from the surrounding desert and a reason to stay.

By folding nature, shade, and reading into one continuous experience, the design reframes the library as a shared civic place rather than a simple repository of books. It is an approach that suggests how cultural buildings in hot climates can stay generous and outward-looking while still respecting the limits of their setting.