Resthouse en Rihyad

This private social facility is located on a plot within a semi-consolidated urban environment in the city of Rihyad, Saudi Arabia.
The program consists of several indoor and outdoor meeting and rest areas for a total of 620 m2 built indoor and 860 m2 outdoor.
The project consists of two volumes that slide in the longitudinal direction of the plot: the first one appears to accompany the main entrance and the second one advances towards the back. As a consequence of the implementation of both pieces as "small pavilions" on the plot, the voids are configured to generate two courtyards. The two volumes or pavilions have an intense dialogue with the exterior. The front volume, on one level, contains the children's area and the spaces related to the men's majilis. The rear volume, with two levels, contains the women's majilis on the first floor and a group of two rooms with their associated services and a private majilis on the upper floor. The courtyards are conceived to generate two clearly differentiated areas in terms of use and landscape. While the main courtyard is configured as a place for calm and contemplation, with paths for the transit of users, the second courtyard, located at the rear of the plot, contains the swimming pool. The third element of the architectural composition is the semi-covered gallery. This architectural element is key because it is responsible for filtering and controlling the incidence of direct sunlight, generating, in turn, an intermediate space for circulation and connection between the volumes, and moderating the relationship between the interior and exterior spaces of the Rest House.