Sijal Institute

Year 2022

Location Amman, Jordan

Discipline Architecture

Typology Renovation , Education , Culture , Offices

Learning Terraces

An award-winning design competition that restores an old house built in the 1920s in Amman, adaptively reusing it as a central space for Sijal Institute new campus while introducing a sensitive architectural intervention. A new structure, elevated above the existing house concrete pillars, maintains a respectful distance, creating a dramatic void that highlights the historic building and opens its roof to the public. A terraced layout follows the site’s contours, integrating stepped learning spaces with views to the citadel. The intervention contrasts old and new, using a steel framework for long spans, enveloped in a bush hammered concrete shell. Facing Jabal Al Waibdeh, the design remains understated, while the rear opens to expansive terraces offering the Arabic learning students with open views to the citadel.

Massing

1/8 A precious old Ammani house, located in the vibrant Al waibdeh neighborhood is the most valuable asset in this location. Preserving this structure would be the corner stone for this project.

2/8 The house sits at a level lower than the street it’s connected to, opening to a spacious garden and to the citadel view. The approach to the institute starts with the bridge that attracts visitors from the street and onto the roof level of the old house.

3/8 Four main pillars start to formulate around the house, the main circulation core that connects to the bridge, a structural plinth, a services pillar, and the theatre mass that sits at the lowest natural ground level.

4/8 Campus masses start to formulate on top of the main pillars, starting with another corner circulation core that connects the old house to the theatre and takes the students up to the learning kitchen.

5/8 The learning kitchen mass steps up a level in a terraced manner, creating an open terrace area for the kitchen’s events. The theatre and kitchen masses are directly connected to the campus garden and to the public through a platform connected to the old house entrance from the back.

6/8 The first floor housing classrooms of all sizes flies above the old house, leaving a gap between the new and old structures. This mass can be accessed through the main circulation core after crossing the bridge.

7/8 The second floor follows the terracing pattern. With it's classes mass tilting slightly to maintain better views to the citadel. The classes open up to a shared ‘learning terrace’, where the learning experience can move between indoor and outdoor spaces.

8/8 The best views and biggest terrace at roof level are dedicated to the cafe and the multipurpose halls with flexible walls. This terrace can be utilized for the cafe and for events happening at Sijal.

1/8 A precious old Ammani house, located in the vibrant Al waibdeh neighborhood is the most valuable asset in this location. Preserving this structure would be the corner stone for this project.