In Sharjah, Bridi Park is a thatched-roofed oasis in the desert. In Africa, these extraordinary roofs acted as the perfect air conditioners, in medieval England they were and still are excellent at keeping out rain. A few hundred years later, they unexpectedly appear in the fast-city of Sharjah. AD speaks to Urko Sanchez Architects who work between Nairobi and Madrid.
Context, for this studio, starts with where they are and where they’ve been. "Our studio originally started on the coast of Kenya, where we were based for several years. Over time, our Spanish roots and personal lives brought us back to Madrid, where we opened a second office. Today the studio operates between both locations: the Nairobi office focuses primarily on projects across East Africa, while the Madrid office works mainly on projects in the Middle East.” That overlap set the groundwork early on: “Historically, the East African coast and the Red Sea have shared strong commercial and cultural links, and this exchange is reflected in many architectural similarities between the two regions.” Or more simply, “our projects are deeply embedded in context and in the study of vernacular architecture and traditional building techniques.”
The move into the region was almost incidental. “Bridi Park came somewhat by chance and became our gateway to the region.” What followed feels more deliberate.
The brief steered the language. “The project called for an architecture inspired by different African architectures, which is why we chose thatched roofing.” But the choice quickly expanded beyond reference. “Beyond its cultural reference, thatch allowed us to cover large areas with lightweight structures that provide generous shade and perform very well in hot climates.” Its pliability opened up formal possibilities: “we were able to shape the roofs in a way that creates a landscape of imaginary creatures emerging from the reserve which blended in naturally with the surrounding environment.”
There’s also a longer lineage at play. “Roofing made from palm leaves, reeds or other vegetation has been used for centuries across many parts of the world, including desert settlements and oasis architecture in the Arabian Peninsula.” In that sense, “the material resonates with a broader architectural language of arid regions, where building with available vegetation has long been a practical and climatic solution.” The architects frame it directly: “the material therefore became both a climatic response and a narrative tool, linking African references with a wider tradition of lightweight, plant-based architecture found across warm regions.”
While the forms lean East African, the logic holds steady across contexts. “Architecture in desert environments has historically been closely linked to nomadic cultures, light, adaptable and deeply responsive to climate.” But they’re quick to expand that reading: “desert architecture has not always been light or nomadic; there are also long-standing sedentary traditions, such as Najdi architecture, architecture from the Gulf and other regional examples that developed robust responses to the harsh climate.” These references continue to inform their work, even here: “while desert nomadic architecture continues to inform our thinking, here the design language deliberately referenced East African coastal traditions.” The overlap sits in the fundamentals: “shelter from the climate while working with it, simplicity of form and the intelligence of traditional building systems.”
The studio’s influences resist neat attribution. “As a studio it is difficult to point to a single source of inspiration.” Instead, “our greatest inspiration continues to be the anonymous builders who have shaped vernacular architecture around the world.” Alongside that, figures like Bernard Rudofsky remain key, as do practitioners including Anna Heringer, Hassan Fathy, Ammar Kammash, Francis Kéré, Studio Mumbai and Anne Holtrop, a mix that mirrors the project’s own cross-cultural references.
The process was unexpectedly frictionless. “It was actually quite smooth. It marked our first project outside East Africa, and we felt it was a natural step toward the Arabian Peninsula, where we have since worked on several other projects.” Even with its scale, “there were many stakeholders involved, and the project evolved over time.” Still, “it was a long and detailed process, but also a very rewarding one. We enjoyed the journey and are very happy with the final result.”
