Located 50 kilometers southeast of the city of Sharaj, UAE, the Buhais Geology Park Interpretive Centre by Hopkins Architects is located on a site featuring an abundance of marine fossils from over 65 million years ago.
The centre comprises five interconnected pods of varying sizes which house exhibition areas, an immersive theatre, a café, gift shop, and other facilities. The geometry of these pods draws inspiration from the form of fossilized urchins native to the site.
To minimize disruption of the desert site’s fauna, geology, and terrain, the pods are constructed prefabricated structures that only lightly touch the ground. These pods are clad in steel panels in a colour that references the different hues of the surrounding landscape as well as the precast concrete structures. The steel ribs give the pods a sculptural quality and reference the exoskeleton of urchin fossils.
Simon Fraser, Principal and Lead Designer, Hopkins Architects said: 'Rarely is an architect offered the opportunity to design a building for such a beautifully barren landscape with so much geological and cultural significance. Our ‘light touch’ approach references the site’s marine fossils by delivering a series of ‘urchin’ pods that sit cleanly on the ground and seek to become a part of the local environment.'
