A Place in Amman

Abstract

What is a Cultural Collage? It is what is happening in Jordan today; different people from different backgrounds come to one piece of land looking for any refuge and hope. I wanted to create a building for this phenomenon. This is a building where people could come to and meet at to drink coffee and smoke hookah and share their stories.

The characters that played the role in the Surrealist Movement in Paris in the 20s were my inspiration to design this building. The Artists came together in a time of war. The first World War was in action and yet, they met at a small coffee shop in Paris to discuss what they felt like discussing and at the end of the day an art movement was born. Storytelling. In these small rooms, the meeting rooms, or even the coffee house on the first level, people meet. As they order their coffee and move into the next room they can sit and socialize, tell stories and make art. As they move up to the next level the spaces become bigger and more open. The whole building starts telling a story.