The House of Sheikh Jumaa Bin Maktoum

The house of Sheikh Jumaa Bin Maktoum Bin Hashir is located in the area of Shindagha of Old Dubai. Historically, Old Dubai was divided into three main areas: Shindagha, Bur Dubai, and Deira. Shindagha, on the western bank of the Creek, is separated from Deira by a sand stretch called Ghubaiba. The establishment of the area dates back to circa 1862. It has quickly acquired a historical importance late 19th Century when the city’s population started to increase significantly and later became the residence area of the royal family. The house is considered to be one of the most sophisticated houses in Shindagha. The building is important for the history of Dubai because of its artistic and architectural aspect and its strategic location overlooking Dubai’s commercial centre at the Creek.

The house has two floors with an approximate area of 1037 square meters. It has three entrances. The main entrance is located at the Eastern side facing the creek and mostly used by men and guests, while the other tow are more private and is mainly used by women. An open court centered in the middle of the house planted with an Almond tree considered the main focal point, where everything is either leads to it or access from it. There are many rooms in the ground floor than in the upper floor.

The house is highly decorated with different shapes and forms of vegetal and geometric patterns using either black and white techniques of charcoal or only white hollow or solid form. In the ground floor two elevated liwans serves as outdoor living area located at the eastern and northern end where members of the family can sit in shaded area during the hot season of the summer. There are two stairs leading to the upper floors. One is straight facing the main entrance and the other is more hidden in the western side. In this house like in most cases of the emirate house the second floor do not occupy the whole are. Some of the space is left open as terrace to be used by the family during the summer.

In 2000 , The Architectural Heritage Department at Dubai Municipality has resorted the building to be the museum of the House Traditional Architecture. The restoration work was implemented respecting the international ethics and standard of conservation using with local building techniques and traditional materials. Minimum intervention was applied in the design proposal to allow for proper use of the buildings.

The House of Sheikh Jumaa Bin Maktoum by Eman Assi in United Arab Emirates won the WA Award Cycle 5. Please find below the WA Award poster for this project.