Location: Dubai, UAE
Project Designer: APS Designs
Project Type: Museography Design

Project: Capturing Light and Vision

In a dynamic collaboration, Italian Architect Antonio Pio Saracino with APS Designs was hired by a visionary UAE-based businessman and philanthropist to shape a masterpiece – the Museum of Photography in Dubai. This endeavor holds a profound aspiration, echoing the emirate’s dedication to be a global pioneer of excellence and creativity. The Museum of Photography emerges as a symbol of cultural resonance, an iconic testament to the city’s rich heritage.

Architectural Elevation: Bridging Legacy and Innovation
Drawing inspiration from the region’s cultural heritage, the museum’s architectural design forms a striking silhouette on Dubai’s skyline. This monument stands tall, visible from surrounding high-rises and even from above, an aerial spectacle that captures the eye and imagination.

Vision in Focus: Inspired by Dubai’s Icons
The Museum’s conceptual foundation resonates with Dubai’s iconic symbols. It gracefully assumes the abstract shape of an eye, a design that transcends the tangible and ventures into the realms of art and symbolism. This distinctive form invites the gaze of those soaring above, an architectural wonder that enchants the sky.

Dazzling Aerial Dynamics: A Roof in Flux
To enchant global travelers flying above Dubai, the Museum of Photography employs a dynamic visual mechanism on its roof. This ingenious system morphs with the changing angles of aerial observation, creating a spectacle that captivates and mesmerizes.

Metamorphic Roof Imagery: A Tale of Two Perspectives
The museum’s sloped roof is adorned with dimensional panels that metamorphose with every shift in perspective. From one angle, the panels compose an image of Sheikh Mohammed; from the opposite, the graceful form of a falcon emerges. These images transform with the viewer’s vantage point, an ever-evolving canvas that paints stories in the sky.

Cultural Echoes: Diaphragms of Exhibition
The circular plan of the museum houses exhibition galleries that radiate like photographic diaphragms. Rooted in Islamic geometric patterns, these galleries span two floors, their walls transforming to adapt exhibition spaces into vibrant performance venues.

Urban Ensemble: A Plaza of Possibilities
The plaza encircling the museum is a vibrant ensemble of eight independent commercial buildings, accompanied by a service hub. A canopy and trees provide an inviting shelter for guests of the charming restaurants and cafes that grace the open public spaces, offering moments of reprieve and reflection.

Night’s Illumination: A Photographic Symphony
As the sun bids adieu, the museum takes on a new identity, illuminating the night sky with grace. A meticulous arrangement of lamps projects a photographic cone of light from its rooftop, a homage to the essence of “photography” – light and representation through lines.

The Museum of Photography is more than a structure; it’s a visual narrative, a play of light and vision that symbolically unites the heavens and the earth, giving life to the very essence of the art it venerates.