Private Villa, Saadiyat

A contemporary house composed as two pale stone volumes with a darker, deeply shaded slot between them. The entrance sits in that slot, which is the only place on the street elevation where the house opens at all.

The composition is a simple one held very precisely: two solids, one void, and a horizontal roof line carried across all three so the parts stay parts of one building.

The recess is lined in dark vertical fins. They shade the glazing behind, they mark the entrance without a sign, and they give the elevation the one piece of texture it needs.

The upper floor cantilevers over the drive, which covers the arrival without adding a canopy — the sort of move that has to be agreed with the structural design at concept stage or not at all.