The Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood (SCMC) is an independent governmental organisation in the United Arab Emirates that looks after the welfare, education and development of mothers and children in the country. The interior of its 3,500 m2 office in Abu Dhabi has just been renovated according to a design by Dubai-based architectural and interior design studio Roar. It is a design focused on the user experience (or “UX design“). That is why it responds to a real challenge, that of creating a space that serves both the employees who work in it and the recipients of their work, mothers, children and youngsters.
“When designing a space, we always have the users front of mind,” Roar founder and creative director Pallavi Dean told Wallpaper magazine. In the case of SCMC’s offices, she adds, her design aims to remind adults of “how their work impacts little people (…), by infusing a playful energy across the three floors of the building”. Indeed, the interior design combines the use of the space as offices with that of a nursery and a place for children to play.
So, the design places the nursery, a gymnasium, a exhibition room and the reception on the ground floor. The first floor, on the other hand, is used for meeting rooms, a library and a space for events and projections. Finally, the second and last floor houses the management offices and the meeting room.
As for the key elements that have inspired the design, there are the traditional Emirati codes, present in the courtyard-like appearance of the reception area, or in the use of elements reminiscent of local craftsmanship, such as the ceiling of the nursery space made of braided palms in the Al Sadu style. The constant playful elements, such as a climbing wall, or the climbing net in the same place, or the bright colours, are a constant reminder of the presence of the little children’s representatives, in whose service the supreme council works.
You can find more information about UX design principles in this LINK.
Sources: Wallpaper, FRAME, SCMC. Images: Chris Goldstraw via FRAME.
