Melody House
Abu Dhabi, UAE 2023-24



Melody House examines how architecture can act as both background and protagonist, an attempt to disappear while maintaining a strong presence, creating a contradictory experience. The brief called for a space that could meet the functional demands of retail while accommodating the immersive, often personal act of engaging with music. Our response was a spatial narrative built around deliberate contrasts: openness and enclosure, exposure and privacy, lightness and weight, stillness and movement.

At the center of the project is a custom-fabricated blue perforated metal shell that functions as both a sculptural object and a spatial organizer. Positioned along the front façade, this element creates a threshold that defines circulation and marks transitions between zones arranged by instrument type, forming distinct musical neighborhoods. The perforations allow visual permeability while maintaining a sense of privacy, softening boundaries without closing them entirely. The choice of blue references the store’s branding and gives the space a clear identity within a predominantly neutral palette.

The interior layout avoids singular partitions. Instead, a continuous linear element contains a sequence of alcoves defined by shifts in material, variations in lighting, and four distinct thresholds that act as strong architectural markers. This arrangement enables visitors to experience the space at different rhythms, similar to how musical compositions can alternate between continuity and interruption.