
The Journey
Located by the banks of the Dubai creek, The Journey is a zero-energy mixed-use development with a modern take on the region's traditional Arab architecture.
Area 460,000 sq.ft.
Location Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Year 2018
Status Concept
Team Amrutha Kishor & Sara Abouebeid
Program Mixed-Use
Awards First position at national finals at United Kingdom - Isover Saint Gobain Multicomfort Student Contest 2018, International Finalist - Isover Saint Gobain Multicomfort Student Contest 2018

Located at the heart of Dubai Culture Village, Rihlah Al Jaddaf or The Journey, Al Jaddaf is designed to be critically regional. We were inspired by traditional Arab architecture was low-rise and irregular in shape with surrounding walkways.
Materials available locally - earth, wood, canvas and date palm husk have been used to reduce embodied energy. Each of these signifies items of prominence in Arab culture- earth the sands of Arabia, wood the dhows they would use, canvas what their tents were made of and date palm the local vegetation.
Xeriscapes suited to the dry climate have been installed to add greenery which is easy to maintain.

The Journey was designed keeping in mind what users perceive as they pass through the space. The walkway through the seven courtyards until the viewpoint of the majestic Dubai Creek is significant of the seven levels passed to reach paradise in Islamic belief.
The factors pedestrian motion, view and wind from the creek have been key in determining the orientation and massing of the project.
The Journey is a mixed-use development with pedestrian retail and exhibition spaces on the ground floor connected to a viewpoint on the first floor for the public and residences in the floors above.
The mashrabiya pattern, popular in traditional Islamic architecture has been used as a motif in the viewpoint bridge as well as in the balconies.


Good lighting is a vital element in all of our projects. In the extremely hot climate of Dubai, it is also essential to control solar heat gain. Every residence in The Journey has an exposed facade with glass-reinforced concrete panels which form minute openings to let in an ample amount of light but not heat.
Each apartment has at least one balcony with flexible solar shading made of canvas. Strategically located lighting ducts ensure that there is not a single apartment that is poorly lit.
A detailed lighting and thermal study were carried out on Sefaira Pro and IESVE to confirm these.
Apart from being designed to complement Dubai's climate, a number of strategies have been used to make The Journey a zero-energy project: