Coffee Shop, Liwa

A small pavilion in the Liwa landscape, made of a single sweeping roof over a glazed volume. The roof is the building: it shades the glass, shelters the terrace and gives the pavilion its whole silhouette against the desert.

In an open landscape a small building either sits on the ground awkwardly or lies along it. This one lies along it: low, wide, with the roof line held level and the ground brought up to meet it.

The curve is structural, not applied. It lets the roof span the seating area without a column in the middle and gives the deepest overhang exactly where the western sun arrives.

The terrace is designed as the main room. Planting, low walls and level changes divide it into places to sit, so the building can be small and the project can still be generous.