The building has a peculiar silhouette defined by a circular footprint covered by a central circular dome, supported by conical and inclined V-shaped pillars that mark the exterior glazed perimeter. The roof is extended with a star-shaped overhang that provides shade and gives the building a unique image.
With its different uses, the dome and pillars had been covered with false ceilings and wrapped by aluminium panels, and the space was compartmentalized with partitions. The intervention returns the building to its original silhouette, revealing its 7.3-meter high dome and interesting pillar structure, enhancing the open character of the gallery through a panoramic glass façade. A new concrete pavement was made to accentuate the materiality of the building and a previously added annex was eliminated. The final result creates dynamic spaces that complement the project spatially and programmatically.
The building was selected among the finalists for the 2022 Aga Khan Architecture Prize.
Project description by SpaceContinuum Design Studio
Sitting at the intersection of several residential areas near the centre of the city, The Flying Saucer—with its distinctive design as well as a spatial and key location in the heart of urban life—has long been inscribed in the collective cultural memory and place identity of Sharjah residents. Constructed in the mid-1970s and opened in 1978, the building’s architecture draws from a combination of space-age and Brutalist influences that permeated the period. Notable elements of its design include a wide circular dome floating above a ring of eight columns, a star-shaped canopy projecting beyond a fully glazed panoramic façade and light and open interior space supported by angled V-shaped pillars.
Initially conceived as a French-inspired store combining a restaurant, newsstand, tobacconist, gift shop, patisserie and delicatessen, The Flying Saucer has undergone a series of functional and design transformations over the past several decades. As the building changed hands—becoming a supermarket and then a fast food restaurant—its architecture was modified through the incorporation of an annexe, interior partitions and a false ceiling that hid the concrete dome and ceiling structure from the inside. The peripheral structural pillars were also cladded with silver aluminium panels.
Three years after acquiring the building in 2012, Sharjah Art Foundation began the process of returning The Flying Saucer to its prior form in preparation for the exhibition 1980-Today: Exhibitions in the United Arab Emirates, curated by Hoor Al Qasimi for the National Pavilion UAE La Biennale di Venezia at the 56th International Art Exhibition that year. For this temporary renovation, the building was stripped of its exterior cladding and interior elements, including the false ceiling and partitions, fully revealing its over seven-metre-high dome and impressive structure.
Flying Saucer by SpaceContinuum Design Studio. Photograph by Danko Stjepanovic.
The current renovation project, which began in 2018, continues the work started by the Foundation in 2015, removing the added annexe and moving all support functions to the underground to restore the building to its original silhouette and enhance the open character of the interior gallery space. This intervention also includes two new additions designed to complement the building spatially and programmatically and support its function as a community hub and resource. The first is an exterior Platform, an open, outdoor public space designed to act as a spatial and programmatic extension of The Flying Saucer, that will host social events, performances and outdoor art installations. The second major addition is the underground Launch Pad, a community space that houses:
- The ‘Green Crater,’ a sunken circular courtyard filled with lush vegetation and natural light.
- A convivial, multi-activity café overlooking the ‘Green Crater’.
- An extensive curated library.
- Various programmes including film screenings, workshops, performances and readings to be held in the open café or library spaces or in one of several enclosed ‘pods,’ including the ‘Meeting Pod’ designed for smaller convenings; the larger, multipurpose ‘Activation Pod’; or the ‘Craft Pod’ equipped for art workshops and hands-on activities.
Flying Saucer by SpaceContinuum Design Studio. Photograph by Danko Stjepanovic.
Together, these dynamic spaces will invigorate the building with a wealth of new programmatic possibilities, not only as an architecturally vibrant exhibition venue but also as a hub for gathering, creating and learning. Reviving the flexibility, centrality and rich socio-cultural history of this iconic building, this new transformation aims to re-integrate The Flying Saucer within the daily lives of Sharjah residents.
This project continues the Sharjah Art Foundation’s work to preserve the rich heritage and history of the emirate’s built environment to create spaces for the presentation of contemporary art and to meet the needs of the local community. Other major architectural projects completed by the Foundation in recent years include Al Mureijah Art Spaces (2013), a complex of five new contemporary buildings that were built alongside six existing historical structures that are home to SAF’s contemporary galleries; Al Hamriyah Studios (2017), artist workspaces and exhibition areas constructed on the site of a former souq; and Rain Room Sharjah (2018), a site-specific permanent installation by London-based artist collective Random International.
