Sharjah Architecture Triennal Website 
Al Manakh Spaces aim to develop the open area of Al Qasimiyah School into an experimental urban garden that offers a critical site to cultivate sustainable living in Sharjah City’s dense urban context. Through direct engagement with the Al Manakh neighbourhood community, the project seeks a participatory response to environmental challenges at the individual and neighbourhood scales, and works towards the co-design of landscaped green spaces. Community participation is shaping the directly adjacent site to the Sharjah Architecture Triennial headquarters into a public space. Shaded areas housing a variety of programmes and amenities project to fulfill various social and ecological needs of a community that primarily resides in high rise buildings.
Through an investment in the garden, the Triennial recognizes the need to experience and understand how nature sustains life and live accordingly. Gardens are sites where diverse life forms co-exist; they allow us to recognize our dependency on other species and respond to our environment in a shared responsibility. The programme tackles crucial challenges in sustainable landscaping practices in the region by offering gardening, and urban farming workshops aimed at growing food locally and sustainably, while being focused on learning. This intersection of food and climate is where we can exercise our decision-making power and engage in meaningful action every time we eat or work in the garden.
