The Woven Serpent Part 1 Project 2025 Fathimath Adheeba Manipal Academy of Higher Education - Dubai campus Dubai UAE Today, most buildings focus too much on being open and connected. Spaces flow into each other without clear boundaries. At first, this seems efficient, but it can also be overwhelming. Especially in an educational building, when everything connects, there’s no room to pause. No quiet spaces to reflect, to think, or just be still. I believe learning doesn’t just happen in classrooms, it also happens in the spaces between."Whether it’s a shift in light, texture, or scale, thresholds create a sense of anticipation. They are the held breath before stepping into something new."-Samantha Frew, ArchitizerThe Africa Institute is designed as both a vessel and a voice. The architecture acts as a tactile and visual landscape- one that envelops visitors and encourages a heightened state of awareness. The visitor feels within a world rather than passing through it.Influenced by vernacular forms and natural systems, the architecture also takes on a creature-like presence. The Woven Serpent- a living form with limbs and eyes representing the multitude of perspectives and lived experiences of the people of Africa; each eye, a fragment, a story, a struggle, a celebration, forever rooted in the collective inheritance of the continent. Tutor(s) Adel Sattaripour