Arabian Heritage Meets Modern Minimalism

What was it like to live in a traditional Emirati home? Located in the historic heart of Sharjah, the Bait Khalid bin Ibrahim in The Serai Wing, an extension of The Chedi Al Bait, offers a stay that will whisk guests back in time to the decade of the 1950s prior to the United Arab Emirates’ unification in 1971. Dubai and London-based Anarchitect, a boutique, award-winning architecture and design practice founded by British RIBA architect Jonathan Ashmore, crafted The Serai Wing by preserving the existing character of two redundant 1950s Emirati houses once belonging to pearl merchant Khaled bin Ibrahim that were temporarily being used as government offices. 

The design of The Serai Wing reflects the importance of preservation. The immersive retreat required a challenging renovation, upgrade and repurposing of the two former homes. Dividing them into 12 guest rooms, Anarchitect intricately designed and repurposed the homes and infused them with minimalistic, stylish modern design elements. Each of the rooms is uniquely crafted with its own individual layout drawn from the transformation of the historical buildings and maintains a seamless blend of traditional Emirati design elements from the original edifices alongside original and new materials.

“The whole idea of this project is not just about regeneration, but repurposing,” explains Ashmore. Each room showcases the original coral and limestone mortal walls of the two merchant homes and features high ceilings and teak-wood trellises alongside modern travertine, white-metal accents and a serene palette of neutral hues. “We did not want to create a pastiche to make the building look like it was from the original 1950s buildings,” said Ashmore. “What we wanted to do is take influences from parts of the project that were existing, the forms, the shapes, the volumetrics as well as the materials and the perforations, and translate them into a new series of buildings that showed that this was a new intervention in 2023 that was different from the original build 70 years ago.” 

Devised as an inner city sanctuary in Sharjah’s historic district, the property is thoughtfully layered to comprise remnants of its past with modern design elements of the present. Due to the candidacy of the heart of Sharjah for UNESCO World Heritage Site status, renovations to The Serai Wing were carefully designed to preserve its integration into the historic coastal community of Sharjah, which once served as a major merchant hub along the shores of the Arabian Gulf, one of the oldest maritime routes.

“Historic layers sit harmoniously alongside new contemporary interventions realised in travertine stone and perforated white-metal surfaces that create additional and necessary functionality to facilitate the new hospitality program transcended into the properties,” Ashmore writes in the press release of the project. 

Inside, the rooms are bathed in natural light that emanates through traditional Arabian windows illuminating the space and fostering a serene, intimate atmosphere. The 12 accommodation options, including the 70-sqm duplex Khalid Grand Suite, feature bespoke furniture, luxurious marble-clad bathrooms, and in-room technology, focusing on comfort and privacy. The rooms are designed around a traditional tranquil central courtyard and have direct access to a temperature-controlled swimming pool with lounge seating and unique sculptural shades. Additionally, a Ghaf tree – the national tree of the United Arab Emirates –  is located within the center of the courtyard. Ashmore says his studio had to sensitively design the area around the tree to maintain it. 

Anarchitect’s design of The Serai Wing offers a rare dialogue between heritage and modern design. In November 2025, The Serai Wing won the inaugural RIBA Middle East Award for the Adaptive Reuse for representing a transformative piece of architecture that evocatively reflects the importance of preservation while reimagining a new modern lifestyle destination for regional and global travellers. 

Designed as an escape within the city, The Serai Wing offers a contemporary experience rooted in the heritage of its location. Views of Sharjah can be relished at various intervals throughout the rooms of Bait Khalid bin Ibrahim where strategic design gestures highlight seclusion, privacy and wellbeing. 

The past and present converge in The Serai Wing. As its clean lines meet Emirati traditional architectural components and minimalist design, the structure also offers a gateway to the city’s cultural scene. With the Sharjah Art Foundation just a quick walk away, a further dialogue between the city’s art and timeless architecture can be had.