Kalba Ice Factory

The 20,000 square-metre building was constructed by renovating a derelict feed mill and ice factory.

Kalba Ice Factory was originally constructed in the 1970s as a fish feed mill and then used as an ice production and storage facility by local fishermen,[1] allowing fish caught on Kalba's extensive coastline to be transported to Dubai for sale.

[3] The development of the ice factory includes a series of six apartments, social spaces and a 200 square-metre workshop as well as a branch of the Foundation's Fen Café.

[3] Inaugurated by the ruler of Sharjah, Dr Sultan Al Qasimi,[4] it has since been called 'a testament to the power of adaptive reuse and preservation.

[7] The Kalba Ice Factory project is one of a number of 1970s and '80s buildings under restoration by Sharjah Art Foundation and the Sharjah Architecture Triennial, including the Flying Saucer; the Jubail Vegetable Market; the 1970s Khor Fakkan Cinema, being redeveloped as a music school, and a pyramid-roofed kindergarten, being made into a community centre.