Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation (DIDI) has launched an initiative called Project Design Space to engage high school students in developing design knowledge as an academic discipline for the future growth of the industry.

Created in collaboration with Dubai Design & Fashion Council (DDFC), the after-school program allows students to ‘solve real world design challenges’, with briefs coming in from various local and international brands, including Expo 2020 Dubai and Alserkal Avenue.

Other companies taking part include adidas, IBM, and Splash.

Students will have to respond to briefs including designing a car showroom of the future; designing outdoor solutions to drive pedestrian traffic; creating an experience for multi-nationals to easily connect; developing an environmental campaign; and design tech clothing.

Over 75 schools across the UAE have responded to take part, with each school receiving specialized training materials for their teachers to lead them through the designs, according to DIDI.

Prototypes will be submitted to DIDI by 8 February 2018.

“One of our key drives is to engage successfully with students and educators throughout the UAE and this offers us another wonderful opportunity to do so,” said Alya Al-Ali, Expo 2020’s 24-year-old director of Youth Connect.

“World Expos offer everyone the opportunity to learn, innovate, create progress, and have fun by sharing ideas and working together and these will all be possible through our involvement with Project Design Space.”

Last year, the DDFC MENA Design Education Outlook report revealed a need for a nine-fold increase in design graduates by 2019. 

SSH has been selected to provide architectural and interior design consultancy services for six plots of the new Hessah Al Mubarak masterplan in Kuwait City.

The firm will also be working on the landscape, structural, civil, mechanical and electrical engineering design, as well as quantity surveying, and tender documentation.

The scope of works includes the development of five residential towers with associated parking facilities, and low-rise townhouses.

The six plots include Plot 52,  a luxury 1,830m2 residential tower with 74 apartments distributed over 26 floors and Plots 50 and 51 which comprise luxury waterfront residential twin towers with a total area of 5,506m2, with 212 apartments distributed over 42 floors, including a mechanical floor.

Other plots include Plot 160, Plots 158 and 159; including twin towers, and low-rise buildings, made up of townhouse duplexes.

SSH has additionally completed the design and supervision of infrastructure works, which were constructed by Al Ahmadiah Contracting and Trading Company.

The Hessah Al Mubarak Development includes 82 plots for residential buildings (high-, medium- and low-rise apartment buildings and duplexes); serviced apartments; offices; clinics; health clubs; commercial activities; retail; food and beverage (F&B) outlets, a mosque and a multistorey car park building.

The land allocation for the project spans 227,066m2 of which close to 50 per cent is dedicated to public services and amenities. This includes gardens, open public spaces, urban plazas, streets and multistorey public parking and utilities.

Gardens and green areas across the project make up 23,400m2.

The firm has also recently been appointed to provide supervision for design and construction of the infrastructure for the Hasabi Waterfront Development in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Related story: Dubai’s design market has become ‘a lot more savvy’ says SSH’s David Daniels

The third edition of Dubai Design Week took place from the 13-18 November. During the six-day programme, 60,000 design professionals, students and members of the public attended events in Dubai Design District (d3) and with more than 200 events across the city.

The design week welcomed back some of its key initiatives, including Iconic City, which this year focused on the design culture of Casablanca in Morocco, as well as a number of installations set up by both regional and international designers, such as Fredrikson Stallard’s collaboration with Swarovski called Prologue, as well as SUPER FUTURE DESIGN*’s BETTair-House in collaboration with tech-led lighting brand Buzzi & Buzzi and FDC Contracting. 

The Global Grad Show, one of the highlights of the week, showcased 200 innovative designs from 92 of the world’s universities, aiming to highlight how the next generation will shape the future through design, science and innovation. The 2017 edition included projects by 23 young creative minds from universities within the region.

Downtown Design, the commercial heart of the week, also doubled in size this year, exhibiting design from over 15 brands across a range of product categories.

Also featured this year was ABWAB, the platform for regional designers to showcase their work on an international stage. Over 40 designers presented their works this year, all housed inside a temporary structure made from used bed springs, designed by Dubai-based Fahed & Architects in collaboration with Bee’ah. 

The event is organised by Art Dubai Group in partnership with Dubai Design District (d3), Dubai Culture, Meraas and Audi.

All photography by Photo Solutions. 

Emirati designer Aljoud Lootah has unveiled a new collection inspired by the traditional palm frond (or palm leaf) structures found across the Middle East.

Traditonal ‘areesh’ structures found in the UAE was Lootah’s inspiration for the collection.

Entitled ‘Al Areesh’ (referencing the Arabic name of the structure), the collection comprises a set of furniture and lighting pieces including a room divider, a coffee table, a stool, and table lamp.

Areesh constructions are typically created from dried palm fronds, placed vertically as poles, and linked together by rope to create simple enclosures that provide shade from the sun, and protect against prevailing winds.

Al Areesh plays with the nature of light and shadow, mimicking the way light would enter the gaps between the palm fronds.

Such structures were commonly used across the UAE as summer houses and ‘majlises’ (places of gathering), where the gaps in the walls allowed for ventilation for the inhabitants.

The designs play with the nature of light and shadows, as the piece play homage to ‘areesh’ architecture.

Lootah used contemporary materials such as rose gold, glass, and copper plating to reinterpret the traditional architectural language of the structures, while encapsulating their nature.

The collection was first debuted during Dubai Design Week, which took place from 13-18 November 2017. See our highlights from the event here. 

The winning projects, professionals and companies for the tenth annual Middle East Architect Awards 2017 were revealed last night at a gala ceremony at the Ritz Carlton, Dubai.

Perkins+Will picked up the Large Architecture Firm of the Year for the third year running, as well as the Public Sector and Education Project of the Year award for Kings College Hospital.

Killa Design also picked up two awards on the evening for Boutique Firm of the Year and Commercial Project of the Year for its work on the Office of the Future.

The most highly-anticipated award of the evening, the Middle East Architect of the Year, was given to Iranian architect Farshad Mehdizadeh of Farshad Mehdizadeh Architects.

Projects from Iran were a highlight this year, with Keivani Architects winning Residential Project of the Year for its Tehran-based Orsi Khaneh house, and Hajizadeh & Associates’ Chabahar Free Zone Complex in the south of Iran picking up the Concept Design of the Year Award.

Buildings in Kuwait and Lebanon were also recognised with projects such as the Wind Tower by AGi Architects in Kuwait City and the Anwar Sabbah Musalla prayer hall in the south of Lebanon winning in their respective categories.

A total of 13 awards were handed out during the course of the evening. See the full list of winners below: 

Winners of the 2017 Middle East Architect Awards:

RESIDENTIAL PROJECT OF THE YEAR: Orsi Khaneh by Keivani Architects

Highly commended: Woof Shadow by Tachra Design

COMMERCIAL PROJECT OF THE YEAR: Office of the Future by Killa Design

Highly commended: Heart of Sharjah Offices by Wael Al-Masri Planners & Architects

LEISURE AND HOSPITALITY PROJECT OF THE YEAR: The Opus by Zaha Hadid Architects

Highly commended: Floating Homes by U+A

PUBLIC SECTOR AND EDUCATION PROJECT OF THE YEAR: Kings College Hospital by Perkins+Will

Highly commended: Emirates International School by GAJ

COMMUNITY AND CULTURAL PROJECT OF THE YEAR: Anwar Sabbah Musalla by Polypod

Highly commended: Al Dana Mosque by X Architects

SUSTAINABLE PROJECT OF THE YEAR: Wind Tower by AGi Architects

Highly commended: Sheltainer by Sheltainer Team

CONCEPT DESIGN OF THE YEAR: Chabahar Free Zone Complex by Hajizadeh & Associates

Highly commended: Flexible Bridge by Mohammad Reza Kohzadi

BOUTIQUE ARCHITECTURE FIRM OF THE YEAR: Killa Design

Highly commended: Studio Toggle

LARGE ARCHITECTURE FIRM OF THE YEAR: Perkins+Will

Highly commended: U+A

YOUNG ARCHITECT OF THE YEAR: Hend Almatrouk from Studio Toggle

Highly commended:  Tommaso Calistri from Killa Design

ENGINEER OF THE YEAR: Jonathan Huang from WS Atkins

Highly commended: Engi Jaber from Dewan

PRINCIPAL OF THE YEAR: Joe Tabet of JT+Partners

Highly commended: Nasser Abulhasan and Joaquin Perez-Goicoechea from AGi Architects

ARCHITECT OF THE YEAR: Farshad Mehdizadeh from FMZD

Highly commended: Benjamin Piper from Killa Design

Dubai-based Killa Design picked up the 2017 Boutique Firm of the Year prize at the 11th edition of the Middle East Architect Awards.

The judges praised the firm’s work for aiming at new horizons and always challenging the status quo.

The panel also celebrated the team’s determination to always use the latest technology, pushing the boundaries of what architecture can do

The firm was set up three years ago and has since experienced a rapid growth in terms of the number and quality of projects. Killa Design’s projects started with its winning bid for the Museum of the Future in Dubai, part of a large international competition involving some of the world’s most well-known architecture firms.

The studio signed on to design the Address Jumeirah Gate hotel, which was followed by a number of international competitions wins.

Currently, Killa Design is working on a 470m tower on Sheikha Zayed Road in Dubai.

“We like to challenge the norm in everything we do so we really push architecture to another level in terms of urban integration, contextuality, sustainability, efficiency and timelessness. And we really try to do things differently and we try to keep things very personal with our clients,” said Shaun Killa, design partner at Killa Design.

Commenting the team he said: “When you grow a new firm, you can hand pick the very best from the market and the people you’ve worked with, and bring them together to create a phenomenal team with extreme experience that push the kind of ethos we drive towards.

“We do everything almost against the norm but our mission is to create phenomenal architecture,” he concluded.

The award was presented by Abdullah Sulaiman, executive director from La Casa.

Studio Toggle was highly commended for its consistently design-led projects and healthy attitude toward growth.

View all the winners of the Middle East Architect Awards 2017 here. 

Hend Akmatrouk, CEO and partner at Kuwait-based Studio Toggle was awarded the Young Architect of the Year prize at the 2017 Middle East Architect Awards.

The judges said that Akmatrouk “has made undeniable strides in a short period of time, with projects that continue to positively contribute to the growing urban fabric of the GCC”, adding that she is “a person to watch out for very closely over the coming years”.

“I really didn’t expect to win- there are so many amazing young architects in the shortlist. I feel extremely privileged and honoured just to be nominated,” said Akmatrouk upon picking up her trophy.

Speaking of her work at Studio Toggle, she said: “I believe what makes us stand out is the honesty of our designs, and also that we are always fighting norms. We have a very minimal and simplistic approach to any kind of design solution, and that’s what makes our work pure and honest.

“We always try to come up with solutions instead of producing a beautiful building for the sake of creating something beautiful. Projects need to communicate with the public and communicate with tenants, as well as its surroundings. Our architecture has to always be responsive and responsible.

I think it is important that whenever we design any type of project, that we always think this way.”

Studio Toggle has recently completed the design of multiple villas that are currently under construction.

“We also have three apartment buildings that with completely different typologies and we have one shopping mall coming up as well,”  Almatrouk added.

The award was presented by Abdullah Sulaiman, executive director from La Casa.

Highly commended in the category is Tommaso Calistri from Killa Design for his commitment to design integrity.

View all the winners of the 2017 Middle East Awards here. 

With a total of 13 categories, here are the winners of the 2017 Middle East Architect Awards.

For full story, and list of highly commended projects, click here. 

Jonathan Huang from Atkins received the Engineer of the Year award at the 2017 Middle East Architect Awards.

Huang has over 17 years of experience in Australia, the Middle East and South East Asia, and has worked on a number of super high-rise buildings throughout his career, including the Burj Khalifa, Circle on Cavill, and the Central Bank of Kuwait.

As a professional structural engineer, his main passion is in the design of super high-rise structures with challenging composite steel and concrete structure, as well as in wind engineering.

The judges praised Huang for his ability to “turn a vision into reality”.

Upon received the award, Huang said: “I’m really privileged to be recognised among my peers, especially the architects. A lot of times, architects feel that engineers are not as visionary as them, but actually if you think about it, we do collaborate a lot. And the trick is to understand how they [architects] think. And when you understand how they think, then you can help them and collaborate with them and make that vision a reality.”

“I have to dedicate this award to a lot of people. Growing up, you have mentors and they give you the opportunity to explore and I think this is really for the mentors that I have had in the past 17 years of my career,” he added.

Highly commended for her mission  to “improve the sustainability of the construction processes and for being a true asset to the greater team” is Engi Jaber of Dewan.

The award was presented by Stuart Watts, EMEA Business Director at Deltek.

View all winners of the Middle East Architect Awards 2017 here. 

AGi Architects was awarded Sustainable Project of the Year at the 2017 Middle East Architect Awards for its work on the Wind Tower. Read more about the project here. 

Located in Salmiya, Kuwait, the residential project reinterprets local environmental techniques. The services core of the building is located on the southern wing in order to minimise sun exposure and reduce energy consumption, acting as a thermal barrier for the rest of the building.

Wind Tower is a residential complex in Kuwait.

Minimum openings are placed on the façade, while the building opens to the north, facing the sea.

The designers created optimal opportunities for natural lighting and cross ventilation, via the internal courtyard that tunnels light and ventilation from the façade and funnels it through the pool area.

The judges praised the project for its successful incorporation of sustainable solutions, drawn from traditional regional architecture, and updated to create a new language for single-family dwellings.

They also praised the project’s response to the changing dynamics and needs of regional families without losing the sustainable design philosophy of past generations.

“It is  an interesting award to get,” said Nasser Bader Abulhasan, principal partner, upon receiving the award. “It’s not only exciting for me but for the entire team and for our clients. It is a very unique project that we have tried to develop to reinterpret the traditional courtyard house into a vertical high rise.

“This award will help us to increase the number of projects we are doing and to increase the profile of our clients’ projects.”

Speaking of the challenges of the project, he said: “I think the biggest challenge is trying to build the project itself because from a conception point of view it is not straightforward to build. And to try to execute it with the type of environment we are in is probably the biggest challenge.”

Highly commended in this category was Sheltainer for “giving flexibility to create a social, sustainable community”. The judges also added that “the project is pragmatic and tangible, and its architecture works on a human scale.”

The award was presented by David Booth, Senior Technical Sales Manager, SAS International MENA region from SAS International.

View all the winners of the Middle East Architect Awards 2017 here. 

Tehran-based Hajizadeh & Associates picked up the Concept design of the Year award at the 2017 Middle East Architect Awards for Chabahar Free Zone Complex. Brothers Kourosh and Amir Hussein Hajizadeh picked up the award.

The cultural complex is located in the southern Iranian state called Sistan va Baluchestan, home to the country’s only port to the Indian ocean.

Inspired by the dry desert and its plateaus, the project also mimics ‘kapar’, or a shed in southern Iran that responds to the climate and culture of the geography. One manifestation of the inspiration is the complex’s low-leveled entrance height, which ensures end-users bow as they enter the building.

The architects explained that the project is set in a very poor district of Iran with distinct vernacular architecture. The aim with this project was to re-identify the architecture with the idea of a “kapar’ or shelter, which will simultaneously align with the architectural identity of Iran’s southern region.

The sibling dup Kourosh and Amir Hussein Hajizadeh also stressed on the importance of the environment, which the architecture paid tribute to.

“Our building is a part of the history of Chobohar, it is part of the mountains, or a part of the sea. It is a part of the environement,” said Amir Hussein Hajizadeh.

He also added that the concept design category was the main award the firm was targeting to win, explaining that it is the category that best reflect the future of architecture.

Th judges complimented the project for being “perfectly suited to its surrounding environment, recalling the vernacular language of its town in a poetic and seamless way”. They also praised the subtle cultural elements incorporated into the architecture, as well as the sustainable solutions that come together.

Highly commended in this category was Reza Kohzadi for his Flexible Bridge concept, which the judges praised for its “fearless creativity and the outside-of-the-box solution”.

The award was presented by Andre Winogradsky, Managing Director for Geberit International Sales.

View all the winners of the 2017 Middle East Architect Awards 2017 here. 

The first panel discussion taking place at the 2017 designMENA Summit will look at how architects today are- or should be- reverting back to creating an urban landscape with contextual and heritage-driven sensibility.

The past few decades redefined the built environment of the Middle East, particularly the Gulf states, with a sudden construction boom that has given way to what many regard as an ‘urban metropolis’, complete with glass skyscrapers and other such constructions.

And while these have come to be defined as ‘global’ or even ‘modern’ architecture, it can be argued that this rush to build has missed the mark in terms of mindfulness of context and heritage.

Today, we can see a growing number of projects across the Middle East attempting to express a sense of cultural heritage through the integration of native cultural motifs and elements of vernacular architectural forms.

Further still, a number of projects are underway to preserve and restore culturally and historically significant buildings and sites that are part of the cultural identity and DNA of these countries and their people.

However, identifying cultural heritage and incorporating it in designs is much more than just including overtly Islamic or Arab design motifs (the mashrabiya pattern is a commonly overused example).

The panel at designMENA Summit will explore how designers and architects can work towards correctly and truly reinterpreting the Middle East’s cultural heritage and indigenous architectural roots through authentic design.

Taking part in this panel is Rashad Bukhash, chairman at UAE Architectural Heritage Society; Lulie Fisher, design director and founder at Lulie Fisher Design Studio; Maja Kozel, founder of Maja Kozel Design; Janan Habib, managing director and architect at Habib Associates; and Ahmed Bukhash, chief architect and founder of Archidentity.  Read full agenda of designMENA Summit 2017 here. 

The keynote speaker at this year’s Summit is Minsuk Cho, founder and architect at South Korean firm Mass Studies.

Related story: Six projects by architect Minsuk Cho that redefines South Korea’s contemporary architecture

Middle East Architect held a round table to discuss the development of design technology, focusing on how BIM can positively affect the creative process linking design, architecture and construction.

Attending the conversation were Sukul Jagdev, technical manager at La Casa; Andrew Milburn, associate at GAJ; Andrew Woods, BIM manager at P&T Architects and Engineers; and Youssef Yassine, architect and BIM manager at NEB.

BIM’s ability to merge virtual reality and physical reality is one of many positive features attributed to the technology. In addition to helping clients better understand an architect’s vision of a project, the incorporation of virtual reality into the creative process also allows for a more accurate visualisation and rendition of materiality.

“BIM is basically building the building twice. Once in virtual world and a second time in the real world,” explained Andrew Woods, BIM Manager at P&T Architects and Engineers. “The best part is when the client or contractor sees the model evolve and then [arriving] on site and seeing the project look exactly like the model.”

Woods added that on many occasions clients’ expectations are not directly in line with the end result of a project, with factors such as size or lighting often being misinterpreted.

“Now, with BIM and virtual reality, you can take clients or end users through the building well before completion and address problems they envisage or help them better understand the design,” he explained, adding that this results positively with clients, who as a result of BIM,  now have  better spatial comprehension and are more agreeable with specific design choices.

Sukul Jagdev from La Casa agreed. He added, “Virtual reality is a part of this BIM environment. Right now, we give client drawings, but soon we will be able to give clients augmented reality glasses so they can take a walk through the designs. Once the project is complete, it will be something that had already been seen six months previously.”

The BIM specialists also commented on how the software will impact the use of materiality across projects, with factors such as external elements and accuracy being highlighted.

“From a material point of view, it is more accurate and there is less waste. Everything that is heavy is going to add cost, it takes more to support it: bigger foundations, bigger structures. If you can reduce the weight of something you reduce the amount of material to hold it up,” said Woods.

“And, theoretically, you can produce more interesting buildings. The Louvre in Abu Dhabi creates a perception that the roof just floats above you and if you can reduce the amount of materials used, the aspiration of the architect can be more easily achieved.”

“When you have access to the architectural space from the inside, you can see how BIM affects the material, like how the sun affects your indoor space. This will affect your cladding material choice. You can now understand how to treat your façade,” said Youssef Yassine from NEB.

“BIM helps you specifically choose the material you want to use. It’s not just a 3D model for a presentation. It’s a smart, parametric model with numbers, values, location and even time of the year.”

designMENA rounds up the top five themes and design elements of the Jean Nouvel-designed Louvre Abu Dhabi that opened to the public on 11 November of this year.

Louvre Abu Dhabi, which is located in the cultural district on Saadiyat Island, is made up of 55 white cubic volumes which house various galleries.

These volumes are distributed along a promenade of what appears to be a mini-city (or ‘medina’), surrounded by water and almost entirely covered by a geometric dome that spans 180 metres.

Read more about designMENA’s tour of the building with Nouvel here. 

Photo by Grace Guino /ITP Images

The French architect highlighted the prominent role that context played in informing the various architectural elements of the building.

“I am a contextual architect”, he explained. “I cannot imagine that a programme like this exists, if it does not belong to the local culture.”

Photo by Grace Guino /ITP Images

“Architecture is a way to enlarge the world, to make the world more complex,” he told designMENA. “If you do the same thing everywhere, everywhere in the world will be the same.” Read full article here. 

Allies and Morrison has revealed new renderings of its Madinat Al Irfan masterplan; a new city for Oman which will be built around a desert valley.

The project recently won the Big Urban Major Projects Award at the 16th MIPIM Architectural Review Future Project Awards, and will be developed over the course of 30 years.

The 624 hectares project will be able to house a living, working, and visiting population of 280,000.

The architects’ aim is to retain the landscape, using the valley as the centre of the masterplan with a series of bridges that connects the city’s various neighbourhoods or ‘towns’ across the wadi itself.

The neighbourhoods will involve a dense network of streets, which according to the architects, “embraces Omani culture and heritage by learning from the past to inform a future built environment.”

“The new city has grown out of an understanding of the geography and culture with a wadi at its heart,” the architects said.

“Understanding the symbolic importance of the wadis in Omani culture and making best use of its particular terrain, the whole development has been structured around their setting, with small grain villages located in the areas of increased topography, and urban centres in the plateau-like areas of the site, each with their own distinct character.”

The architects explained that the bridges “define the character of Irfan”.

“More than crossings, they are place-making elements that act as gathering points and retention of structure, maintaining the water basins, creating an identifiable ‘City of Bridges’.”

The development will include a central business district, a central souk and a mosque. Cultural instituions and hotels will be set on an elevated plateau, while the lower parts of the masterplan will feature various housing structures, alongside a university and a small souk.

Sustainability was integrated into the design from the initial stages, with street layouts compactly designed to allow for natural shading that encourages movement on foot rather than the use of cars, in order to reduce carbon emissions.

Grimshaw Architects, in collaboration with Arup Engineering and Haley Sharpe Design, has unveiled the design for the Oman Botanic Garden, set to become one of the largest of its kind in the world, and within the Arabian Peninsula.

Images courtesy of Grimshaw.

Featuring two biodomes, the botanic park aims to celebrate and conserve Oman’s botanic diversity, featuring hundreds of endangered flora. The project will also feature a visitor centre, as well as education and research facilities.

The various facilities are “nestled within the natural ravines and ridges that traverse the site minimising disturbance to the existing terrain,” the architects said.

The project is located at foot of the Al Hajar Mountains, 35km from the capital, Muscat,  and is one of the few locations in the world where the ancient sea bed is visible after being elevated 100m above sea level.

The architects and engineers have used the existing terrain of the site to inform the positioning of the buildings and walkways, which are integrated within the landscape.

“The eight defined habitats of the country are sensitively arranged at the centre of the site, bound by Jebel Sufra and the majestic Qurn Mubarak,” the architects said.

“The most sensitive of Oman’s habitats are enclosed within the two biomes, which mimic the species’ natural habitat.”

The forms, shape and materials of buildings have been selected in response to atmospheric conditions and the natural topography of the land, including passive and active shading, UV light controls, cooling and plant irrigation that are integrated throughout the gardens. 

Jean Nouvel, the architect behind the newly opened Louvre Abu Dhabi, explains that the interiors of the museum is largely inspired by its geometric dome, as well as the artworks on display.

The interior exhibition spaces, comprising museum galleries, temporary exhibition spaces and Children’s Museum, make up 8,600 square metres.

Also designed by Ateliers Jean Nouvel, the floors, walls and ceiling surfaces of the museum galleries re-enforce the palatial dimensions of Louvre Abu Dhabi.

The floor paving is made of stone modules framed in bronze. Throughout the galleries, the choice of stone responds to the period of the artworks on show. The walls provide hanging flexibility: all subsidiary equipment may be concealed within special wall slots.

Filtered natural light can be present in all the galleries, either from lateral windows with views onto the surrounding environment or through zenithal lighting. This involves the use of glass mirrors to capture sunlight and direct it into the gallery spaces while also scattering rays to avoid glare.

The display cases were specifically designed by Meyvaert in Ghent Belgium for Louvre Abu Dhabi. They incorporate state-of-the art materials and have been designed to adapt flexibly to the rotation artworks on display.

In addition to the museum, Nouvel was also involved in the museum’s programme.

The idea of “being on journey” is present throughout the interior spaces of the galleries, where names of countries and cities adorn the floor in native languages, indicative of visitors arriving on the shore of Abu Dhabi to begin a path of discovery into various civilisations.

The idea is that visitors arrive to the beginning of the gallery space like sailors arriving on the shore of Abu Dhabi to start this discovery, explained Jean-Francios Charnier, scientific director of Agence France-Museums.

“The geometrical lines on the walls and the floor of the galleries reference maritime charts that helped sailors navigate their journey in the sea. Visually, the lines also connect with the structure of the dome as well as being a reflection of geometry, which references mathematics in Islamic art and connects with the symbolism of location,”  he said.

The restaurant, also designed by Nouvel, is made up of modular compartments. The intricate interior design takes inspiration from Arabic patterns, which have been engraved into Corian panels. The furniture complements the light-filled interiors and panoramic views of the sea. Seven bespoke chandeliers hang over the seven VIP tables.

Jean Nouvel’s design for the museum café is inspired by the Op Art (optical art) movement of the 1960s. From certain positions, the café seems entirely monochrome (white); from others, the interiors are full of colour, like an abstracted reflection of the local maritime environment and port, opposite the museum. The floors, walls, ceilings and furniture have been designed specifically for the site by Ateliers Jean Nouvel.

Nouvel explained that the museum also takes on the feeling of a giant palace:“Everything is organised in such a way that you feel like you are in a huge apartment, a huge palace. The palace of the Louvre,” he said.

He also commented on the role of architecture in inventing and exploring history and context, where buildings are no longer designed to be nowhere.

“Architecture is a way to enlarge the world, to make the world more complex. If you do the same thing everywhere, everywhere in the world will be the same.

“You have to preserve the pleasure of travelling, the pleasure of history, the threads of stories, the attitudes, traditions towards nature, and history which has marked cities with the monuments that are already present.

“All places have the right to artistic exploration that allows them to build and evolve. It should be forbidden to build a place if there are no proposals at the level of invention and exploration,” he said.

Jean Nouvel also spoke about how the context of the building is rooted in its design. “This museum had to have roots,” he said. Read the full article about Louvre Abu Dhabi’s contextual architecture here. 

You can also see more images of the museum here. 

Palestinian architect-duo Elias and Yousef Anastas of AAU Anastas showcased its While We Wait installation in the OMA-designed Concrete building, in Alserkal Avenue during Dubai Design Week.

Photography by Musthafa Aboobacker

The multi-sensory installation, created to instigate a sense of meditation and thought, is inspired and created using stone found in various parts of Palestine. The undulating stacked stones have been digitally designed, robotically fabricated, and later assembled and carved by hand. The end result is a structure that is “self supporting”, appearing as a geometric lattice.

The structure has two gaps: one through which visitors can enter and be enclosed in its surrounding; while the other is open at the top to capture the essence of the sky.

The stones gradually shift in colour, with earthy red tones at the bottom of the structure transitioning into pale limestone towards the sky.

“Upon entering the space, the surrounding gallery can be seen through the lace-like gaps, blurring the relationship between the inside of the installation and any location in which it is situated,” the architects explained.

This transition between interior and exterior is fundamental to the Anastas brothers’ exploration of “stone stereotomy” as part of their ongoing project Stone Matters.

The architects have recently completed a prototype of a  free-standing stone vault in Jericho which will be later used for the construction of el-Atlal residency for artists and writers in the Palestinian city.

The installation also includes a sound and video element to help visitors to envision its eventual location in Bethlehem’s historic Cremisan Valley, located the West Bank and Jerusalem.

“There, it will become the focus of the local community’s non-denominational Friday gatherings, which protest the construction of the separation wall that threatens to segregate people from their lands and isolate the historic monastery from the rest of the valley,” the architects explained.

“In contrast to the wall, the installation will respect the landscape visible from inside and out. While We Wait therefore invites the viewer to reflect upon the situation in the Cremisan Valley as well as notions of self, containment, and the political appropriation of natural space.” 

The installation was first show at the Victoria & Albert Museum during this year’s London Design Festival.

The architects had also curated the Palestine Pavilion during the 2016 Dubai Design Week, presenting a structure made using olive mood, addressing its undervalued status in Bethlehem. Read more about the installation here. 

Foster + Partners has completed its first project in Lebanon, a mixed-use development made up of three towers with residential and retail offerings as well as public spaces.

All images: Nigel Young / Foster + Partners

Located in the Beirut Central District, just outside of the Solidere boundaries – a new regeneration masterplan for the city centre – the development responds to the site and culture of the city. Adjacent to 3Beirut, is Herzog & de Meuron’s Beirut Terraces tower.

3Beirut broke ground in 2011, and aims to strengthen Beirut’s role as a centre for tourism, commerce, retail and entertainment.

Particular consideration was given to the forming of public spaces within the development, with features green spaces at ground level. Other considerations include creating new pedestrian routes through the site in addition to landscape spaces that connect the historic centre to the harbour.

The overall scheme consists of three limeclad towers, with the glazed north facade providing views of the harbour, while the south facing side steps down in height, featuring terraces and green roofs that further integrate the towers into the urban fabric of its surroundings.

The central tower on the south side of the development has also been pushed back to create a landscaped forecourt that can be enjoyed by the public.

The ground plane of 3Beirut includes shops, cafes, restaurants, a fitness centre, an art gallery, and public gardens. The lobbies are connected to the ground plane through a water feature that flows from inside to outside, creating a sense of calmness.

A staggered layout of the towers allows for enhanced privacy for residents, helping avoid apartments that overlook adjacent units.

Luke Fox, head of studio and senior executive partners at Foster + Partners said 3Beirut is a”high quality building that gives back to the city”.

The development also includes a wide range of amenities such as a leisure suite featuring a 26m pool and gym, and a McLaren showroom on the ground floor.

A series of art exhibitions are held in the temporary galleries, also located on the ground floor, which is now set to become part of a regular programme of art and culture events.

During a panel discussion that looked at reviving and reinterpreting heritage in the UAE at the fifth edition of designMENA Summit, one of the panelists, Ahmad Bukhash chief architect and founder of Archidentity, commented on the importance of focusing on the functional qualities of older buildings rather than their decorative motifs.

He explained that a lot of the local mentality is to immediately implement the aesthetic qualities and forms of heritage architecture such as wind towers onto newer buildings rather than focusing on the true “richness” of these structures which lie in their functionality. He added that at his firm, the aim is to look beyond the decoration and unmask the essential qualities of such buildings.

Ahmad Bukhash, founder and chief architect at Archidentity

“We strip away all the motifs and bare it down to its essentials and we study the major components, such as natural light and ventilation, and how that can be used for new typologies,” he explained.

Bukhash added that looking at how successful structures were built in Dubai should inform architect’s approach to designing newer building.

“You will notice that everybody is talking about sustainability and energy saving, but we should be looking at how Dubai was in the past rather than how it will be in the future. If something doesn’t have a function it will not last which is what we should be focusing on rather than motif decorations,” he said.

He added that newer developments such as Citywalk appear to be the future direction in which architecture is heading in the country, but do they truly cater to the reality of the city?

“But what I always ask is, these projects work during the cooler months, but what happens to them during the summertime? You can see the effects in the high turn over of retail with retailers coming in and going out. So what is wrong that is happening here? I think as architects we need to work towards answering that question.

“How do we study buildings that we consider successful? We need to break them down to their essential components, establish a correct design direction, and enforce it with technology,” he continued.

“If you don’t get the design right from the initial stage, the technology will not help you later. If you are going to create a glass box and say technology will help in terms of solar gain, you have already messed up the scenario,” Bukhash explained.

He went on to compare two buildings which he deems as “successful”: the Dubai Municipality building and the newly opened Louvre Abu Dhabi, designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect, Jean Nouvel.

Dubai Municipality building. Image credit: dinodxbdino

“I view the Dubai Municipality building as one of the most beautiful buildings that were built in Dubai. If you look at the recently opened Louvre Abu Dhabi, which as an architect I view as a successful building based on the way it gathers people together, and compare the two buildings, what do you get? You have an enclosure of the building, you have a raised platform, you have water flowing in the centre, and you have a micro-climate. That can be adapted through the Dubai Municipality building [as well].”

He added that the approach of learning from successful buildings and applying their components to newer buildings will result in a more cohesive architectural language that will better link the city.

“You have to be very pure in your approach,” he said. “People are afraid of bland facades but they need to understand that traditionally, this was a way of being respectful of one’s neighbours. Traditionally you would have a bland facade and the decoration would be on the inside. So it is almost like taking a typical typology and reversing it inside out.”

The panel was moderated by Cristiano Luchetti, associate professor at the College of Architecture, Art & Design at the American University of Sharjah.

Alongside Bukash, the panelists included Lulie Fisher, design director and founder at Lulie Fisher Design Studio; Maja Kozel, founder of Maja Kozel Design, and  Anna Cornaro, associate professor of Architecture at the American University in Dubai, and founder of COdESIGN.

Look out for more coverage on the designMENA Summit in the upcoming days.