Archinect - News

Abu Dhabi announced as second Sphere venue location

2024-10-15T14:01:00-04:00

The second iteration of the popular Sphere venue will be located in Abu Dhabi after officials from the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT) announced a deal with its New York-based holding company Sphere Entertainment.

The first Sphere location outside of the United States is part of the intended vision of CEO James Dolan for a global network of venues and will require the DCT to pay a franchise initiation fee for the use of proprietary designs and intellectual property. It also aligns with Abu Dhabi's larger 2030 Tourism Strategy, which spurred an investment equal to at least $10 billion.

The DCT Abu Dhabi will also be asked to pay an annual fee to use the Sphere’s creative and artistic content. Populous’ original design for the 20,000-seat Las Vegas Sphere cost a total of $2.3 billion to construct between 2019 and 2023.

This ends some speculation as to where the Sphere would exp...

Researchers claim to discover flaws in AI-generated images of Islamic architecture using Midjourney

2024-06-20T18:51:00-04:00

Techxplore.com has some interesting insights concerning flaws in the AI-led architectural image generation of historic Islamic architecture after a report about its inaccuracies surfaced in the journal Buildings this March.

"[The] inability to obtain precise visual representations of specific landmarks hinders the meaningful utilization of technology. The underlying reason for this limitation lies partially in the generic training dataset of generative artificial intelligence programs and services like Midjourney, which lacks adequate recognition of regional and cultural variations," researchers from the UAE’s University of Sharjah explain.

The matter touches on the limits of AI’s integration into the design process. The full paper, which focuses on the issues latent in a Midjourney experiment, is accessible here.

Foster + Partners unveils design for Dubai luxury residential towers

2024-03-26T11:45:00-04:00

Foster + Partners has unveiled plans for two luxury residential towers in Dubai. Named VELA and VELA VIENTO, derived from the Latin words for ‘sails’ and ‘wind’ respectively, the design of the towers echoes the architectural language of the firm’s previous waterfront tower The Lana, which sits nearby.

Image credit: Binyan Studios

“VELA, VELA VIENTO, and The Lana share a horizontal rhythm, an expressed structure, and voids in the massing, which makes them instantly recognizable,” Foster + Partners Head of Studio Gerard Evenden explains. “Together, they provide a range of generous outdoor spaces and play an integral role in the transformation of Dubai’s Marasi Bay.”

Image credit: Binyan Studios

VELA rises 492 feet in height encompassing over 30 floors. Inside, 38 residential typologies range from 4,253 square feet to 11,727 square feet. The units encompass penthouses and three-and-four-bedroom plans, with double-height living spaces, private terraces, and L-shaped corner pools. The towe...

KPF completes Abu Dhabi airport inspired by undulating sand dunes

2024-02-13T11:58:00-05:00

Kohn Pedersen Fox has completed Terminal A of the Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Formerly named Abu Dhabi International, the new complex will serve up to 45 million passengers per year, doubling the airport’s previous capacity.

Image credit: Victor Romero

The design of the new terminal was informed by the country’s undulating desert sand dunes and the geometric patterns of Islamic heritage. Externally, the form was developed from a desire to provide shading for the interior without the use of external shading devices, which could be impacted by sand accumulation. Instead, the undulating form “drapes” over the facade, where high-performance glass is fritted in a graduated pattern to further mitigate solar glare.

Image credit: Victor Romero

As visitors approach the terminal, they are met with a 160-foot-tall, free-standing glazed facade, behind which sits a largely column-free departure hall. The hall’s supporting arc...

Burj Azizi, Dubai's future second-tallest tower, begins construction in the UAE

2024-01-22T15:27:00-05:00

The imminent start of construction of the Burj Azizi, a $1.5 billion new commercial high-rise in Dubai that’s billed to become the city’s second-tallest construction upon completion, has been announced in the United Arab Emirates by a prominent local developer named Azizi Developments.

The tower, which has yet to name an architect or specify its final height at topping out, will reportedly host a vertical mall, luxury residences, and an observation deck. Planned for 122 stories, it will rival the Lotte World Tower and China 117 Tower as one of just five structures in the world to be completed at over 120 stories in height. Its construction will take place not far from the record-holding Burj Khalifa on Sheikh Zayed Road, culminating in a new icon backers say is a gift to the city that has nurtured their business success over many years.

“This tower will be our legacy,” said the Chairman of the Azizi company, Mr. Mirwais Azizi. “With Dubai having given my family and I so much — safe...

Adjaye Associates completes Abrahamic Family House, a collection of religious spaces that ‘dissolves the notion of hierarchal difference’

2023-02-24T11:50:00-05:00

Adjaye Associates has completed their Abrahamic Family House project in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The development is comprised of three religious spaces: a mosque, a synagogue, and a church, all of which sit upon a secular visitor pavilion, with a mission of “nurturing the values of peaceful co-existence and acceptance among different beliefs, nationalities, and cultures.”

Moses Ben Maimon Synagogue. Photo credit: Dror Baldinger

Within each of the three places of worship, visitors will be able to observe religious services, listen to scriptures, and experience sacred rituals. The fourth sacred space will meanwhile serve as a center for people of all faiths, offering educational and event-based programming.

“As an architect, I want to create a building that starts to dissolve the notion of hierarchical difference — it should represent universality and totality — something higher, that enhances the richness of human life,” said David Adjaye about the interfaith complex, which is set to open in t...

Abu Dhabi unveils emirate-wide digital twin project

2022-10-19T09:00:00-04:00

Abu Dhabi’s Department of Municipalities and Transport (DMT) has announced the launch of a digital twin project, a first-of-its-kind initiative for the emirate capital.

The undertaking was unveiled during GITEX Technology Week, a tech and startup event held in the Dubai World Trade Center, which ended last week. The project will integrate a range of advanced technology, including aerial photography, LiDAR scanning, and game engines to create an accurate digital copy of Abu Dhabi, supporting the work of planners, engineers, and specialists from the public and private sectors. The aim is to simulate changes to the city’s built environment in 3D and evaluate vast amounts of data. For example, spatial analysis tools will assist in analyzing the impacts of various urban planning scenarios.

The emirate’s buildings, infrastructure, and even interior spaces will be made virtual to improve planning a...

House of Wisdom, by Foster + Partners, opens in Sharjah, UAE

2021-03-19T18:13:00-04:00

Foster + Partners recently cut the ribbon for the House of Wisdom in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. The project is a modern library concept designed as a transparent, rectangular volume with a floating, cantilevered roof. A new cultural district has been developed in this emirate of Sharjah.

Sharjah is the third-largest city in the UAE. This is the only emirate that is blessed to be geographically positioned near the Indian Ocean, the Persian Gulf, and several port towns.

In 2019, UNESCO voted the emirate of Sharjah as the World Book Capital.

The tallest focal point of the House of Wisdom is on the north side. It is a modern, vertical, spiraling magnificence of a Scroll sculpture. Ancient Arabic scrolls are protected by rolled steel plates due to the extreme hot climate and sandstorms. The scrolls are positioned centrally in front of the House, inside a formal circle of landscaping, as a “knowledge garden”.

On the west side, a central courtyard welcomes one into the main entrance ...

Plans for the first commercial Hyperloop system in the United Arab Emirates

2018-04-24T18:08:00-04:00

Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HyperloopTT) recently signed an agreement with Aldar Properties PJSC, a leading real estate developer in Abu Dhabi, to begin construction on the first commercial Hyperloop system in the United Arab Emirates.

Rendering of HyperloopTT station in UAE, in collaboration with AN.ONYMOUS. Image: HyperloopTT.

The first phase of construction will begin with a 6 mile stretch of development between Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Design for the Hyperloop pylon is a collaboration with MAD architects, while the station design is in collaboration with AN.ONYMOUS. The agreement also includes building a Hyperloop XO Square Innovation Center and Visitor Center. This section is located close to the Expo 2020 site and Al Maktoum International Airport, with the goal of having it up and running in time for Expo 2020.

Rendering of HyperloopTT station in UAE, in collaboration with AN.ONYMOUS. Image: HyperloopTT.

The Hyperloop system, first presented by Elon Musk, will move pe...

Controversial Dubai Frame opens to the public almost a decade after it was first designed

2018-01-02T14:40:00-05:00

But the building has proven controversial for other reasons. The 50-storey portal may be the tallest picture frame in the world, but its architect wants to add another title to the stats: for him, it is the biggest stolen building of all time. “They took my project, changed the design and built it without me,” says Fernando Donis, the Mexican architect whose frame proposal won an international competition in 2008 for a “tall emblem structure to promote the new face of Dubai”.

The controversial Dubai Frame opened to the public yesterday, finally offering tourists a 360-degree view of the city. While construction only began in 2013, the new 150 meter landmark has been a decade in the making, blighted by controversy surrounding its stolen design.

Beginning with a questionable competition organized by the elevator company Thyssen Krupp in conjunction with UIA, the Mexican architect Fernando Donis had originally won a $100,000 prize for his design. However, after Donis refused to sign the contract provided by the Dubai municipality that would have restricted his role in the project, the city hired Hyder Consulting and proceeded without him.

Though Donis would've liked to have been involved in the construction process, according to the Guardian, he is still very pleased to see his design actualized. You can check out this interview we conducted back in 2015 in which he discussed the controversy to find out more.

MVRDV reveals “Pixel” mixed-use scheme for their first UAE project

2017-12-11T19:14:00-05:00

MVRDV will be making their mark in the United Arab Emirates in Abu Dhabi with a new project called “Pixel”. The mixed-use project will be part of the 18-hectare Makers District development near the Saadiyat Island cultural hub.

The 76,000 m2 Pixel development will have seven mid-rise, relatively slim towers along the perimeter of the plot, as a response to local sun and wind conditions and to maximize views of the waterfront and landscape. The “mini-towers”, as MVRDV describes, will surround a central public plaza that is accessible from all directions of the plot.

Image © MVRDV.

The towers will incorporate retail, office, co-working, and community spaces on the lower levels, with the smallest commercial spaces at 50 m2 specifically for young start-ups and entrepreneurs. The upper levels will offer 480 apartment units of various types and sizes to fit different lifestyles. “All of the towers' façades combine concrete with luminous ceramics on the inside, a...

Foster + Partners opens new regional office in Dubai

2017-06-09T12:16:00-04:00

Behemoth practice Foster + Partners have worked extensively on the Arabian Peninsula. Now, they’re looking to further their involvement in the region by opening a regional office in Dubai, where they’ve already built major projects including The Index as well as two Apple stores. Located in the Dubai Design District, the office is intended to serve as a base for projects in the Emirate.

“Dubai is emerging as a global hub for the design and construction industry, exemplified by the varied scope and breadth of our projects in the region,” states Gerard Evenden, Head of Studio. “We have been heavily involved in a number of projects over the past two decades, from the Index Tower that opened in 2011, to presently working on the Dubai Design District Creative Community and Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation (DIDI); office developments such as ICD Brookfield Place and the new Mobility Pavilion for the Expo 2020. The opening of our new office in the city reflects our commitment and be...

With the Middle East in diplomatic crisis, what will happen to Qatar's building projects?

2017-06-06T12:53:00-04:00

In a stunning move, seven Muslim countries—Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Libya, Yemen, and the Maldives—have severed ties to Qatar, a small nation of about 2.7 million people on the north-east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. The crisis underscores the deep divisions running even within Sunni Islam that are often overlooked by the West, which tends to view the Muslim world through the dichotomous prism of Sunni and Shia.

These countries accuse Qatar of sponsoring terrorism, which is to say, primarily, Islamist groups like the Muslim Brotherhood. The Brotherhood held power briefly in Egypt following the 2011 Revolution before being overthrown in a coup led by General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. They are active in many of the seven aforementioned countries.

Qatar also funds Al Jazeera, the widely-watched news channel known for supporting political Islamism and for critiquing the regimes controlling Saudi Arabia and other countries. And Qatar has been criticized for m...

Hyperloop designs by BIG revealed for Dubai, featuring autonomous pods and city-wide portals

2016-11-08T13:43:00-05:00

Dubai is set on getting its own hyperloop, and the Los Angeles-based Hyperloop One (formerly Hyperloop Technologies), in collaboration with BIG, is champing at the bit to make that a reality.

The Dubai Roads and Transport Authority has agreed to review Hyperloop One’s feasibility study for a high-speed network throughout the United Arab Emirates, designed to get passengers between Dubai and Abu Dhabi (about an hour and a half apart by bus) in 12 minutes. BIG and consulting firm McKinsey & Co. will work in collaboration with Hyperloop One on the proposal. In a separate agreement formed this past August, Hyperloop One also has plans with Dubai to develop a hyperloop network for cargo.

This step closer to a full-scale, working hyperloop (which Hyperloop One estimates will come to fruition in the next five years) comes after the company’s dry run of its propulsion technology in the Nevada desert—part of SpaceX’s competition to design the pods and run them on a smaller-scale test-track. No...

Zaha Hadid Architects just opened a new office in Dubai

2016-11-08T13:31:00-05:00

With 16 projects currently in the works in the Middle East-North Africa region, it's not really a surprise that Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) has just opened an office in the Dubai Design District. As stated in the press release, the firm has 30 years worth of experience working in the region.

"A recipient of the 2016 Aga Khan Award for Architecture, ZHA marries concepts of connectivity with the tremendous advancements in design technologies, material development and construction practices," states ZHA.

"ZHA is working with the many diverse histories and cultures of the region to address important issues in a meaningful way - contributing to the development of more ecologically sustainable and integrated built environments."

For more recent news from ZHA, follow these links:

Earth's first 3D printed office created in 17 days for half the labor cost

2016-05-25T12:36:00-04:00

A very large 3D printer measuring 20 x 120 x 40 ft (6 x 36 x 12 m) did most of the work, printing the building by extruding a cement mixture layer by layer, in a similar method by which WinSun's 3D-printed homes were made (WinSun is involved in this project too). There were also some additional smaller mobile 3D-printers used too, however. It took 17 days to print the basic building, but it then required finishing both internally and externally.

How many people does it take to 3D print an office? Well, according to Arabian Business, "The labour involved in the printing process included one staff to monitor the function of the printer, in addition to a group of seven people to install the building components on site as well as a team of 10 electricians and specialists to take care of the mechanical and electrical engineering." Also: the building was completed in 17 days, and saved 50% on labor costs when compared to traditional built projects of a similar size.

Located in Dubai's Emirates Towers complex, the 250 square meter office was installed on its site in two days.

For more on innovations in large-scale 3D printing:

The UAE might build an artificial mountain to increase rainfall

2016-05-03T15:03:00-04:00

The UAE is currently in the first stage of a man-made mountain development project as the country mulls different approaches to maximising rainfall. Experts from the US-based University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), which manages the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) are in the “detailed modelling study” phase, as per NCAR scientist and lead researcher Roelof Bruintjes.

For more attempts to geoengineer our way out of eco-trouble, check out some past articles:

Also, this: Unchecked climate change will make the Gulf uninhabitable, claims new study

Flying firefighters: the jetpack is quickly becoming a reality

2015-11-11T22:18:00-05:00

In the near-future, Dubai Civil Defence officers may be zooming in on to the scene of building fires using futuristic personal jetpacks. Designed by New Zealand-based Martin Aircraft Company, the jet-packs can be operated by a single pilot for 30 minutes at ranges of between 30 and 50 kilometres at altitudes of up to 3,000 feet. The pilot stands on a platform in a 'pilot module' between two propeller engines, which look like large versions of those commonly found on civilian drones.

I'm not sure when or how it happened, but apparently jet packs are a real thing now. On Tuesday, the Dubai Civil Defense service signed a deal with Martin Aircraft for the future delivery of jetpacks, training material, and spare parts. Dubai's towering skyline necessitates a degree of vertical mobility in its emergency respondents. Equipped with jetpacks, firefighters can rapidly rescue people stranded near the top of a building if an emergency renders the elevators inoperable (as they tend to do).

And then last week, the US Coast Guard and Federal Aviation Administration let an Australian named David Mayman fly around the Statue of Liberty with a jetpack made by Jetpack Aviation. According to a report, this satisfied Mayman's dream to become a "real life Ironman" (which is a bit odd, because I'm pretty sure Elon Musk already called dibs on that).

In any case, the videos are really fun and the technology is obviously quite interesting, with a lot of possible applications. The articl...

Unchecked climate change will make the Gulf uninhabitable, claims new study

2015-10-26T21:03:00-04:00

The Gulf in the Middle East, the heartland of the global oil industry, will suffer heatwaves beyond the limit of human survival if climate change is unchecked, according to a new scientific study. The extreme heatwaves will affect Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Doha and coastal cities in Iran as well as posing a deadly threat to millions of Hajj pilgrims in Saudi Arabia, when the religious festival falls in the summer.

"The study shows the extreme heatwaves, more intense than anything ever experienced on Earth, would kick in after 2070 and that the hottest days of today would by then be a near-daily occurrence."

Related: