Archinect - News

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...

SOM opens a new office in Dubai

2017-04-05T18:59:00-04:00

The architecture giant Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM) has announced that they will open a new office in Dubai, a move intended to further their presence in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The office will be led by Thomas Behr, who will oversee all operations in the region, alongside Uwe Nienstedt, who will manage the office in Dubai. With a prime location on Sheik Zayed Road, the office will oversee current projects and put forward new project proposals.

While the office may be new, SOM has a long presence in the region. From designing the Burj Khalifa in Dubai—the world’s tallest building—to master planning Bahrain Bay in Manama, SOM has cultivated region-specific knowledge, whether in the form of energy conservation or in “reflecting” Islamic culture.

"Our new office allows SOM to build upon decades of experience in the Middle East. By establishing a formal presence in Dubai--an important business center for the region--we are better equipped to serve our local...