The first club dedicated exclusively to women was built in the splendid setting of Abu Dhabi, overlooking a lagoon in the crystal clear sea of the Persian Gulf. In the new club, luxury and comfort bear the signature of Urbanism Planning Architecture, an international architecture firm with offices in Milan and Abu Dhabi. The main architect of the studio and co-founder is the Italian architect Paolo Lettieri.
This elegant and luxurious structure represents an oasis of well-being and relaxation for women, but above all, it speaks to us of a culture, the Arab one, which sees women, by tradition and religion, strictly separated from men. It is well known that in Middle Eastern society the life of men and women is clearly divided and distinct: all houses have two living rooms, one for men and the other for women; at school, women study separately from the opposite sex and public places also have waiting rooms for women only. If in everyday life the separation between the sexes could perhaps represent for the eyes of Westerners an exclusion of women from a male chauvinist society, the Ladies Club becomes a privileged place par excellence for women. A club where women from an elite by social and economic position can experience, in complete privacy and confidentiality, all the pleasures of luxury, body care and relaxation.
The House of Wisdom – an iconic library and cultural centre in Sharjah – has opened to the public. The central focus of the 2019 UNESCO World Book Capital celebrations, the project seeks to be the catalyst for a new cultural quarter in the city.
Gerard Evenden, Head of Studio, Foster + Partners said: “The House of Wisdom in Sharjah is a forward-looking conception of what a library should be in the 21st century – embracing a digital future while playing a crucial role as a community hub for learning, underpinned by innovation and technology.”
Article source: CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati and Italo Rota Building Office
Exactly one year before the opening of the World Fair in Dubai (Expo 2020), Italy unveils the final design for its national pavilion, conceived by CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati, Italo Rota Building Office, matteogatto&associati and F&M Ingegneria. As if docking after a journey by sea, three boats will arrive in Dubai and become the backbone of the pavilion, part of an exploration into recycling, circularity and reconfigurable architecture. The Pavilion will open its doors to the public on October 20th, 2020, in Dubai, U.A.E., and will remain open until April 10th, 2021.
The radical design is based on a circular approach to architecture. Three boats will arrive in Dubai and will be converted into the pavilion’s roofscape. In a similar way, the project integrates sustainable materials – such as orange peels, coffee grounds, mycelium and recycled plastic extracted from the ocean – as construction elements.
10 DESIGN (10) has created the ultimate in island living for Bluewaters Residences. It is built on a new man-made island off the coast of Jumeirah Beach Residence in Dubai. To maximise this distinctive location, 10 has integrated a series of private landscape gardens elevated above sea level throughout the residential development, offering a unique viewing gallery to the blue azure horizon.
Bluewaters Residences comprises 10 elegant mid-rise buildings providing 698 apartments, 4 penthouses, and 17 townhouses. The development offers a premium lifestyle with residential amenities including state-of-the-art gymnasiums, swimming pools, landscape gardens, basketball courts, and children’s play areas.
In addition to creating an idyllic neighbourhood and community, Dubai-based holding company – Meraas is committed to create an immersive destination for the entire Bluewaters development, offering retail, hospitality, and entertainment experiences. This tourism hotspot is home to Ain Dubai, the world’s largest observation wheel. It is complemented with a shopping paradise, housing unique retail and dining concepts and two world’s leading hotels by Caesars Palace.
Photography: Meraas, Eugene de Villiers, Rafael Vargas, Leslie Pableo
Software used: BIM, Revit and AutoCAD
Client: Meraas
Design Partner: Nick Cordingley
Partner: Chris Jones
Architectural Team: David Emmer, Rita Pang, Javier Perea, Jason Easter, Marco Bonucci, Alexander Li, Inigo Arrotegui, Lukasz Wawrzenczyk, Dan Narita, Alexey Golbraykh, Harris Chu, Kishor Lad, Vincent Fung, Jamie Webb, Kevis Wong, Silan Yip, Yao Yap, Jonathan Van Der Stel, Nick Benner, Janet Tam, Nick Chan, Lynn Kim, Warith Zaki, Jane Yu, Jinjing Yu, Rachel Xia, Colin Ashton, Yao Ma, Liang Wang, George Aguirre, Sean Quinn, Ka Wai Tse, Eugene de Villiers
CGI Team: Peter Alsterholm, Yasser Salomon, Jon Martin, Laura Simonsen, David Guardado
The international restaurant Peyote opens the doors of its new culinary space in the Dubai International Financial Center (Dubai DIFC), an interior design project created by Sordo Madaleno Arquitectos that bases its principal concept on introducing contemporary Mexican culture to this prominent global location in an authentic manner.
Peyote Dubai occupies two floors with a total area of 615 sqm. The principal restaurant space is distributed across the ground floor, while the service areas are found in the basement. We have designed a contemporary and vibrant project for the Peyote brand, covering 328 sqm of interior space together with the façade design.
Article source: Ramón Esteve Estudio de Arquitectura, S.L.P
The idea for Jubail Port is based on those small rocks called Jubails spread throughout the island. We have reproduced them on every intervened area to integrate them into the surroundings. The whole organization as well as the common areas design, all projected by Ramón Esteve Estudio, formally leans on the idea of stratus, which we abstracted to generate all the elements in the town such as the Mosque, the social club, the restaurant area and the villas. The Gateway, whose design is a homage to these Jubails and the place, gives access to all these elements.
Al Khayyat Investments has taken the hospitality industry by storm with their own branded luxury shisha restaurant in Citywalk Jumeirah. We created the entire brand based on their target demographic; layering edgy graphics on bold interiors to compliment the Arab-fusion fare. The intimate, smokin’ hot spot is quickly becoming a city favourite.
While the official opening of the U.S. pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai -the next World’s Fair- on October 20, 2020 feels far away, Pavilion USA 2020, the partnership responsible for the United States’ National Pavilion, has been making important headway in the design and planning of the landmark building destined to represent more than 325 million Americans.
The initial plans for the building and its experiences were released at a ceremony in Dubai on November 28th. The event featured the unveiling of an architectural model of the U.S. pavilion, designed by world-renowned American architect Curtis W. Fentress, FAIA, RIBA; and a tour of the American experiences currently being designed by Detroit-based design firm George P. Johnson Experiential Marketing.
Today marks the opening of the much-anticipated Jameel Arts Centre, an innovative cultural destination developed by Art Jameel, the independent organisation that supports arts, education and heritage in the Middle East. Designed as a 10,000-square-metre, three-storey, multi-disciplinary space by UK-based Serie Architects, Jameel Arts Centre is the first non-governmental contemporary arts institution of its kind in the Gulf.
The kunsthalle-inspired complex includes more than 1,000 square metres of dedicated gallery space, plus a 300-square-metre open-access research centre; events and screening spaces; a roof terrace; a restaurant; and a book and design shop. The Centre’s adaptable spaces reflect Art Jameel’s commitment to diverse programming across mediums and nurturing artist careers, as the galleries are deliberately designed in a variety of sizes and volumetric proportions to allow a flexible range of settings for exhibitions, site-specific installations and new commissions.
Arada has announced Phase One of the Central Hub in Sharjah will complete in the first quarter of next year. The focal point of the US$6.5 billion Aljada development in Sharjah, the Central Hub by Zaha Hadid Architects is a new leisure and entertainment destination for the UAE that defines Aljada’s role as a transformational project for Sharjah.
The Central Hub’s design conceptualises the first moment a water droplet strikes the earth’s surface, captured in an array of elliptical buildings that are designed to channel prevailing winds into public spaces and courtyards to aid natural cooling.
Arada’s commitment to sustainability and smart technologies is integrated within the Central Hub. The complex’s natural ecosystem, irrigated by recovered and recycled water, is designed to sustain a microclimate at ground level for gardens featuring plant species native to the region, while the Central Hub’s lighting requirements will be entirely provided by smart solar power.
More than 25 football fields in size (1.9 million square feet), the car-free Central Hub is focussed around its large central plaza and public observation tower.
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