Courtesy of KPF

The new Midfield Terminal Complex at Abu Dhabi International Airport was just approved by the Executive Council of Abu Dhabi. Within master plan, designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF), the terminal is conceived as a gateway to the city. The design creates large, unimpeded internal zones that will enhance the passenger experience, and can accommodate long‐term adaptability to industry demands. More images and architects’ description after the break. read more »

© Manhal Al Habbobi

How can you condense more than ten thousand years of civilization into a single project that faithfully tells the story of a great nation? The answer is in the winning design of a prestigious architectural competition, to design the new compound for the General Secretariat for the Council of Ministers in Baghdad. Zaha Hadid and more than 30 other international architects participated in this competition, won by the Iraqi Architect Manhal Al Habbobi (Master in Philosophy of Architecture) with his ‘CAP Emirates’ design. More images and project description after the break. read more »

Courtesy of Paul Stallan Studio

Paul Stallan Studio’s response to the competition brief for the Federal National Council’s New Parliament Building Complex was to promote a monumental Islamic architecture that had both gravitas and iconic potential. A huge cubic form was proposed that held within it a major assembly space suspended within an enormous courtyard. More images and architects’ description after the break. read more »

rendering main interior daytime

Critically engaging the emerging Abu Dhabi context of Masdar City, Zayed University and other tabula rasa territories, Predock_Frane Architects’ project proposes an antidote and refuge to the frenetic future-scape internationalism of the rapidly developing Arabian coast. In proposing a new abstract art space that allows for escape and contemplation Predock_Frane Architects’ project positions itself as a hybrid landscape/environmental machine that can both deliver power and engage the radical phenomenon of the desert. Along a path connecting Masdar City to Zayed University, a low-slung, energy producing sensitive field beckons public engagement.

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Courtesy of Gehry Partners

Over 130 artists are continuing to call attention to the working conditions at the site of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, despite the recent intervention by the Guggenheim Foundation and Museum and changes from the Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC).  The $800 million museum designed by Frank Gehry is just beginning construction on Saadiyat Island.

The group of artists talking boycott, including key figures within the Middle Eastern art world, are threatening to withhold their work as well as refusing participation in museum events, which could be detrimental to the museum as they are essentially building a collection from the ground up.  In response to the artists proposed boycott, Foundation Director Richard Armstrong issued the following statement, ”While we share the artists’ concern for the workers, we believe that, in light of the steady progress that has been made with respect to recruitment fees, the prompt payment of wages, the ability to retain passports, the provision of health insurance, good living accommodations, and the imminent appointment of an independent monitor in May, their statement is misinformed. We believe that the Guggenheim Foundation’s work with TDIC has been instrumental in bringing about this progress. We will continue to remain focused on this critical priority.”

More on this story following the break.

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© GAJ and bioLINIA

The grand prize in the international architectural competition to design the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) Federal National Council’s (FNC) New Parliament Building Complex has been awarded to Ehrlich Architects, the Los Angeles, California, design firm. More images and complete press release after the break. read more »

Courtesy of Foster + Partners

Featured here on ArchDaily are the recently unveiled designs by Foster + Partners for the Zayed National Museum.   The monument and memorial to the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founding president of the UAE, is located  on Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi, UAE, and will be the first museum completed for the island.

Architecturally, the aim has been to combine a highly efficient, contemporary form with elements of traditional Arabic design and hospitality to create a museum that is sustainable, welcoming and culturally of its place. Celebrating Sheikh Zayed’s legacy and love of nature, the museum is set within a landscaped garden, based on a timeline of his life.

Architects: Foster + Partners
Location: Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Foster + Partners Project Team: Norman Foster, David Nelson, Gerard Evenden, Toby Blunt, Martin Castle, Ross Palmer, Dara Towhidi, Karsten Vollmer, Barrie Cheng, Ho Ling Cheung, Sidonie Immler, Joern Herrmann, Andrew King, Gemma Owen, Jillian Salter, Marilu Sicoli, Daniel Weiss, Bram Van Der Wal, Simon Wing
Engineers: WSP/BDSP AKT
Local Architect: Planar
Landscape Architects: Atelier Dreiseitl
Lighting Designers: Claude Engle
Cost Consultants: RLB
Facade Access: Lerch Bates
Specification Writers: Schumann Smith
Air Flow Consultants: RWDI
Environmental Engineers: Transsolar
Auditorium Consultants: Shen Milsom + Wilke
People Movement Consultants: Intelligent Space
Programme Managers: AECOM
District Master Planners: TDIC Master Planners
Museography: The British Museum
Client: Tourism Development + Investment Company
Project Area: 66,042 sqm
Renderings: Courtesy of Foster + Partners

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Courtesy of Logan + Johnson

Architects Matthew Johnson and Jason Logan shared with us their project “Prism Cloud”, their entry for the Land Art Generator Competition near Abu Dhabi. It’s a cable-net structure that would hover over the desert and generate energy at the same time that it splits or diffracts light. More images and architect’s description after the break. read more »

Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, the world’s first Ferrari theme park and largest attraction of its kind, has announced that it will open its doors to the public on October 28, 2010, three weeks ahead of the second Formula 1™ Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Ferrari World Abu Dhabi will pay tribute to the passion, excellence, performance, and technical innovation that Ferrari has established over the years and represents today. Its iconic sleek red roof is directly inspired by the classic double curve side profile of the Ferrari GT body, spanning 200,000 m² and carrying the largest Ferrari logo ever created.

More images, a video and information after the break. Seen at designboom. read more »

© Asymptote: Hani Rashid + Lise Anne Couture, Courtesy of Bjorn Moerman

Location: Abu Dhabi, UAE
Architect: Asymptote - Hani Rashid + Lise Anne Couture
Client: Aldar Properties PJSC
Size: 85,000 sqm
Start: November 2007
Completion: October 2009
Photography: © Asymptote: Hani Rashid + Lise Anne Couture, Courtesy of Bjorn Moerman

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Capital Gate, the iconic leaning building in Abu Dhabi, reached halfway point. The building, designed by international architects RMJM, will lean 18 degrees westward, 14 degrees more than the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

To make this possible, the central core of the building slants in the opposite direction to the lean of the structure, and it straightening as it grows. It sits on top of a 7-foot-deep concrete base with a dense mesh of reinforced steel. The steel exoskeleton known as the diagrid sits above an extensive distribution of 490 piles that have been drilled 100 feet underground to accommodate the gravitational, wind and seismic pressures caused by the lean of the building.

A gigantic internal atrium, including a tea lounge and swimming pool suspended 263 feet above the ground, has been constructed on the 17th and 18th floors, the halfway point of the 35-story, 525-foot tall tower.

Capital Gate will house Abu Dhabi’s first Hyatt hotel – Hyatt at Capital Centre, a presidential-style luxury, 5-star hotel and will provide 200 hotel rooms for Abu Dhabi and will serve ADNEC’s (Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company) visitors and exhibitors as well as international business and leisure travelers.