Residential Tower & Office Space – Abu Dhabi
The J1 Residential Tower is located in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, according to the developers the concept is a biodynamic project which will attempt to synergise both an energy efficient style with ethical living. The building will obviously contain residential space, but will also have substantial office space in the centre. These offices are bound to be some of the most amazing office spaces in Abu Dhabi.
The building will be 84 stories high, it will include a 20-storey 5-star hotel, 46-storey luxury apartment complex, 15-storey offices and 3-storey retail spaces. The underground car parking alone will have four levels and a capacity of 1000 cars!
Zayed National Museum – Abu Dhabi
Foster and Partners has recently released images depicting the design of the Zayed National Museum located on Saadiya Island off the coast of Abu Dhabi. The designs were officially unveiled by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashi Al Maktoum – the Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai – along sided Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain.
The area in which the Zayed National Museum will be built is also going to eventually have several other museums constructed, not least the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi designed by Frank Gehry, and the Louvre Abu Dhabi which is designed by Jean Nouvel.
The design was dedicated to the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Naya, the founding President of the UAE. Apart from being named after Sheikh Zayed, Foster + Partners went on to explain how other elements were dedicated to the late Sheikh:
“[t]he analogies with falcons and flight are deliberate and relate directly to Sheikh Zayed’s love of falconry.”
Yas Marina Abu Dhabi
Yas Marina Circuit will be the venue for the Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. It was designed by Asymptone Architecture, and is situated on the 2,500-hectare man-made Yas Island. The cost of the project has not been disclosed, but experts estimate it in the billions. The track length is 3.452 miles, with 21 corners and an estimated top speed of 197mph. The location is roughly 30 minutes away from Abu Dhabi the capital of the UAE. Apart from the race track the Island also houses several world class golf courses and seven new hotels, including the breathtaking Yas Hotel. Bernie Ecclestone has reportedly said that the standard of this circuit and the surrounding area has surpassed his expectations, even claiming it has the potential to eclipse the sacred quay of Monte Carlo.
The Island will also feature the world’s first Ferrari World theme park, which is supposedly the world’s biggest park of its kind. The Park offers more than 20 Ferrari-inspired rides and attractions, including a diverse array of rides for adults and children, a wide variety of Italian delicacies, and unique shopping experiences.
Walk Off Jetlag in Abu Dhabi’s Whimsical Helix Hotel
New York’s Leeser Architecture has just won the design competition for this hyperfocused hotel for Abu Dhabi, UAE. Relentlessly focused on keeping you aware of your surroundings; this hotel is the anti-hotel. This is a hotel that is not boring, not lulling, not like just an extension of the air-deprived airplane that got you there.
As the floor rises there are continual changes in width and slope, suggesting the curves that winding streets take through ancient villages. Yet the comfort of this familiar human scale is contrasted by the extreme modernity of this concept with its infinite circular ocean views. For example; to see small figures in the hotel’s own distance, arrayed like this – looping out against the distant horizon, is going to be a visually arresting experience that we as yet have no architectural precedent for.
In the sub-lobby, a dynamic glass wall is built from the base of the second floor down into the water. The wall acts as a curtain would, opening when the weather is cool enough and closing when it is too hot for exposure to the desert air. For sustainability, Leeser worked with green consultants Atelier 10 to use the best possible conditions and materials for heat and energy conservation: so cold ocean water supplies an eight story waterfall through the central atrium that cools the interior and maintains interior climate and humidity levels. This central waterfall minimizes heat inside the hotel by simply filtering the abundant onsite cool ocean water throughout the hotel floors to create a reverse waterfall.