A new art house will be OMA’s first foray into the United Arab Emirates.
The Rotterdam-based architecture firm Office for Metropolitan Architecture is turning four warehouses on Dubai's Alserkal Avenue into a 1,000-sm multipurpose gallery.
ArchDaily reports that the new building will connect local architects with artists and showcase intelligent design. It will feature four 8-meter moveable walls, creating spaces that will provide enough room for lectures, exhibitions, shows, and other gatherings. Full-height transparent sliding doors are also part of the design.
“The main strategy for the design of the event space is to blur the boundary between interior and exterior by bringing view and daylight into the space and extending the action and events to the public space outside," said Iyad Alsaka, OMA's MEA Partner in Charge.
Located in an industrial area, the Alserkal Avenue district contains 25 contemporary art galleries and arts spaces. OMA will separate the venue from its neighbors by wrapping its exterior in a customized concrete spray.
The gallery is being previewed this week at the Dubai Art Week and it is expected to open in the fall.
Other recent OMA art and museum projects include the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art in Moscow, the Lehmann Maupin Gallery in Hong Kong, and the Fondation d'Entreprise Galeries Lafayette in Paris.
(Click photos to enlarge)
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
Gilbane, Whiting-Turner among nation's largest university contractors, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 50 University Contractors based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit /giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Rafael Vinoly-designed East Wing opens at Cleveland Museum of Art
Rafael Vinoly Architects has designed the new East Wing at the Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA), Ohio, which opened to the public on June 27, 2009. Its completion marks the opening of the first of three planned wings.
| Aug 11, 2010
World-Class Revival on Utah’s Capitol Hill
Since 1916, the Utah State Capitol building has served as the foundation of Utah’s government, housing the state legislature operations as well as the offices of the governor, attorney general, and treasurer. But after decades of wear and tear and numerous short-sighted modernization attempts, Utah’s rock was on the verge of crumbling.
| Aug 11, 2010
IFMA announces new Religious Facilities Community of practice
The International Facility Management Association is pleased to announce the formation of the Religious Facilities Community, a new community of practice devoted to those who work as full-time, part-time or volunteer facility managers in their houses of worship. IFMA’s communities of practice are organized special interest groups that unite members of specific industries not represented by the association’s councils.
| Aug 11, 2010
AASHE releases annual review of sustainability in higher education
The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) has announced the release of AASHE Digest 2008, which documents the continued rapid growth of campus sustainability in the U.S. and Canada. The 356-page report, available as a free download on the AASHE website, includes over 1,350 stories that appeared in the weekly AASHE Bulletin last year.
| Aug 11, 2010
Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council Program Place Project
Houston, Texas
The Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council Program Place is the headquarters for the largest Girl Scout Council in the U.S., with 63,000 scouts. The building houses the council’s administrative offices, a Girl Scout museum, and activity space. When an adjacent two-story office building became available, the council jumped at the chance to expand its museum and program space.
| Aug 11, 2010
Burt Hill, HOK top BD+C's ranking of the nation's 100 largest university design firms
A ranking of the Top 100 University Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants