Our Picks

Home to the new ME Dubai hotel, the Opus is located in the Burj Khalifa district adjacent to Downtown Dubai and Business Bay on the Dubai Water Canal. Exploring the balance between solid and void, opaque and transparent, interior and exterior, the design was presented by Zaha Hadid in 2007 and is the only hotel in which she created both its architecture and interiors.

The structure of the Sustainability Pavilion at Dubai Expo 2020 is now complete. The Sustainability Pavilion names as Terra represents the planet Earth. The pavilion will take visitors on an immersive and emotional journey through the wonders of the natural world and teach them the way to create a better, more sustainable future.

Designed by Foster + Partners, The House of Wisdom is a newly opened iconic library and a cultural centre in the city of Sharjah, UAE.

Located next to the historic Union House on the Dubai waterfront, the Union Museum honors the 1971 signing of the document that created the United Arab Emirates and celebrates the rich culture and history of its people. Much of the museum is underground, including permanent and temporary galleries, theatres, event spaces and archival facilities. The dramatic entrance pavilion rests lightly upon a reflecting pool and plaza, its undulating parabolic curves representing the parchment upon which the unification agreement was written and its tapering golden columns representing the pens with which the document was signed.

British architectural firm Hopkins Architects has completed the Buhais Geology Park Interpretative Centre, a new research and education facility highlighting the “prehistoric and geological significance” of the former seabed known as al-Madam Plain, located southeast of the UAE city of Sharjah.

The Museum of the Future is a visionary cultural institution currently under construction in Dubai, UAE. 

The Al Badiyah Mosque is the oldest extant mosque in the United Arab Emirates. It is located in a small village in emirate Fujairah about 50 km north from region center. It is also known as Ottoman Mosque.

Yas Viceroy Abu Dhabi Hotel, The United Arab Emirates

By: CAP Chalabi Architekten & Partner

The Louvre Abu Dhabi is an art and civilization museum, located in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The museum was established on 8 November 2017. It is part of a thirty-year agreement between the city of Abu Dhabi and the French government. The museum is located on the Saadiyat Island Cultural District. 

The Al- Khalefeyah Library project is situated in the old city centre of Muharraq and is the reconstruction of the original Khalefeyah Library, which was one of the first public libraries to be built in Bahrain. The library will be rebuilt on its original location and is designed by the Dutch firm SeARCH bv in collaboration with the Bahrain- based architects PAD. Since, the original footprint of the library is currently half-occupied by a road extension, the building has been designed on half the existing footprint and stretches vertically over the three levels that cantilever to recall the original footprint of the building. The building will accommodate a reading area, a research center, an inet lab as well as offices and will be open to the public, and provide a public and cultural program targeted at the youth in the heart of Muharraq. (http://culture.gov.bh/en/authority/projects/Al-KhalefeyahLibrary/)

Wahat Al Karama, a 46,000 square meter site located directly opposite from the world-famous Shekih Zayed Grand Mosque in the capital, is a home to a permanent memorial to the United Arab Emirates' heroes - soldiers, police, diplomats and civilians - who sacrificed their lives in the service of their country since the time of its founding in 1971.

Behind the design of the Memorial is British artist Idris Khan. Born in the UK, Idris has already received international acclaim for his minimal yet emotionally charged photographs, videos and sculptures.

The Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, Qatar

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is located in Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The largest mosque in the country, it is the key place of worship for Friday gathering and Eid prayers. During Eid it may be visited by more than 41,000 people. The Grand Mosque was constructed between 1996 and 2007.

Anish Kapoor, My Red Homeland, 2003. Wax, oil-based paint, motor, and steel. Diameter: 12 m, height variable. Edition 1/1, 1 A.P. Guggenheim Abu Dhabi. © Anish Kapoor

The Masdar Institute campus has clean technology at its core. It has been built to consume 75 percent less in cooling demand than a conventional building of its size, as well as 70 percent less in potable water, 95 percent less in domestic hot water energy and 70 percent less in electricity. The campus offers students a unique opportunity to experience what cutting-edge technology can do for the environment.

In the layout of the campus, the creation of shade routes encourages pedestrian activity at street level while promoting airflow. Inside the buildings, long corridors are supported by thick columns with high thermal mass materials applied to all structure surfaces have been incorporated into the design in all buildings within the Institute.

Where possible, consideration has been given to sustainable factors such as recyclability, low embodied energy properties, low emission materials and finishes, within the building’s specification In choosing the sustainable materials used in the Masdar Institute buildings, special preference was given to local products.The building’s façades have been developed to passively reduce heat transfer while also being highly sealed to keep air conditioned cooling inside. Materials, with a low thermal mass act as a fast responsive system, cooling down quickly at night to avoid transferring heat to the surrounding space.

The Sheikh Zayed Desert Learning Centre, The UAE