Zaha Hadid and the Austrian workshop "Delugan Maysl" became the winners of the competition for the project of the cultural center of King Abdullah II in Jordan, "Snohetta" took third place (the second prize was not awarded).
In Saudi Arabia, the foundation stone has already been laid for the King Abdulaziz Center for Knowledge and Culture, which will be built according to the Snohetta project, and its rivals in the final of the recently held competition were Zaha Hadid and Rem Koolhaas.
Also this month, a detailed project of a new cultural center and an opera house for Dubai was presented (the need for an opera of this emirate, one already planned theater, according to the project of Jean Nouvel, apparently will not exhaust). Construction of its Museum of Contemporary Art in Bahrain is due to begin soon, and its master plan is to be implemented to expand the Bahrain International Circuit, which includes not only an auto racing track, but also commercial and residential areas.
It should be noted that even among the "stars" of modern architecture, several architects are distinguished by their particularly successful work in the Middle East. Hadid deservedly takes first place in this “team”, Rem Koolhaas and Norwegians “Snohetta” are not far behind. Together they participate in competitions, alternately winning from each other and endlessly developing already found formal solutions (to a much greater extent allowing themselves to repeat themselves than when working in Europe, for example).
The King Abdulaziz Snohetta Center in Saudi Arabia will be funded by the world's largest oil company, Saudi Aramco, and its museum, library, theater and cinema will introduce visitors to the history of the country's oil industry.
The Darat Center of King Abdullah II in the Jordanian capital Amman will become a multifunctional complex for various types of performing arts - from the same opera to folklore ensembles. It is not yet clear whether the two winners - Zaha Hadid and Delugan Maysl - will jointly develop a common project, or they will still have an additional round of the competition.
