Such an institution will be the first in this emirate. It is planned to erect it as part of the Khor Dubai ensemble - a new district of cultural institutions, the construction of which was announced in March this year.
According to the general plan of this territory, 10 new museums will be built there, one of which will be a gallery of contemporary Middle Eastern art.
The new project by the Dutch architects is again using the plastic properties of concrete, from which the dynamic streamlined volume of the new building will be created. It will be partially raised above its podium, and its front part, cut by glazing ribbons, protrudes forward like the bow of a huge ship. Under the also raised central part of the elongated volume, in its shadow will be a new public space, part of the Khor Dubai ensemble, which will showcase the diversity of cultural life in the UAE - including not only the high arts, but also folklore and crafts.
Also in the Middle East, the construction of the Al-Hamra skyscraper by SOM is in full swing. The building in the capital of Kuwait, which is to become the tallest "sculptural" tower in the world (412 m, 74 floors), has already reached a height of 161 m (34 floors) and can be seen from afar. Its volume resembles a scroll, but this shape also plays a functional role, minimizing the area of the skyscraper walls heated by the rays of the desert sun.
The completion of construction is scheduled for the second half of 2010, but so far the tower has received the award as "the best project of the future" at the Cannes real estate exhibition MIPIM 2008 this March.
