In addition to Erlich, Norman Foster, Zaha Hadid and Massimiliano Fuksas reached the final of the international competition for this major project for Abu Dhabi. With only 32 employees in the Steven Ehrlich bureau, his victory over the international "giants" was a surprise, although this Californian architect is certainly known and respected by his colleagues.
Given the current situation in the Arab world, the intention of the architect (and probably the customers too) to express in the architecture of the new building "the ever-growing key role [of parliament] in the lives of all citizens of the UAE" seems very relevant.
At the same time, Ehrlich tried to show in his project the aspirations of the local authorities: the orientation of the country's policy towards the future and the desire to preserve traditions, to equalize the Islamic heritage and the ideas of globalization.
The architectural solution combines elements of Arab architecture and modern forms, symbolic value, maximum functionality and environmental sustainability.
The main volume of the new complex will be a dome of 100 m in diameter, under which the Conference Hall, faced with white marble, will be located. A comfortable microclimate will be created there by "green" methods; to illuminate this space, openings of outlines characteristic of Arab architecture were conceived in the vault. The central building will be adjoined by buildings with offices, meeting and conference rooms, premises for visitors: all in the color of a sandy desert. The appearance of these buildings will remind of the historical buildings.
The location for the parliamentary complex has been chosen along the coastal Corniche Boulevard, an important public space in Abu Dhabi.
