Another fascinating pitstop on our whirlwind delegation tour of the UAE late last year, the Office of the Future, as part of Dubai Futures Foundation, is built entirely by a 3D printer using a shotcrete concrete. The Museum of the Future sits adjacent and will be open in time for EXPO 2020 held in Dubai. Our group had the rare opportunity to tour this site under construction, which with my background in construction documentation, was a major thrill that found me right in my element.
Dubai's Etihad Museum's modern wing designed by Tokyo-based Moriyama and Teshima Architects, is symbolic of a massive floating scroll, and is meant to depict the parchment on which the convenant to unify the 7 Emirates was signed in 1971, Etihad meaning a convenant or agreement. The original building is classic late mid-century modernist, and houses government offices prior to becoming a museum.
The Burj Kalifa is the world's tallest building, which at 134 stories is truly an engineering feat. Our architecture delegation to the UAE, organized by Meridian International Center and Embassy of the UAE US, was privy to a very detailed tour with the building's chief engineer, which was a truly mind-blowing excursion. And not to be outdone, the site's owner developer is already hard at work on design for the next world's tallest building, just a kilometer away.
On the first day on architecture delegation to the UAE last last fall, our group toured the art and culture capital of the country, the Emirate of Sharjah, where the Sharjah Art Triennial was in full swing in several venues, including an abandonned fruit and vegetable market and a former girls school. We also toured the old Bank Street district of Sharjah which contained a massive array of mid-century office and residential towers in various degrees of disrepair. Fascinating to our posse of architecture photographers, architecture curators and journalists! But the cherry was Arsekal Avenue by night, with a tour of Concrete, the Rem Koolhaus / OMA designed installation space. It was a long first day but not to be missed was the chocolatier Mizram, where we had time to stop for a quick tour and cafe prior to our dinner engagement. So much goodness.
Designed by a hybrid of Inhabit Architecture and IBI Group, the newest modern elementary school to hit a blighted Tacoma neighborhood, Mary Lyons is an amazing example of open eduction, project based learning design, with a library spanning 3 floors and a massive flex space on the top floor, integrating all upper grades.
