Foster + Partners‘ designs for the Zayed National Museum have been officially unveiled today by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. Conceived as a monument and memorial to the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founding president of the UAE, the Museum will be the centrepiece of the Saadiyat Island Cultural District and will showcase the history, culture and more recently the social and economic transformation of the Emirates.

It has been a great privilege to work on the Zayed National Museum, to carry forward Sheikh Zayed's vision and to communicate the dynamic character of a contemporary United Arab Emirates. We have sought to establish a building that will be an exemplar of sustainable design, resonating with Sheikh Zayed's love of nature and his wider heritage.

Lord Foster

Zayed National Museum, render courtesy Foster + Partners

Architecturally, the aim has been to combine a highly efficient, contemporary form with elements of traditional Arabic design and hospitality to create a museum that is sustainable, welcoming and culturally of its place. Celebrating Sheikh Zayed's legacy and love of nature, the museum is set within a landscaped garden, based on a timeline of his life.

The display spaces are housed within a man-made, landscaped mound. The galleries are placed at the bases of five solar thermal towers. The towers heat up and act as thermal chimneys to draw cooling air currents naturally through the museum. Fresh air is captured at low level and drawn through buried ground-cooling pipes and then released into the museum's lobby. The heat at the top of the towers works to draw the air up vertically through the galleries due to the thermal stack effect. Air vents open at the top of the wing-shaped towers taking advantage of the negative pressure on the lee of the wing profile to draw the hot air out.

Zayed National Museum, render courtesy Foster + Partners

Here in the museum these towers are lightweight steel structures, sculpted aerodynamically to work like the feathers of a bird's wing. The analogies with falcons and flight are deliberate and relate directly to Sheikh Zayed's love of falconry. This theme is further celebrated by a gallery devoted to the subject as part of a wider focus on conservation. These inner spaces open up to an outdoor arena for live displays with hunting birds.

Zayed National Museum, render courtesy Foster + Partners

Zayed National Museum, render courtesy Foster + Partners

Balancing the lightweight steel structures with a more monumental interior experience, the galleries are anchored by a dramatic top-lit central lobby, which is dug into the earth to exploit its thermal properties and brings together shops, cafes, an auditorium and informal venues for performances of poetry and dance. Throughout, the treatment of light and shade draws on a tradition of discreet, carefully positioned openings, which capture and direct the region's intense sunlight to illuminate and animate these interior spaces. Objects are displayed within niches and on stone plinths that rise seamlessly from the floor.

Zayed National Museum, render courtesy Foster + Partners

The museum contains a variety of performance spaces. A large auditorium, lined with Emirati textiles, provides an evocative setting for presentations and films. The lobby incorporates more informal venues for poetry readings, music and dance, where the audience can gather in a circle to enjoy the spectacle and atmosphere of traditional performances.

The interior concept for the restaurant draws on the opulence and hospitality of the Bedouin tent, with carefully selected furnishings. The majlis, or VIP spaces, open onto a central courtyard. This traditional space offers guests a unique perspective, as it is the only place in the museum where one can enjoy views of the wind towers.

+ Project information / data

Materials:

• Steel wing forms
• Concrete lobby structure – local sand from Saadiyat
• Island is used to mimic the colour tones of the surrounding natural landscape.

General background:

• The museum is intended to be a monument and memorial to the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founding president of the United Arab Emirates.
• Five principal galleries and three further spaces will contain exhibitions devoted to the story of the Sheikh Zayed, the history of the UAE and falconry and conservation.
• The Museum also will incorporate an education centre, theatre, shops, café, VIP areas, members' lounges and performance spaces.

Form and Layout:

• The towers are lightweight steel structures, sculpted aerodynamically to work like the feathers of a bird's wing.
• Inside this structure, the gallery spaces are constructed as pods, which will be suspended above visitors passing through the ground floor lobby.
• The lobby will be part of an elevated mound that also incorporates a gallery dedicated to the life of Sheikh Zayed, a pavilion for special exhibitions and a falconry centre with live displays.

Sustainability:

• The galleries are placed at the bases of five solar thermal towers. The towers heat up and act as thermal chimneys to draw cooling air currents naturally through the museum.
• Fresh air is captured at low level and drawn through buried ground-cooling pipes and then released into the museum's lobby.
• The heat at the top of the towers works to draw the air up vertically through the galleries due to the thermal stack effect.
• Air vents open at the top of the wing-shaped towers taking advantage of the negative pressure on the lee of the wing profile to draw the hot air out.
• The lightweight steel structures are anchored by a top-lit central lobby, which is dug into the earth to exploit its thermal properties.
• A double skin, comprising an outer façade exposed to the elements and an inner skin that encloses the galleries, promotes air flow between the exhibition and circulation spaces, further reducing the energy required.

Landscape:

• The building will be surrounded by layered planting inspired by an oasis, connecting the Museum to the coast by a garden and a shaded pedestrian route.

Access:

• Entrance to the Museum is either via an urban connection to the Cultural District or through the garden promenade. The former access is comprised of a bridge and a narrow walkway that widens inside the Museum.
• VIP access is via a garden approach, designed to create a sense of arrival for guests and provide access for vehicles.

Saadiyat Island:

• Saadiyat Island is located 500 metres off the coast of Abu Dhabi and is the largest single mixed-use development in the Arabian Gulf.
• Arranged as seven districts, the Saadiyat Island Cultural District will also include the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Museum, the Louvre Abu Dhabi, as well as a Performing Arts Center and Maritime Museum.
• The Zayed National Museum is already under construction and will be the first of the museums proposed for the island.

+ Project credits

Project: Zayed National Museum
Location: Abu Dhabi, UAE
Year: 2007-

Client:
Tourism Development & Investment Company, Abu Dhabi
His Excellency Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, Chairman
Mubarak Hamad Al Muhairi, Managing Director
Lee Tabler, CEO

Museum & Mound site area: 53,331 m²
Public gardens, total area: 21,439 m²
Heights:
Man-made mound: 30.7m NADD*
Wings : Range from 73-124m NADD*
Gross Internal Area 58,698 m²
Total Built Up Area 66,042 m²
Total Gallery space 5,764 m²

Architects: Foster + Partners | http://www.fosterandpartners.com
Foster + Partners Team:
Norman Foster, David Nelson, Gerard Evenden, Toby Blunt, Martin Castle, Ross Palmer, Dara Towhidi, Karsten Vollmer, Barrie Cheng, Ho Ling Cheung, Sidonie Immler, Joern Herrmann, Andrew King, Gemma Owen, Jillian Salter, Marilu Sicoli, Daniel Weiss, Bram Van Der Wal, Simon Wing

Engineers: WSP/BDSP AKT
Local Architect: Planar
Landscape Architects: Atelier Dreiseitl
Lighting Designers: Claude Engle
Cost Consultants: RLB
Facade Access: Lerch Bates
Specification Writers: Schumann Smith
Air Flow Consultants: RWDI
Environmental Engineers: Transsolar
Auditorium Consultants: Shen Milsom + Wilke
People Movement Consultants: Intelligent Space
Programme managers: AECOM
District Master Planners: TDIC Master Planners
Museography: The British Museum

The world-renowned architect UNStudio / Ben van Berkel's design has been selected from a shortlist of five practices to design Plot A of the SUTD (Singapore University of Technology and Design) campus.

The main aim of the design for the Singapore University of Technology and Design was to create a campus that celebrates both teaching and learning in an open and transparent way. The network of horizontal, vertical and diagonal vistas within the double quadrant organisation of the campus enables professors, students and faculty members to see, meet and communicate with each other through a network of crossing points, presenting opportunities for continuous interaction and exchange.

Ben van Berkel

Singapore University of Technology and Design, render courtesy UNStudio

+ Architect’s statement by UNStudio

Singapore University of Technology and Design

Located on a site of 76,846 m2 and close to both Changi airport – Singapore's principal airport – and the Changi Business Park, the SUTD will be Singapore's fourth and most prestigious university.

The Singapore University of Technology and Design will offer four key academic pillars: Architecture and Sustainable Design (ASD), Engineering Product Development (EPD), Engineering Systems and Design (ESD) and Information Systems Technology and Design (ISTD). The SUTD will be a driver of technological innovation and economic growth, with the new campus acting as both a catalyst and a conveyor for advancement, bringing together people, ideas and innovation.

Singapore University of Technology and Design, render courtesy UNStudio

Celebrating teaching and learning

UNStudio's design for the new campus directly reflects SUTD's curriculum, using the creative enterprise of the school to facilitate a cross-disciplinary interface; interaction is established between the professional world, the campus, and the community at large. The design for the campus offers an opportunity to embrace innovation and creativity through a non-linear connective relationship between students, faculty, professionals and the spaces they interact with.

Singapore University of Technology and Design, render courtesy UNStudio

Singapore University of Technology and Design, render courtesy UNStudio

Sustainable learning – Seeing the future of design as shaped by an activating, transparent, connective environment

The New SUTD campus will facilitate cross-disciplinary interaction between all four pillars of academia. The orientation and organisation of the campus is designed through two main axes; the living and learning spines which overlap to create a central point, binding together all corners of the SUTD. These thoroughfares create a 24/7 campus of seamless connectivity, enhancing direct interaction through both proximity and transparency. In turn, an open forum of learning is established by bringing professionals, alumni, students, and faculty together to interact both on an academic and a social level.

The design for the SUTD campus aims to achieve the highest Green Mark rating (platinum) available in Singapore. Preliminary considerations in the design include building orientation and depth in relation to sun and wind exposure, along with the incorporation of maximum natural ventilation and daylight to all buildings.

Singapore University of Technology and Design - Massing, sun study diagram, drawing courtesy UNStudio

Singapore University of Technology and Design - Circulation diagram, render courtesy UNStudio

+ Project credits / data

Project: Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), Singapore, 2010
Client: The Singapore University of Technology and Design
Location: Singapore
Building surface: Phase I: 88,000 m2, Phase II 125,000 m2 Total : 213,000 m2
Building volume: Phase I: 422,400 m3: Phase II: 600,000 m3 Total : 1,022,400 m3
Building site: 76,846 m2
Programme: University Campus
Status: Competition

Design Architect: UNStudio | http://www.unstudio.com
UNStudio team: Ben van Berkel, Caroline Bos, Astrid Piber with Christian Veddeler, Jordan Trachtenberg and Ren Horng Yee, Adi Utama, Jeff Johnson, Melissa Lui

Project architect: DP architects | http://www.dpa.com.sg
DPA team: Chan Sui Him, Teoh Hai Pin, Jeremy Tan, Seah Chee Huang, Wykeith Ng, Liew Kok Fong, Wang Ying, Yeong Weng Fai, Jaye Tan.

Structural consultant: Arup Singapore Pte Ltd
Primary cost analysis: KPK Quantity Surveyors (Singapore) Pte Ltd

Here are the six Western Red Cedar Architectural Design Award winners, the competition is sponsored by the Western Red Cedar Lumber Association to recognize creativity and innovative design by using one of the world's most unique building materials, Western Red Cedar.

The award winners offer a range of creative approaches using Western Red Cedar… They also demonstrated the opportunities to use cedar for different program requirements and budgets. Cedar wasn't just used as conventional cladding – it also provided a structural purpose, a refined level of interior finish, or a compelling material detail that enhanced the overall design.

Katherine Chia, a jury member and partner at Desai/Chia Architecture

Architects entered commercial, residential and other building projects that included community centers, medical facilities, university buildings, churches and private residences. Projects were judged by a three-member architect jury for their use of Western Red Cedar to reinforce consistent interior and exterior themes in boosting the overall design.

The quality of the projects was very impressive and the beauty of Western Red Cedar really brought them to life… The talent of the architects and their builder partners combined with the authenticity and durability of wood really made for lasting work.

Jack Draper, managing director of the Western Red Cedar Lumber Association

Winners of the Architectural Design Awards were:

+ Architects: Bohlin Cywinski Jackson | Combs Point Residence, Ovid, N.Y.
A center of activity and quiet retreat for a family that treasures life on the lake, Combs Point is a series of Western Red Cedar wood clad buildings that stretches through a forested glen leading to the head of a waterfall.

+ Architect: Mark Cavagnero Associates | Bernal Park Restroom Building, Pleasanton, Calif.
Designed to fit seamlessly into a picturesque park setting, the building appears elegant and residential in scale while at the same time is durable and enduring. The building is wrapped in horizontal cedar siding boards covered with a semi-transparent stain and graffiti coating.

+ Architect: Chadboure + Doss Architects | Wood Block Residence, Mercer Island, Wash.
A major reconstruction of a 1962 residence, the redesign roots the house to its sloping wooded site and provides a protective shelter for family life. Western Red Cedar tongue-and-grove planks clad the existing painted Hemlock ceiling to bring appropriately natural warmth to an otherwise modern pallet of materials that includes aluminum, steel and plaster.

+ Architects: Albert de Pineda Álvarez and Manuel Brullet Tenas | Research Medical Complex of Barcelona
This elliptical building on the promenade along Barcelona's seafront features a double-skin façade that protects it from direct solar radiation while still allowing light to pass. More than 44,000 red cedar slats make up the outer protective skin and create its unique geometric appearance.

+ Architects: Bureau B+B | Pilot Dwelling Het Entreeheuis, Netherlands
An entrance house located at the gateway of the Groote Scheere country estate built from sustainable and lightweight red cedar coated with a black oil color. The roof opens up to the landscape to become a private outdoor space. It is the first of 10 houses to be built at the estate.

+ Architects: Alfred Waugh Architect | First People's House, Victoria, B.C.
This multi-purpose education facility at the University of Victoria, B.C. is the only major wood building on campus. The post-and-beam structure inspired by the Coast Salish longhouse is clad in clear Western Red Cedar and houses a student union, Elders lounges, study areas, classrooms and ceremonial spaces. The registered LEED project targets gold.

+ About Western Red Cedar Lumber Association

Western Red Cedar Lumber Association (WRCLA) is a Vancouver, B.C. based non-profit association known as “the voice of the cedar industry.” Founded in 1954, the association operates architect advisory and technical service programs throughout the U.S. and Canada. It offers extensive resources for architects and consumers.

Western Red Cedar is one of nature's truly remarkable building materials. Not only does it have distinctive beauty, natural durability and centuries of proven performance, Western Red Cedar is the ultimate green product. It produces fewer greenhouse gases, generates less water and air pollution, requires less energy to produce than alternatives and comes from a renewable and sustainable resource.