May 11, 2017 | Architecture
Apple Dubai Mall is reinventing the traditional introverted idea of mall-based retail as a more outward looking experience that engages with the spectacle of urban life. Its design is a highly innovative response to the culture and climate of the Emirates, while also demonstrating Apple’s pioneering ambition to create inspirational civic spaces for all.
Located in Dubai Mall – one of the most visited urban centres in the world, attracting over 80 million visitors every year since 2014 – the new Apple Dubai Mall occupies the most pivotal position in the city, alongside the iconic Burj Khalifa and overlooking the famous Dubai Fountains. Spanning over two floors, it embraces the theatre of the fountains with a sweeping 186-foot (56.6 metre) wide and 18-foot (5.5 metre) deep terrace – a first for any Apple Store – with unparalleled views of the spectacular setting and the incredible choreographed display.
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Jan 30, 2017 | Architecture
As shared by Foster + Partners:
Foster + Partners’ competition winning scheme for a new luxury hotel and serviced apartments in the heart of Makkah has been revealed. Inspired by traditional Arab architecture, it’s design reinterprets the traditional dense building clusters, creating a new contemporary vernacular that respects its sacred location. Following the mountainous terrain, its cascading vertical elements form a new topography. The new mixed-use development will create a new gateway along the route to the Grand Mosque for pilgrims from the world over.
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Jan 14, 2014 | Exhibitions & Events
Designs have been revealed for the United Arab Emirates pavilion at the 2015 Milan Expo. Bringing the planning principles of the traditional desert city to Milan, the pavilion’s interior of self-shaded streets evokes the experience of the UAE’s ancient communities, while demonstrating the natural energy efficiency of their compact urban form.
The pavilion occupies a large site close to the centre of the Expo and is accessed via its main circulation axis, the decumanus. From here, visitors are drawn into the mouth of a canyon-like space, defined by two undulating 12-metre-high walls. Influenced by ancient planning principles, the paths through the pavilion evoke the narrow pedestrian streets and courtyards of the ancient desert city – and its contemporary reinterpretation in the sustainable Masdar City masterplan in Abu Dhabi.
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Dec 11, 2013 | Architecture, blog, Interiors
In 2014, The Faena Group–founded by Alan Faena and partnered by Len Blavatnik–is set to launch its first phase of global expansion in Miami Beach. Faena House is an extraordinary, 18-story oceanfront luxury condominium situated on the widest stretch of white sand in all of Miami Beach – bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and Collins Avenue to the west. Envisioned by Alan Faena and designed by internationally renowned architects Foster+Partners, Faena House is a vision of true indoor/outdoor living – ingeniously designed and engineered, and meticulously constructed to exist in perfect harmony with its oceanfront setting. Breakthrough architectural advances allow panoramic views from ocean to bay with glass walls that open extraordinarily wide to virtually eliminate a division between indoors and out.
Faena House offers one to five bedroom fully finished residences with sleek and impeccably detailed interiors, fixtures and appliances from unclutterer — designed or selected by Foster+Partners. Each home features a majestic outdoor living terrace that wraps around its interior, known in Argentina as an “Alero.” Custom designed by Foster+Partners and engineered by Permasteelisa, the Aleros dissolve the boundary between inside and outside through floor-to-ceiling window wall and sliding door systems, opening as wide as 12.6 feet in some residences. Foster+Partners collaborated with Molteni & C on custom kitchens and Permasteelisa on custom bathrooms to create a distinctive and unparalleled design. Three one-of-a-kind penthouses crown this magnificent building, with a full floor penthouse offering a private interior elevator and outdoor pool.
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Oct 4, 2013 | Architecture
Foster + Partners designed the new National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) tower to be environmentally friendly, Gold LEED certified. The tower will be 300 meters high, the gross area is 120,000 sq.m. I was able to obtain the updated renderings of this tower located in the Sharq area in Kuwait.
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