UN Studio at Dubai
2008-10-14
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From BD Global
UN Studio designs £255 million museum for Dubai
13 October, 2008
UN Studio architect Ben van Berkel flew to Dubai last week to discuss this £255 million Museum of Middle Eastern Modern Art (Momema).
The centre piece of Dubai Properties’ £8 billlion Cultural Village project, the scheme will be the region’s first museum of Middle East modern art.
The design brings together elements of the sea and Dubai's tradition of seafaring, and is based on the silhouette of an Arabian dhow sailing boat.
The 25,000sq m museum will be on an island on its own in the middle of the 4.6 million sq m village.
At one end of the museum will be a 60-room hotel, as well as restaurants and retail space. The village will also feature an amphitheatre, an exhibition hall and a shipyard for traditional dhow builders.
Construction for the museum is expected to start in eight months time and should be complete by 2011.
Van Berkel said: “The building is positioned to take full advantage of the prominent location in the Culture Village. With its Dhow-like prow rising up, the building offers panoramic views to the surroundings, and vice versa.
"There are never too many people; this museum thrives on audiences, vernissages, and spectacle. In the Momema, public, event, art and business meet each other and feed on each other.”
