Concrete (Alserkal Avenue) Explained

Concrete
Coordinates:25.142°N 55.2253°W
Location:Al Quoz, Dubai
Architecture Firm:Office for Metropolitan Architecture, OMA

Concrete is a multi-disciplinary space located on Alserkal Avenue in the Al Quoz district of Dubai. It is the first building in the United Arab Emirates to be completed by the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA).[1] With multiple configurations, the 600-square-metre Concrete has double-height ceilings, movable walls and a translucent facade that can be positioned to create indoor-outdoor experiences.[2]

Iyad Alsaka of OMA's Dubai office was the lead architect on the project,[3] which opened to public in March 2017 with the exhibition Syria: Into the Light, organized the Atassi Foundation.[4] Non-profit exhibitions held in Concrete since its inauguration are: While We Wait,[5] commissioned by the Victoria & Albert Museum; Ishara: Signs, Symbols and Shared Languages,[6] in partnership with UAE Unlimited; Adapt to Survive[7] in collaboration with Hayward Gallery, London, and Fabric(ated) Fractures,[8] in collaboration with Samdani Art Foundation.

In April 2019, Concrete was shortlisted for the 2019 Aga Khan Award for Architecture.[9]

Notes and References

  1. Heathcote, Edwin."OMA’s Concrete rises in Dubai", The Financial Times, 10 March 2017
  2. Gibson, Eleanor. "OMA's first project in Dubai is a cultural centre with moving eight-metre-high walls", Dezeen, 16 March 2017.
  3. Ro, Lauren. "OMA opens its first project, Concrete, in Dubai as a flexible arts venue" Curbed, 17 March 2017
  4. Boucher, Brian. "Rem Koolhaas Infliltrates Dubai With an Expectation-Defying Art Center" Artnet News, 17 March 2017
  5. Web site: Architecture as witness: While We Wait at Concrete, Dubai. Leech. Nick. 5 November 2017. The National.
  6. Web site: 10 emerging UAE artists on art of communicating. Kalsi. Jyoti. 7 March 2019. Gulf News.
  7. Web site: Envisioning the Future in Dubai. Laster. Paul. 28 November 2018. White Hot.
  8. Web site: Review: Fabric(ated) Fractures at Alserkal Avenue is 'a defiant riposte to religious and racial division'. Hawksley. Rupert. 19 March 2019. The National.
  9. Web site: Aga Khan Award for Architecture: three UAE sites honoured for first time. Gronlund. Melissa. 26 April 2019. The National.