Chitika

Monday 7 February 2011

Ehrlich bags Abu Dhabi Parliament building bid


The Federal National Council (FNC) has selected US-based firm Ehrlich Architects to design and build the UAE’s Federal National Council building

The tender, floated last month by the FNC, will see the construction of a 1.3 million square feet monument at the Abu Dhabi Corniche.

Initially, 14 firms from nine countries were invited in early 2010 to submit their entries in Phase 1 of the International Design Competition for the new FNC Building.

A shortlist of four companies was selected to continue to the more detailed Phase 2: Ehrlich Architects (USA), Foster + Partners (UK), Massimiliano Fuksas Architects (Italy) and Zaha Hadid Architects (UK).

“The New Parliament Building Complex will balance Islamic heritage with UAE’s global contemporary aspirations, where modernity and tradition are in harmonious balance,” explained Steven Ehrlich, Ehrlich Architects’ Design Principal.

“The architecture for the FNC’s new home will communicate its increasingly vital role in the lives of all UAE citizens,” Ehrlich added.

In the second phase, Ehrlich Architects partnered with UAE-based architecture firm Godwin Austen Johnson (GAJ) and landscape architecture firm ValleyCrest Design Group, to create a plan for the new parliament building which captures unique identity of the UAE.

Blending familiar Arabic patterns with contemporary forms and the latest technological advances, the design of the new parliament building will create maximum functionality and environmental sustainability.

The winning model for the parliament building is supported by a striking 100-meter-diameter dome structure; a soaring “flower-of-the-desert” that will create a shaded micro-environment, while casting Islamic patterns of sprinkled light onto the white marble Assembly Hall.

Moreover, the dome of the parliamentary building will be visible for miles across the water and will shine dramatically at night.

According to local news sources, Ehrlich Architects declined to reveal the value of the contract and timeframe to start the construction of the monument

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