Herzog & de Meuron takes to the UAE to design Janu Dubai, a mixed-use development bridging hotel, residences and workspaces. The single vertical address is set to be developed by H&H in partnership with Aman Group, and will introduce the Janu brand to Dubai through a pixelated tower recognized by curving columns.

Sited at Al Mustaqbal Street and 17th Street, the building will occupy a major spot within the financial district’s dense grid of offices, galleries, and restaurants. Its 1.3 million square foot footprint will accommodate a 150 room hotel, 57 branded residences, a private members’ club, offices, and retail.

images courtesy of Herzog & de Meuron

tactile architecture to contrast a glassy skyline

Herzog & de Meuron design the Janu Dubai tower with a compact, sculpted massing that reads as mineral and weighty against Dubai’s glassy skyline. Shadow and texture is favored over reflective glass, as terraces and planted edges carve depth into the facade.

Together with H&H in partnership with Aman Group, the architects shape the building through recesses and projecting volumes that frame outdoor rooms in the sky. Balconies and gardens step along the elevation, allowing planting to soften the perimeter and infusing interiors with greenery.

The fifty-seven residences occupy the most panoramic levels, organized with a range of layouts that extend from two bedroom homes to a triplex penthouse of over 11,000 square feet. Interiors are defined by high ceilings that reach up to 3.5 meters, broad windows, and a restrained palette of hand finished plaster, natural timber floors, and monolithic stone kitchens and baths.

the pixelated facade is defined by curving vertical columns

mixed-use programming by herzog & de meuron

Residential access is set back and hidden among a landscaped drop-off which guides residents away from the street. The entry lobby rises to eighteen meters to create a tall, shaded volume that slows the pace of arrival. Concierge services, private car lifts, and dedicated high speed elevators shape a smooth sequence from street to home.

Higher in the tower, a full floor of amenities forms a communal retreat. An infinity pool faces the skyline, while lounges, dining rooms, terraces, and a fitness center encourage lingering. Access to the Janu Spa and Club extends the wellness program into the hospitality component, linking residents to the larger ecosystem of the hotel.

For Aman Group, the project marks an expansion of the Janu concept into an urban Middle Eastern context, while for Herzog & Meuron, it will be the firm’s first built work in the United Arab Emirates.

the columns carve depth into the elevation

layering pools, terraces, and planted roofs above Dubai’s financial district

a shaded retail courtyard introduces greenery at the base of the tower

a landscaped residential entry leads to an eighteen meter-high lobby

a private terrace opens toward Burj Khalifa and downtown Dubai

an infinity pool overlooks dubai’s skyline

fifty-seven branded homes occupy the most panoramic levels of the tower

a full amenity floor offers an infinity pool, lounges, fitness spaces, and skyline views

Herzog and Meuron shape Janu Dubai with a sculpted mineral massing and planted terraces

project info:

name: Janu Dubai

architect: Herzog & de Meuron | @herzogdemeuron

location: Dubai, UAE
developer: H&H Development, Aman Group | @aman

visualizations: courtesy Herzog & de Meuron

The post herzog & de meuron arrives in dubai with lush, mixed-use tower for aman group appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Dutch practice MVRDV unveils a sculptural, mixed-use tower dubbed Inaura, its latest proposal for Dubai. The project is set to rise 210 meters (690 feet) between the dense urban fabric of the city core and the longer views toward the Burj Khalifa.

To stand apart within the crowded stretch of skyline, the stacked floorplates separate to accommodate a luminous ‘ovoid’, or egg-shaped volume nestled at roughly three quarters of the tower’s height. Suspended behind a glazed envelope, this pearl-like structure will be experienced with its own interior space rather than just as a massive artwork. From a distance, it registers as a soft orb of light, visible from multiple vantage points across the Emirati city.

The ovoid contains the Sky Lounge, with a VIP area enclosed within its curved form and a club space extending around it. Floor-to-ceiling glazing frames direct views toward the Burj Khalifa, while the elevation above surrounding rooftops offers a clear sense of height and exposure.

visualizations © The Boundary (unless otherwise stated)

the ground level plinth

At the street level of MVRDV’s Inaura tower, a four-story plinth houses restaurants and lobbies, with a gym stacked above. An infinity pool occupies the plinth’s roof, paired with a spa one level higher, creating a sequence of wellness spaces that mediate between ground and tower. Above this base, the lower portion of the building houses a 101-room hotel alongside 105 urban apartments ranging from one to three bedrooms.

Above the Sky Lounge, the architects plan seven floors of larger ‘sky villas’ within the upper section of the tower. These four- to six-bedroom homes open onto expanded outdoor terraces and long views across Downtown Dubai. The stacking of programs creates a clear vertical order which moves from public and shared amenities toward increasingly private living environments as the building rises.

Inaura is a 210 meter (690 foot) mixed-use tower designed by MVRDV for Dubai

the reflective facade by MVRDV

MVRDV defines the facade of its Inaura tower by a stack of horizontal bands formed by two-meter (6.6-foot)-deep wraparound balconies. These balconies temper sunlight and give each level a consistent external depth. As the tower rises, facade elements shift gradually — mirrored glass at the lower levels transitions toward greater transparency higher up, and crisp corners soften into rounded edges near the top.

Along the northern elevation, balconies widen as they climb, extending outdoor areas for the sky villas and opening views toward the Burj Khalifa. With this calibrated variation, the team reinforces the building’s vertical progression all while maintaining a coherent design language.

a luminous ovoid Sky Lounge is embedded high within the structure

a layered plinth combines restaurants, fitness, and wellness spaces

the facade shifts gradually from reflective to transparent glass

wraparound balconies provide shade depth and outdoor space

the Sky Lounge frames direct views toward the Burj Khalifa

an infinity pool occupies the plinth’s roof, with a spa one level higher

project info:

name: Inaura Tower

architect: MVRDV | @mvrdv

location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates

client: Arada Developments LLC

visualisations: © The Boundary | @the_boundaryuk, © MVRDV (Antonio Luca Coco, Angelo La Delfa, Stefano Fiaschi, Jaroslaw Jeda, Luana La Martina, Pavlos Ventouris, Kirill Emelianov, Ciprian Buzdugan, Lorenzo D’Alessandro)

founding partner in charge: Jacob van Rijs
partner: Bertrand Schippan
design team: Stavros Gargaretas, Efthymia Papadima, Federico Fiorino, Dimitrije Milic, Kevin Petitjean, Esteban Alvarez Ruiz, Lola Elisa Cauneac
head of interior: Aser Gimenez Ortega
interior design team: Maria López Calleja, Efthymia Papadima, Egle Jacinaviciute, Sofia Mermigka Angeli, Daria Rosh, Andrea Bit, Loes Bekkers, Francisco Polo, Victor Martiniuc, Amanda Galiana Ortega, Türker Naci Saylan, Emilia Mayorca Benarroch
BIM coordination: Giuseppe Mazzaglia, Chiara Arena, Marija Jasine
MVRDV NEXT: Agnieszka Thiel
model making: Andreana Vasilatou, Bianca Mascellani
strategy, development: Sruti Thakrar, Hannah Yan

lead consultant: Dewan Architects & Engineers
MEP, BMS, smart home, F&B/retail provisions, gas, infrastructure: 9E Global
interior design, artwork: MVRDV, H2R
landscape: Square M
lighting: Nulty Lighting
vertical transportation: Dunbar and Boardman
signage, wayfinding: The Design Company
fire and life safety: Infinity
facade engineering + BMU + facade access: WSP
acoustics: Delhom
spa, GYM consultancy, swimming pools, water features: EME
traffic design, parking study, parking management system, TIS: RMC
logistics, waste management: MCTS
wind tunnel specialist: CPP
sustainability: Climatize
aeronautical surveyor: Nortech
experience strategy (competition phase): 20-20 Studio
structure (competition phase): Ramboll

The post MVRDV embeds luminous, pearl-like lounge into its proposed inaura tower for dubai appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Emirati artist Shaikha Al Mazrou presents The Contingent Object at Manar Abu Dhabi 2025, a public light art exhibition unfolding within a coastal landscape shaped by mangroves and tidal air.

Sited close to water, the luminous work takes the form of a circular salt field measuring roughly thirty meters across. The installation registers time through material change. Seawater settles into a shallow plane, and as heat and wind take hold, evaporation thickens the surface. Color intensifies, crystals begin to assemble, and a pale crust develops along the edges. What begins as a calm liquid state gradually compacts into a dense, reflective plane, carrying the imprint of climate and duration.

Shaikha Al Mazrou, Contingent Object, 2025. Manar Abu Dhabi 2025. image courtesy Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi & Public Art Abu Dhabi. photo by Lance Gerber

Shaikha Al Mazrou uses Material as Process

Creating the Contingent Object, artist Shaikha Al Mazrou, employs salt as both medium and indicator. The material’s responsiveness to environment gives the piece a living quality, shaped daily by light levels, humidity, and shifting temperatures. The ground plane remains precise in geometry, yet its surface resists exact repetition. Fine variations accrue across the circle, producing subtle tonal gradients and textures that register up close before resolving at scale.

After dusk, a restrained lighting system activates along the perimeter and beneath the salt plane. The illumination stays low and even, allowing the circle to hover visually above the ground. Approached on foot, the work reveals itself gradually. The surrounding darkness compresses attention toward the illuminated edge, creating a measured spatial rhythm that encourages slow movement and extended viewing.

Shaikha Al Mazrou, Contingent Object, 2025. Manar Abu Dhabi 2025. image courtesy Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi & Public Art Abu Dhabi. photo by Lance Gerber

Light, Landscape, and Duration

Within the broader context of Manar Abu Dhabi, The Contingent Object participates in a city-scale conversation about light, site, and public access. The biennial brings together installations that engage outdoor settings through restraint and technical precision. Our recent coverage of DRIFT’s installation for Manar Abu Dhabi, which translated motion and aerial choreography into a shared nocturnal experience, offers a point of comparison rooted in light as a spatial tool rather than an effect-driven gesture.

Shaikha Al Mazrou’s approach remains grounded in physical transformation. Light plays a supporting role, tracing the boundary of the work rather than overtaking it. The glow frames the salt field and reveals the incremental shifts in its surface, reinforcing the idea of duration as a central design parameter.

Shaikha Al Mazrou, Contingent Object, 2025. Manar Abu Dhabi 2025. image courtesy Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi & Public Art Abu Dhabi

Shaikha Al Mazrou, Contingent Object, 2025. Manar Abu Dhabi 2025. image courtesy Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi & Public Art Abu Dhabi. photo by Lance Gerber

Shaikha Al Mazrou, Contingent Object, 2025. Manar Abu Dhabi 2025. image courtesy Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi & Public Art Abu Dhabi. photo by Lance Gerber

Shaikha Al Mazrou, Contingent Object, 2025. Manar Abu Dhabi 2025. image courtesy Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi & Public Art Abu Dhabi. photo by Lance Gerber

Shaikha Al Mazrou, Contingent Object, 2025. Manar Abu Dhabi 2025. image courtesy Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi & Public Art Abu Dhabi. photo by Lance Gerber

Shaikha Al Mazrou, Contingent Object, 2025. Manar Abu Dhabi 2025. image courtesy Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi & Public Art Abu Dhabi

project info:

name: Contingent Object

artist: Shaikha Al Mazrou | @shaikha.almazrou

location: Abu Dhabi, UAE

photography: © Lance Gerber | @lance.gerber

festival: Manar Abu Dhabi 2025 | @publicartabudhabi

theme: The Light Compass

dates: November 15th, 2025 – January 4th, 2026

The post shaikha al mazrou creates light art from crystallized seawater at manar abu dhabi appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Zayed National Museum, UAE’s long-awaited institution in the heart of the Saadiyat Cultural District, Abu Dhabi, opens today, on December 3rd, 2025, designed by Foster + Partners. The project (find designboom’s previous coverage here) combines architecture, environmental engineering, and cultural storytelling in a building where five lightweight steel wings function as solar thermal chimneys. Working like a wind tower in reverse, the system draws cool air up from ducts buried deep underground and exhales hot air through the towers, using negative pressure and the thermal stack effect to regulate the interior climate.

‘Zayed National Museum tells the story of Sheikh Zayed’s creation of the Emirates and the many facets of his legacy, including his vision of greening the desert. The building itself is an expression of sustainability, with five aerodynamic wings that are an integral part of the environmental system, acting as thermal chimneys and drawing cool air through the public spaces. They are also symbolic of Sheikh Zayed’s love of the traditional sport of falconry and have become markers on the city skyline,’ notes Norman Foster, Founder and Executive Chairman of Foster + Partners.

images courtesy of Foster + Partners, unless stated otherwise

a Foster + Partners-designed institution embedded in landscape

Set along the coastline between Louvre Abu Dhabi and the recently opened Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi, Zayed National Museum forms a new cultural anchor for Saadiyat Island. The building sits within Al Masar Garden, a 600-meter landscaped route that introduces visitors to the UAE’s desert, oasis, and urban ecologies through native plantings, a working falaj irrigation system, multisensory installations, and a timeline charting the life of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. 

From the outside, the museum, designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Norman Foster, reads as a sculpted mound, its faceted panels abstracting the topography of Jebel Hafeet, pierced by the five soaring wings. The mound itself doubles as environmental infrastructure, insulating the interior from solar gain and creating a shaded, thermally stable enclosure. The warm-white exterior materials echo the specific color of Saadiyat Island’s sand, continuing a regional tradition of architecture tuned to local geology.

UAE’s long-awaited institution opens in the Saadiyat Cultural District | image courtesy of Zayed National Museum

environmental engineering as architectural expression

The environmental strategy of the museum becomes a spatial experience. Cool air, channelled through buried pipes, enters at a low level and rises naturally into the full-height atrium, while the wings’ vents open to draw warm air upward. Their triple-laminated glazing limits heat while channeling daylight into the spaces below, and each wing can be individually tuned depending on the sun path. Together, the mound, wings, and ventilation system act as a contemporary interpretation of passive desert cooling.

Visitors enter through Al Liwan, a light-filled lobby designed as a civic living room. The atrium hosts performances of traditional dance and poetry throughout the day, positioning live culture at the center of the visitor experience. Suspended above are four pod-shaped galleries—clad with dense mesh interlayers and topped with electrochromic rooflights that adjust to external light levels to protect delicate artifacts. The pods form anchor points for the museum’s thematic narrative, while circulation between them remains open-ended, allowing visitors to navigate the collection at their own rhythm.

combining environmental engineering, and cultural storytelling | image courtesy of Zayed National Museum

tracing 300,000 years of history

The permanent exhibition of the museum brings together more than 3,000 objects, with 1,500 on display across six galleries. The journey begins in Our Beginning, dedicated to the life and leadership of Sheikh Zayed, presented through archival film, photographs, personal items, letters, and recordings of his voice. The gallery examines the social and political formation of the UAE and the forces that shaped the nation’s early years.

Through Our Nature takes visitors into the mountains, oases, desert, and sea, examining how geography informed life and culture over millennia. To Our Ancestors expands the timeline to 300,000 years of continuous habitation, showcasing archaeological finds ranging from one of the world’s oldest pearls to a reconstruction of the Hili Grand Tomb.

The narrative widens again in Through Our Connections, charting new technologies, materials, and beliefs from the Iron Age through the 1100s CE, including the development of the Arabic language and the emergence of Islam. The maritime gallery, By Our Coasts, focuses on the last five centuries of navigation, trade, and pearling, while To Our Roots explores inland customs, crafts, and daily life, threading Emirati identity from past to present.

the wings are glazed to channel natural light into the galleries below, and each one is individually tunable

markers on the city skyline

a building where five lightweight steel wings function as solar thermal chimneys

working like a wind tower in reverse

the building’s form addresses the challenge of sustaining life in a desert environment

the system draws cool air up from ducts buried deep underground | image courtesy of Zayed National Museum

visitors enter through Al Liwan, a light-filled lobby designed as a civic living room

a meeting and orientation space

the mound, wings, and ventilation system act as a contemporary interpretation of passive desert cooling

suspended above are four pod-shaped galleries

circulation remains open-ended

the permanent exhibition of the museum brings together more than 3,000 objects

controlled environments protect the sensitive artefacts on display

threading Emirati identity from past to present

visitors can choose their own route through the different galleries

the environmental strategy of the museum becomes a spatial experience

the wings’ vents open to draw warm air upward | image courtesy of Zayed National Museum

project info:

name: Zayed National Museum | @znmuae

architect: Foster + Partners | @fosterandpartners

location: Abu Dhabi, UAE

height: 123 m (above National Abu Dhabi Datum, NADD)

gross area: 56,687 m²

built-up area: 88,870 m²

site area: 86,876 m²

The post zayed national museum by foster + partners spreads its steel wings over abu dhabi appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Skyward by Ezequiel Pini, the artist and designer behind Six N. Five, glimmers within the landscape of Manar Abu Dhabi 2025 as a composed encounter between material density and reflected atmosphere. The public artwork begins with a single gabbro stone extracted from the UAE town of Ras al Khaimah, positioned so its dark surface absorbs the desert sun while revealing fine variations in texture. Its presence feels anchored to geological time as it was first shaped by natural forces and then by weeks of hand refinement.

Across from the stone, a illuminated mirrored plane of digital art introduces an entirely different register. The surface gathers the sky and returns it to the ground, creating a shifting field that responds to weather, hour, and the quiet movement of visitors. This pairing forms the basic spatial rhythm of Skyward, one element rooted in the earth, the other oriented toward the open expanse overhead.

Ezequiel Pini (a.k.a. Six N. Five), Skyward, 2025. Manar Abu Dhabi 2025. image courtesy Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi & Public Art Abu Dhabi. photo by Lance Gerber

six n. five sculpts with stone and shimmering light

Six N. Five‘s placement of the monolith and mirror frames a passage that draws visitors to Skyward through a measured sequence. The gap between them serves as a calibrated threshold, where the mass of gabbro stone meets the immaterial clarity of reflected light. Ezequiel Pini’s work often dwells on elemental contrasts, and here the installation translates those interests into a built environment.

Digital projections shimmer across the mirrored surface, guided by constellations associated with Abu Dhabi. These animated sequences bring a sense of quiet movement to the installation, echoing traditions of navigation shaped by star patterns across desert and sea. The effect remains grounded in architectural experience: visitors read the surface at scale, observing how light behaves across its height and how the projection alters their perception of depth.

Ezequiel Pini (a.k.a. Six N. Five), Skyward, 2025. Manar Abu Dhabi 2025. image courtesy Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi & Public Art Abu Dhabi. photo by Lance Gerber

engaging abu dhabi’s desert landscape

As the sun shifts, Six N. Five’s Skyward mirror serves as an inclined horizon, folding portions of sky into the visitor’s field of view. This creates a subtle reorientation, encouraging upward attention while still maintaining a strong relationship with the ground plane. The installation’s alignment within the desert setting amplifies this effect, giving Skyward a steady presence amid open terrain.

The stone’s handcrafted finish invites close viewing. Faint tool marks remain at certain edges, offering evidence of the labor involved and underscoring the contrast between permanence and adaptation. In relation to the mirror, the stone’s matte density stabilizes the composition, heightening awareness of the changes taking place across the reflective surface.

Ezequiel Pini (a.k.a. Six N. Five), Skyward, 2025. Manar Abu Dhabi 2025. image courtesy Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi & Public Art Abu Dhabi. photo by Lance Gerber

Ezequiel Pini (a.k.a. Six N. Five), Skyward, 2025. Manar Abu Dhabi 2025. image courtesy Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi & Public Art Abu Dhabi. photo by Lance Gerber

Ezequiel Pini (a.k.a. Six N. Five), Skyward, 2025. Manar Abu Dhabi 2025. image courtesy Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi & Public Art Abu Dhabi. photo by Lance Gerber

Ezequiel Pini (a.k.a. Six N. Five), Skyward, 2025. Manar Abu Dhabi 2025. image courtesy Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi & Public Art Abu Dhabi. photo by Lance Gerber

Ezequiel Pini (a.k.a. Six N. Five), Skyward, 2025. Manar Abu Dhabi 2025. image courtesy Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi & Public Art Abu Dhabi. photo by Lance Gerber

Ezequiel Pini (a.k.a. Six N. Five), Skyward, 2025. Manar Abu Dhabi 2025. image courtesy Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi & Public Art Abu Dhabi. photo by Lance Gerber

project info:

name: Skyward

artist: Ezequiel Pini (Six N Five) | @sixnfive

location: Jubail Island, Abu Dhabi, UAE

client: Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi, Public Art Abu Dhabi

completion: 2025

photography: © Lance Gerber © Stéphane Aït Ouarab / Saï

The post six n. five lands in abu dhabi with glimmering desert installation ‘skyward’ appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi opens its doors tomorrow, November 22nd, 2025, in the Saadiyat Cultural District, marking a major moment for the UAE’s cultural and scientific landscape. Designed by Mecanoo, the 35,000-square-meter museum traces 13.8 billion years of cosmic and earthly evolution while casting natural history through an Arabian lens. Inaugurated by His Highness Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the institution positions itself as the largest natural history museum in the Middle East and introduces a rare set of world-first paleontological displays, including two Tyrannosaurus rex skeletons locked in a prehistoric battle and the first-ever exhibition of a five-species sauropod herd (find designboom’s previous coverage here).

Mecanoo’s design takes direct cues from the geological forms that structure the region. The architecture is conceived as a cluster of sculpted volumes that echo eroded rock formations, using geometry as the underlying language of the project. Pentagonal shapes, reminiscent of cellular structures and naturally occurring crystal patterns, repeat across the exterior and interior surfaces, setting up a visual system that links micro and macro scales of the natural world. 

all images © Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi

an immersive journey through deep time

The narrative unfolds from the origins of the universe to the ecological futures we are shaping today. Early galleries spotlight the natural history of the Emirates and surrounding region, reconstructing a seven-million-year-old savannah-like environment once populated by now-extinct species, including a four-tusked giant elephant, which is displayed as part of the permanent collection. These scenes anchor the global story of natural history within the specific climatic shifts and geological legacies of the Arabian Peninsula.

At the entrance atrium, visitors are met by the unprecedented sauropod herd, featuring five distinct long-necked giants arranged as if frozen mid-migration. Deeper inside, the dramatic T. rex encounter stages two fossil specimens, among them the 67-million-year-old Stan, one of the most complete T. rex skeletons ever found, locked in confrontation over a Triceratops carcass. Bite marks and fossil evidence preserved across the scene offer one of the most detailed reconstructions of predation behavior currently on public view.

the entrance plaza is framed by indigenous trees

built around research and long-term knowledge production

While the galleries deliver spectacle, the institution places equal emphasis on scientific inquiry. Integrated research facilities will support studies in palaeontology, earth sciences, biodiversity, and conservation, strengthening the UAE’s growing ecosystem of knowledge production. The museum aims to act as a hub for interdisciplinary collaboration, from lab-based investigations to community science initiatives, and positions youth engagement as central to its mission. Workshops, public programs, and educational labs are designed to encourage future generations to pursue scientific fields and environmental stewardship.

The museum aligns its programming with the UAE’s climate commitments, foregrounding biodiversity, conservation, and environmental literacy. Exhibitions invite visitors not only to observe but to think critically about the long arc of planetary change and the responsibilities that come with it. 

Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi joins a constellation of major institutions, including Louvre Abu Dhabi, teamLab Phenomena Abu Dhabi, and the forthcoming Zayed National Museum and Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, shaping the Saadiyat Cultural District as a global destination for cross-disciplinary exchange.

sculptural forms by Mecanoo reflect Abu Dhabi’s ambition to connect the world with life’s story

white facades and native greenery express Mecanoo’s architectural vision for the museum

distinctive modules reflect the dedication of the museum to celebrating Earth’s natural wonder

sculpted volumes echo eroded rock formations

Arabia’s Climate with Act 1B – The Evolving World – Cenozoic

Brydes Whale: an endangered species of whale often found in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans

female blue whale skeleton measuring 25 metres in length and consisting of 189 bones

two of the world’s most complete and exceptionally preserved skeletons ever recovered

a herd of five Triceratops considered the first Triceratops herd to ever be discovered in one nest

Ash Shaqqah 002 Meteorite, a dark-greyish rock showcasing a fusion crust

project info:

name: Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi | @nhm_abudhabi

architect: Mecanoo | @mecanoo_

location: Saadiyat Cultural District, Abu Dhabi, UAE

size: 35,000 square meters

The post natural history museum abu dhabi by mecanoo opens with world-first dinosaur displays appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

KAWS’ monumental Companion lands on Abu Dhabi’s waterfront, not floating this time, but stretched across the edge of Mina Zayed as if pausing between breaths, lifting a glowing moon toward the sky. The arrival of KAWS:HOLIDAY Abu Dhabi, created in collaboration with long-time partner AllRightsReserved, marks the newest stop in the artist’s global series of large-scale public sculptures. On view until January 4th, 2026, the artist’s signature figure spans 32 meters in length and anchors Manar Abu Dhabi 2025, the citywide light art exhibition organized by the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi. Now in its second edition, Manar brings together 22 site-specific works by 15 Emirati and international artists across the emirate under the theme The Light Compass.

images courtesy of AllRightsReserved

moonlit figure becomes a guide along the water’s edge

Against the reflective gulf waters and the illuminated skyline, KAWS’ reclining Companion holds a radiant full moon close to its chest. Dhows, traditional sailing vessels, once relied on constellations to chart their journeys, reading tides by moonlight long before GPS. Here, that memory becomes a visual guide once again, transformed into a sculpture. The soft glow of the moon diffuses onto the water, scattering light across the harbor and echoing the lantern-lit origins of the installation’s debut. Within the wider exhibition, which unfolds across Jubail Island, Al Ain’s UNESCO-inscribed oases, and coastal and urban sites, Companion becomes one of the key markers linking the theme to the Gulf’s ancestral relationship with light.

From the promenade, the scene feels strangely intimate despite its scale. The Companion’s posture, arms curled, legs slightly bent, brings a sense of stillness rarely associated with works of this size. Visitors encounter it almost at eye level, framed by palm trees and the long horizontal sweep of the pier. The surrounding lights create a ring of illumination around the sculpture, amplifying the moon’s luminosity while grounding the figure firmly within the fabric of Mina port. As one of the central works presented at Souq Al Mina, the Brooklyn-based artist’s sculpture stands apart from the installations at Jubail Island or the shaded trails of Al Ain, yet remains fully tied to Manar’s focus on orientation and spatial memory.

KAWS’ monumental Companion lands on Abu Dhabi’s waterfront

Light becomes material and map across shifting horizons

The water gathers the reflection of the moon and sends it back, turning the entire waterfront into part of the installation. In this exchange between object and environment, KAWS:HOLIDAY Abu Dhabi underscores the exhibition’s broader exploration of light, scale, and imagination. Across the emirate, artists including Shaikha Al Mazrou, DRIFT, Ezequiel Pini (Six N. Five), Pamela Tan, Lachlan Turczan, and others introduce parallel approaches to light as material and compass.

At night, the moon appears almost within reach, tucked neatly between Companion’s hands, steady and clear. Across the harbor, the lights on the skyline of Abu Dhabi flicker in response, mirroring the artwork’s luminous core and reinforcing the thread that unites Manar Abu Dhabi’s second edition.

the sculpture lies stretched across the edge of Mina Zayed as if pausing between breaths

the Companion figure lifts a glowing moon toward the sky

created in collaboration with AllRightsReserved

the work spans 32 meters in length

KAWS’ reclining Companion holds a radiant full moon close to its chest

the scene feels intimate despite its scale

the Companion’s posture brings a sense of stillness

framed by palm trees and the long horizontal sweep of the pier

the surrounding lights create a ring of illumination around the sculpture

project info:

name: KAWS:HOLIDAY Abu Dhabi

artist: KAWS | @kaws

location: Souq Al Mina, Abu Dhabi, UAE

collaboration: AllRightsReserved

exhibition: Manar Abu Dhabi 2025 | @publicartabudhabi – The Light Compass

dates: November 15th, 2025 – January 4th, 2026

The post 32-meter companion by KAWS lifts glowing moon along abu dhabi’s waterfront appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

The 11th edition of Dubai Design Week (DDW) is set to amplify the dynamic creative landscape of the Middle East, running from November 4 to 9, 2025, at the Dubai Design District (d3), the city’s global creative ecosystem. The festival offers a multidisciplinary program that acts as a vital platform for dialogue, experimentation, and progress, spanning architecture, interiors, furniture, graphic design and major activations like the showcase by Iris Ceramica Group. 

Anchoring the week is Downtown Design (DTD), which returns to the d3 Waterfront Terrace from November 5 to 9 as the Middle East’s most significant platform for high-quality contemporary design. As a central pillar of the fair, The Forum once again convenes a lineup of global and regional voices for its flagship talks program. Headlining the conversation series is British design icon Tom Dixon in his Dubai debut, who will be joined by internationally acclaimed figures like Lee Broom and David Hicks, alongside regional design leaders including Rabah Saeid and Pallavi Dean.

Dubai Design Week returns for its 11th edition | all images courtesy of Dubai Design Week

CROSS-CULTURAL CREATIVITY AT DUBAI DESIGN DISTRICT

Dubai Design Week 2025 is presented in strategic partnership with Dubai Design District and supported by Dubai Culture & Arts Authority to nurture a distinctly native design narrative and provide a dynamic platform for both regional creatives and global brands. Powerful collaborations and innovative commissions underscore the festival‘s commitment to cross-cultural exchange. The automotive partner, BMW Middle East, returns with an installation developed with Jeddah-based architecture studio BrickLab, and Swiss watchmaker Jaeger-LeCoultre hosts an immersive pop-up that traces the history of the Reverso timepiece through the lens of design, architecture, and the culinary arts. Furthermore, the IQOS Curious X platform in partnership with Italian design brand Seletti reimagines the traditional Italian piazza with a multi-sensory installation featuring immersive soundscapes, digital art, and varying scents.

Tom Dixon makes his Dubai debut, headlining conservations at The Forum

THE FESTIVAL’S PROGRAM AND DOWNTOWN DESIGN HIGHLIGHTS

Beyond these major collaborations, the festival offers a comprehensive program from high-design showcases to crucial launchpad commissions that champion regional makers and materials. Abwab is a yearly program that supports designers from across West, South, and East Asia, as well as the African continent, by commissioning installations or pavilions thematically remodelled each year to reflect relevant global and regional contexts. For the 2025 edition, practitioners were invited to respond to the theme ‘In the Details,’ exploring material intelligence, precision, and cultural nuance through the lens of ornamentalism. 

Separately, the Urban Commissions design competition provides a platform for architects and designers to experiment with ideas for the public realm. In 2025, the competition centres on the courtyard, a spatial typology rooted in the region yet resonant across many cultures, encouraging proposals that investigate how design can enrich civic life.

IQOS Curious X and Seletti reimagine the traditional Italian piazza with a multi-sensory installation

DDW 2025 also places a strong emphasis on fostering talent, launching the d3 Awards, a regional design award championing emerging talent from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The inaugural edition is focused on architecture with the winner receiving a financial prize of AED 100,000 and a mentorship session with an industry leader. Furthermore, the UAE Designer Exhibition, supported by Dubai Culture, returns with an expanded curatorial scope to bolster mentorship opportunities and visibility for emerging UAE-based designers.

Visitors can also experience enriching exhibitions and activations, such as the d3 Architecture Exhibition in partnership with the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), which showcases works by leading international and regional architectural firms centred on the theme of community. L’ÉCOLE Middle East, School of Jewelry Arts supported by Van Cleef & Arpels, is set to unveil a world premiere exhibition at their campus in d3, presenting a unique dialogue between the West and East through the art of jewellery, alongside local heritage and museum artifacts.

Designlab Experience by Hibah Albakree, Mootassem El Baba, Marwan Maalouf at Dubai Design Week 2025

Finally, the DDW’s hands-on learning hub, the Maker Space, made by Mart®, features over 60 expert-led workshops and masterclasses throughout the six-day festival. Hosted in a dedicated space, the program is designed to inspire and elevate skills across design disciplines, welcoming professionals and aspiring creatives of all ages and levels of experience. Sessions are led by professors from leading institutions such as the University of the Arts London (UAL) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), as well as UAE-based, regional, and international creatives and cultural institutions.

The DTD fair’s flagship talks platform, The Forum, is headlined by one of the most influential figures in contemporary design, Tom Dixon, making his Dubai debut with a keynote that will explore material innovation and the evolution of global design narratives. The event promises to be a vital nexus for cross-cultural dialogue, setting the course for the next era of design defined by the MENA region’s growing influence.

BMW installation developed with Jeddah-based architecture studio BrickLab

National Pavillion UAE by Pressure Cooker

Ithra x Izaskun by Chinchilla Architects

L’ÉCOLE Middle East, School of Jewelry Arts Exhibition at Dubai Design Week 2025

ARDH Collective by Alhaan and Alyina Ahmed

Downtown Design (DTD) returns to the d3 Waterfront Terrace from November 5 to 9

project info:

name: Dubai Design Week 2025 | @dubaidesignweek

dates: November 4-9, 2025

location: Dubai Design District (d3)

The post over 30 large-scale installations form creative landscapes during dubai design week 2025 appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

The Row Saadiyat, designed by Bjarke Ingels Group for Aldar Properties, introduces a new residential quarter within Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat Cultural District. Positioned beside the Zayed National Museum and within walking distance of Louvre Abu Dhabi and Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, the development engages directly with the city’s emerging cultural landscape.

Comprising seven buildings, each rising to nine stories, which will bring 315 contemporary residences, The Row Saadiyat establishes a horizontal rhythm that mirrors the surrounding museums and coastal topography. Its plan is defined by shaded walkways and air-conditioned bridges that link residents to Saadiyat Grove’s retail precinct and Mamsha Beach. This connective structure brings a walkable, social environment while offering protection from the desert heat.

The Row Saadiyat is a new residential quarter designed by BIG for Aldar Properties | images © Aldar Properties

a masterplan of luminous homes at The Row Saadiyat

In composing The Row Saadiyat, Bjarke Ingels Group’s design approach privileges proportion, material restraint, and clarity. The architects plan curving facades, which are expressed through a consistent grid of deep balconies and fine metal fins that filter light and frame views toward the museum’s sculptural wings.

Light-toned cladding and pale metal detail contribute a quiet material palette suited to the desert-edge context. Inside, apartments wrapped in interiors by Kettle Collective feature a restrained selection of finishes — deep wood flooring, pale stone surfaces, and floor-to-ceiling glazing that frames the cultural landscape beyond.

seven mid rise buildings form a composition of curving residences

Spatial Balance and Material Calm

Bjarke Ingels Group designs The Row Saadiyat to balance civic life with private retreat. Ground floors are animated by cafés, wellness studios, and community venues, while the residences above open onto private terraces and horizon views. Circulation is placed at the edges, allowing open living areas oriented toward natural light. Throughout, Bjarke Ingels Group’s design prioritizes measured exposure: shading and depth modulate the desert sun, maintaining comfort without isolating interiors from their surroundings.

By day, light moves across facades in slow gradations of tone. By evening, glass surfaces absorb the muted reflection of sea and sky. The quarter’s rhythm of solids and voids gives it an understated coherence, lending the district a sense of continuity rather than contrast.

facades of pale cladding and fine metal fins filter light and frame museum views

Sustainability and Well-being

The Row Saadiyat development targets a 3-Pearl Estidama rating and 2-star Fitwel certification, integrating passive strategies such as orientation, shading, and daylight optimization. Smart systems manage energy use and climate comfort. Communal spaces — a wellbeing club, co-working lounge, children’s facilities, and a pet spa — extend the architecture’s focus on balance and shared living.

interiors by Kettle Collective use natural materials and soft tones to extend the building’s quiet character

project info:

name: The Row Saadiyat

architect: Bjarke Ingels Group | @big_builds

location: Abu Dhabi, UAE

developer: Aldar Properties | @aldar

interior designer: Kettle Collective | @kettlecollective

The post bjarke ingels group unveils ‘the row saadiyat’, a residential district for abu dhabi appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Iconic Japanese architect Tadao Ando unveils plans for the upcoming Dubai Museum of Art, a new cultural institution floating at the edge of Dubai Creek. The rounded, monolithic structure will float in the saltwater inlet on a circular platform, its fluid concrete surface folding and twisting toward a glazed opening that catches the desert light.

Viewed from across the bay, the museum reads as both grounded and in motion. Its curved body will evoke the hydrodynamic precision of a vessel. The facade, clad in smooth white panels, is punctured by triangular apertures that taper upward and filtering daylight into the interiors. At sunset, the building’s surface absorbs the shifting amber tones of the sky, softening its engineered geometry into something quietly atmospheric.

Within the surrounding landscape, a procession of palms lines the approach, their shadows repeating the rhythm of the facade. The structure’s base meets the water through a subtle overhang, giving the impression that the museum floats.

Tadao Ando designs a new art museum rising over Dubai Creek | visualizations © Al-Futtaim Group

tadao ando designs with sunlight

Inside, Tadao Ando’s design language of restraint and precision becomes clear through the treatment of concrete and light. The galleries occupy the first two levels, organized around a central oculus that channels daylight downward in a pearlescent glow. The play between curved concrete walls and the circular skylight produces a calm, shifting brightness that defines the visitor’s path without the need for overt boundaries.

The upper level houses a lounge and restaurant framed by full-height glazing. From here, views extend across the creek toward the city’s skyline. With this framing, the architect situates the art and the architecture which surrounds it within the broader context of an evolving Dubai. The museum also includes a library and study areas dedicated to supporting the next generation of artists and designers.

triangular openings filter light across the curved facade

curving voids to frame views

Commissioned by the Al-Futtaim Group, the museum is developed as a public amenity and a platform for creative exchange. Its design speaks to Ando’s enduring interest in geometry, and light. Here, these elements converge within a distinctly urban and maritime setting. The building’s outer shell is smooth and continuous, and conceals an interior landscape of concrete volumes and curving voids that guide movement and frame sightlines.

When complete, the Dubai Museum of Art will become a new focal point in Dubai. It will host exhibitions, discussions, and educational programs. Backdropped by Dubai’s skyline, Tadao Ando’s upcoming work will distill his enduring design philosophy into a single gesture.

the rounded structure twists upward with a calm white surface

sunlight glows through the oculus, casting a pearlescent hue

the museum rests on a circular platform surrounded by palms

project info:

name: Dubai Museum of Art (DUMA)

architect: Tadao Ando

location: Dubai, UAE

visualizations: © Al-Futtaim Group

The post tadao ando plans floating dubai museum of art with twisting concrete silhouette appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.