Concrete at Alserkal Avenue - Amazon S3

by Hossein Rezai

2019 On Site Review Report

Concrete at Alserkal Avenue

Architect OMA-Office for Metropolitan Architecture

ClientAlserkal Avenue LLC

Design2015

Completed2017

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

5312.UAE

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Concrete at Alserkal AvenueDubai, United Arab Emirates

I. Introduction

Concrete reuses four previously planned and developed warehouse units sitting at the heart of a light industrial gated community recently converted into a cultural and alternative small business hub. The hub is called Alserkal Avenue and it houses “risk-taking entrepreneurs on whom Alserkal have taken a risk”.1 Most of the units are occupied by first-time businesses. Alserkal Avenue has organically engaged with possible tenants and agreed with the municipality on a flexible mechanism of rental model and support. Rents vary from full-scale for established businesses to zero for the experimental cinema.

The four units occupy an area of 32.6 by 30 metres on plan, situated strategically in front of and opening up onto the Yard, which is the main outdoor public space in the compound. Part of the brief for the development, which is essentially a major internal fit-out within the existing envelope, was to engage with the Yard. This task appears to have been successfully achieved through quiet activation of the façade of the building opening out onto the Yard. The existing four units were not used for the previously planned purpose, but were remodelled on completion of the works within the existing building envelope. The space is converted into a single, large and flexible volume suitable for gallery and events. Simple and moveable walls/partitions are designed and placed within the space, allowing it to be carved into four separate spaces for concurrent events. The space division can take many other permutations.

II. Contextual information

A. Brief historical background

Dubai has come a long way, from an insignificant fishing outpost off the southern coast of the Persian Gulf as recently as the early 20th century to a metropolis of superlatives, of the tallest, the biggest and the widest. As early as the 19th century, Dubai was apparently a blank spot on the political map of the world (Nisha 2014). At that time, Dubai (as much as its neighbour Abu Dhabi) was isolated from routes of travellers and merchants due to its embeddedness within the geography of a deserted land inhabited by Bedouins and disconnected from any market towns, trade centres or main ports (ibid.). It was between the 1870s and the early decades of the 20th century, when the pearl trade developed in the region, that Dubai started shifting from a mere outpost off the Persian Gulf coast to a more significant place on the geopolitical map of the world. Since the 1990s, Dubai has affirmed its identity as a city which aspires to be the biggest and the tallest. Among various attempts to do so, Dubai can in fact lay claim to the tallest building in the world, i.e. the 828-metre-tall Burj Khalifa.

Modern urbanisation in Dubai has been characterised by four phases, respectively featuring:

• Low urbanisation (1900–1955), when Dubai was a small urban settlement bordering the desert in the pre-oil era. The period is characterised by no discernible space planning strategy.

1 From personal conversation with Mr Abdelmonem Bin Eisa Alserkal – founder of Alserkal Avenue, during the site visit in February 2019.

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• Compact urban development (1955–1970), marked by the first modern masterplan for the city commissioned by the then Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, and prepared by the British architect/masterplanner John Harris. The masterplan was for an estimated population of 40,000 people, and included roads and zoning to support this target figure.

• Planning for suburban growth (1970–1990), influenced significantly by the discovery of oil reserves (since 1966) and the rapid growth fuelled by the rise in income. Key in the new masterplan was an element of integration of the city as one whole, which included ring roads and a tunnel under the creek to join the two parts of the city together. The city also grew to the east, and included the two major new ports of Rashid and Jebel Ali, the latter leading to the Jebel Ali free zone later in the 1980s. This is currently one of the centres of commercial and financial activity in Dubai.

The two Harris masterplans as well as the Dubai municipality’s structural plan included concepts for green corridors, connections to the water and other sustainable features. These were, however, not developed or fell behind the rapid population growth. In the period between 1954 and 2018, the population of Dubai in fact grew a staggering 159-fold, from 20,000 to 3.2 million.

First master plan of Dubai by John Harris, 1959 Master plan of Dubai 1972

Structural plan of Dubai 2001

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• “Dubaisation” (1990 to date), characterised by the superlatives and the somewhat rampant development planning which touched the social and historic fabric of the place in a far-reaching manner, leading to the extremes of wealth creation and social discontent. This phase in fact arises from the failures of the previous phases which, while much more measured and systematic, did not foresee the speed or extent of the upcoming growth in the stature of Dubai as a metropolis of collective interest. The latter part of this phase can be characterised as one in which cultural and historical reflections in a bottom-up and organic way ooze through the gaps left in between the top-down, planned and artificially built entities which are somewhat alien to the place.

Despite a severe economic crisis that hit the city in 2008, Dubai did not abandon the politics of urban excess and extremes. Yet the city underwent a systematic transformation of its development practices, shifting from the optimisation of vacant land and the reclamation of Gulf water to the removal of traditional and publicly occupied land (Alawadi 2014). Such approach towards development and re-development of urban areas inevitably attracted the criticism of multiple observers, the publics and residents. In the scholarly debate, for example, Dubai is often associated with narratives of urban violence (ibid.), urban amnesia and rupture (Kaabour 2008). Under its glamorous (yet thin) veil, Dubai still reveals spaces of exception populated by low-income workers and low-rise buildings. These fragile environments are spread all over the city, from the port of the old town inhabited by men and goods that rapidly alternate between land and sea, to the lively and multiracial community of Al Satwa whose geographical proximity to the central business district poses an everyday challenge to its residents. Al Quoz – the industrial district which hosts Alserkal Avenue and Concrete – is another gem of this kind in Dubai.

B. Local architectural character, including prevalent forms and materials

The local architecture is characterised by a lack of lasting indigenous forms and materials. The city is dominated by building typologies prevalent in most modern metropolises around the world. Standard sealed high-rise glass boxes dominate the downtown, and basic walled plots of land for houses in brick and render finish elsewhere. Islamic and traditional motifs, such as they are, only exist in a rather approximate manner in the “vehement rush towards globalization” (Benkari 2017).

C. Climatic conditions

Dubai has a hot desert climate, typical of the Middle East and North Africa. The diurnal weather change covers two distinct seasons of summer (April to October) and winter (November to March), with occasional overlaps at either end. During the summer, temperatures soar to above 40°C. This, coupled with dust storms from the desert and the high humidity from the coast, makes the summer weather very unpleasant. Heat-

Population growth in Dubai

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island effect further exacerbates this by around 2–3°C. The situation is moderated during the winter period, and becomes rather pleasant around December to February with average daily high temperatures of around 20°C. This period also produces frequent thunderstorms. Over 80% of the diurnal rainfall of less than 100 millimetres occurs in this period.

D. Immediate surroundings of the site, including architectural character, access, landscaping, etc.

Al Quoz is located in western Dubai and consists of mainly residential and industrial areas. Widely regarded by locals as “the place where we would go to get our cars repaired”2, Al Quoz is a low-rise district in which warehouses, garages and dormitories overwhelm the eye of the visitor. Wrapped in the dust of the desert and the manufacturing facilities, the district offers a sharp contrast to the lights and heights of other parts of Dubai. Manual labourers from all over Asia occupy mass accommodation in which endless rows of windows and clothes, as well as scattered advertisements of rooms for rental and women for hire, manifest the presence of an otherwise almost invisible population. Al Quoz is Dubai’s exceptional site of industry and production. Factories of wood and metal, refineries, trading companies and automotive dealers form the monochrome mosaic of its landscape. Alserkal Avenue used to be one such space, i.e. a marble factory, and today still proudly reflects its industrial past.

Started in the early 2000s, the complex of 91 warehouses built on land previously housing a family-owned marble factory changed its purpose while preserving its soul. The first phase of this process was completed in 2006, when Alserkal Avenue opened as a new space of encounters moving towards the cultural and arts scene. The first gallery opened in 2008. A second phase of expansion finished in 2015. The four warehouses which today form Concrete were among the last to be completed in phase two.

E Topography of the project site

Generally flat plots of land bound by streets in an urban setting.

III. Programme

A. History of the inception of the project; how the project was initiated

By re-adapting the existing structure of the four warehouses, Concrete was conceived as a single event space with built-in flexibility. The main objective was that of preserving the soul of the place in terms of urban industrial roughness, while at the same time remaining welcoming and not intimidating. In the eye of the client, an event space should never compete with the event itself. Concrete started from there.

B. How were the architects and specialists chosen?

Over 40 architects and designers were approached and invited to make proposals. Ten responded and three were shortlisted. All three designs were predicated on the idea of an open and flexible space. OMA’s proposal was eventually selected for its ability to perfectly utilise the space with the most minimal design.

2 From personal conversation during the site visit in February 2019.

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C. General programme objectives

Two requirements became crucial in the realisation of the project, i.e. acoustics and façade. On the one hand, the client wanted to have a space in which concurrent events would not interfere with one another (e.g. a concert and a talk). Thus, perfect acoustic sealing (both internal and external) was key. On the other hand, one of the main façades was meant to be completely openable in order to create fluidity between the inside space and the outside Yard. The original design suggested façade doors that could slide upwards, but a more conventional hinged door system opening outwards was eventually opted for. While visually imposing, the front doors can be manually opened without difficulty by hinging around a simple solid rod in a round housing at the base.

D. Functional requirements (i.e. architect’s brief)

The architect’s brief was to remodel the existing warehouse spaces into a flexible event space which could accommodate different functions at the same time. The brief also called for activation of the public Yard in front of the existing warehouses.

IV. Description

A. Building data: volumetry, massing, number of units, surface in square metres, etc.

The four units form an assembly of 32.6 by 30 metres on plan. The overall height varies and provides clear ceiling heights varying between 9 and 12 metres. This monolith of a mass was subdivided into four near-square warehouse units (241 square metres each) in the original plan. The structural system is, however, based on modules of steel trusses 4 by 32.6 metres long, running in a front-to-back orientation. Eight skylights of various sizes (two of 3.6 by 3.6 metres, one of 14 by 1 metres, one of 25 by 1 metres, and four of 1.8 by 1.8 metres) installed in the roof help moderate the daylight ingress into the gallery and office spaces below.

B. Evolution of design concepts, including:

1. Response to physical constraints – siting, climate, plot ratios, etc.

The proposed alterations would, by and large, happen within the envelope of the existing building(s). As such, issues like plot ratio would not be altered, except for the minor modification to the front façade which would increase the covered footprint of the building by approximately 50 square metres.

2. Response to user requirements; spatial organisation

Flexibility of the space and simplicity of it were two of the key design considerations. Flexibility in allowing the space to be subdivided into as many permutations as possible; and simplicity in that the “space does not compete with the exhibits”.3 In the proposed alteration work, the back-of-house and office facilities are pushed to the rear, thereby creating one single and large space of 21 by 30 metres on plan with a clear ceiling height of 8.1 metres. This single volume can be subdivided into a multitude of smaller spaces, but significantly into four, by using a specially designed and fabricated revolving wall system sitting on wheels and running through guide rails in the ceiling. The wall system is made up of sets of nine 900-millimetre-

3 From personal conversation during the site visit in February 2019.

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high units stacked on top of one another to achieve the 8.1-metre overall height. The walls are just under 1 metre wide with permanent panels on one side. This allows access to the width of the wall on the other side to install additional acoustic-rich materials if required. The design team struck a balance between lightness (for mobility) and heaviness (for acoustic isolation). The longest moveable wall weighs 9 tonnes and can be manually moved by eight people.

3. Purely formal aspects – massing, articulation of façades, decorative features, use of traditional motifs, etc.

The existing façades on the front and the rear slope down, while the two side façades facing the narrow walkways are vertical. The proposed design changes the sloping front façade to a vertical one opening onto the Yard. This simple yet clever move changes the overall volumetric proportion of the existing warehouse units in a positive intervention and orientates the new space towards the Yard.

The four external façades are treated in two distinctly different manners. The front façade is formed with large openable doors made in steel frames and clad on both sides with translucent polycarbonate sheets. Each openable door is 6 metres wide by 8 metres tall by 350 millimetres thick. The pivoting doors are made out of steel trusses (200-by-200-millimetre-square hollow sections), welded and fully assembled in the factory and erected on site over an eight-hour period (from midnight to 8 a.m. towards the last days of construction). A simple 30-millimetre-diameter solid rod acts as the lock to hold the doors into desired (open or closed) positions. The other three façades are treated in concrete gunite, from which the building derives its name. This distinctive façade is achieved by removing existing aluminium cladding panels, adding steel studs on the outside to strengthen, fixing Cemboard panels to the steel studs/noggins, fixing steel mesh to the panels, then spraying gunite on the outside. On the inner side, additional steel studs were added, rock wool insulation placed in the space, calcium silicate panels installed, then concrete applied on the inside within trimming metal panels. Broken mirrors (60% of the total) were mixed into the gunite, while the remaining 40% were fixed by hand after the gunite had set.

4. Landscaping

Landscaping is not relevant to the alterations and interventions in this project.

C. Structure, materials, technology

1. Structural systems; in restoration projects, structural interventions

The structure of the existing warehouses separates the four units in a somewhat different manner to the envisaged spatial separation. Steel roof trusses at 7.5-metre centres run along the 32-metre length of the units sitting on external as well as internal supports (there are four internal columns in the space). The trusses are shaped and overlapped such that clerestories are created to allow light ingress into the old spaces. This is how the rest of the existing units in the Alserkal Avenue still work. In Concrete, however, a flat false ceiling incorporating tracks for the moveable partitions/walls is installed. Natural light comes through light wells strategically placed in the roof.

2. Materials

Structural members: The structural steelwork of the existing structure is retained and strengthened with additional steel trimmers, posts and railings, where necessary.

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Infill materials: These are variously masonry non-load-bearing walls, steel-framed and cladded walls.

Renderings and finishes: Concrete screed to the floor, aluminium ceiling panels, concrete render on the inside of the side walls and other non-load-bearing partitions, polycarbonate sheets on both sides of the front walls/doors and gunite external finishes elsewhere.

3. Construction technology

Pre-existing aluminium panel cladding to external walls has been removed and replaced with a sandwich of additional steel studs, cemboard sheets and sound/thermal insulation. The external façade was then covered with gunite. On the inside, selected panels were fixed to the steel studs through the inner layer of calcium silicate boards. The panels were then rendered with a form of concrete which was smoothed out to create a clean concrete finish within metal trimmings. The final touch on the outside was a series of small broken mirror pieces which were manually affixed to the gunite surface with adhesive. These reflect light on the surface and sparkle. Smaller pieces of broken mirrors were mixed into the gunite too. These were cleaned and made to be exposed after guniting. Such relatively simple interventions create special effects on the façade of the concrete, but also produce reflections on the façades of the neighbouring units.

The front façade opening onto the Yard is essentially formed out of eight large doors made with steel trusses and clad on both sides with polycarbonate sheets. Various other options were studied and investigated for both the openable doors and the other three concrete façades. One option for the openable doors was for these to slide upwards, protruding up above the roof level. Other options for the other façades included strong painted colours on existing corrugated metal panels, reflective glass, and concrete with brass shavings in the mix. More than 70 sample boards were prepared with different mixes of glass, mirrors and concrete, as well as different shades of colour. A full-scale model of the structure of the moveable walls was fabricated and erected in the steel fabricator’s yard, and adjustments were made as the design/construction developed. The moveable walls have a mechanism incorporated within them to push out an acoustic strip at their ends into a recess in the fixed walls. This is intended to acoustically seal the gap between the moveable and the fixed walls.

4. Building services, site utilities

A large part of the electrical control system of the overall Alserkal Avenue site utilities are housed inside Concrete. In addition, the firefighting water tanks for the entire compound are placed underground below the gallery floor. The air-conditioning system uses condenser units placed at roof level, with ceiling-mounted fan coils and short ducts above the suspended ceiling.

D. Origin of

1. Technology

Significantly sourced locally.

2. Materials

One of the main ideas of the client was that of sourcing materials, manpower and professionals locally, where possible. In a place like Dubai where everything is imported, this choice would carry an important symbolic meaning. Any materials that could not be sourced locally were imported and manufactured in

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Dubai (e.g. aluminium, polycarbonate, granite). A good example of locally sourced material was concrete, the element which eventually gave the project its name. The concrete, as well as the pieces of mirror integrated into the iconic façade, both come from factories located nearby the site.

Table of materials:

Type of Material Origin Polycarbonate Italy Ceiling panels Malaysia Steel Dubai Stainless steel Overseas Concrete Dubai Floor screed Dubai Finishes (services areas) Dubai Plaster Dubai Aluminium windows/doors Dubai Glass Dubai Lifts Malaysia Granite India and elsewhere Mirrors Dubai/Overseas Taps and other sanitary ware Italy Metal toilet bowls Overseas Calcium silicate boards Dubai Rockwool Dubai Blinds (fabric and gears) Overseas Expanded metal lath/mesh Dubai

3. Labour force

Locally sourced.

4. Professionals

Architects Office for Metropolitan Architecture - OMA from the Netherlands (lead architect from Syria, with long-term exposure to Dubai).

Contractors While the initial selection of consultants invited to submit their proposals was made on the basis of expertise in the Gulf region, other professionals involved in the realisation of the project have been mainly Dubai-based. The main design- and-build contractor is Blue Camel, a local company founded by two Lebanese nationals who have lived and worked in Dubai most of their lives, which incorporates a significant number of in-house designers, engineers, subcontractors and labourers.

Consultants The structural engineer and MEP engineer were from Dubai, working under the design-and-build contractor.

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Others The architects and engineers of records, written on the building permit, were from Dubai; the acoustic consultant was an Australian-founded company with an office in Dubai.

Client’s representatives The Founder of Alserkal Avenue is from Dubai, the Director is originally from Lithuania and the Design & Planning Director is Lebanese. All were based in Dubai at the time of the execution of the project.

V. Construction schedule and costs

A. History of project design and implementation, with dates

The final design of the project was received in December 2015 and the actual completion date was postponed to 6 March 2017, with an extension of around two months on the scheduled target. The project was realised in three phases. During phase one, i.e. January 2016 to January 2017, demolition and the main structural works were carried out. From 1 to 20 February 2016, the space of Concrete was temporarily prepared to host the exhibition of works by Michelangelo Pistoletto (14 March to 1 April 2016). Phase two of the project lasted from February to May 2016 when site works were suspended and workshops with architects, client and contractor to discuss further details of the design were held on a weekly basis. Works on site resumed during phase three, i.e. exterior works in June and July 2016 and interior works from September 2016 to March 2017.

B. Totalcostsandmainsourcesoffinancing

Confidential

C. Comparative costs (if relevant)

Not relevant in the light of the bespoke nature of the interventions, additions and alterations.

D. Qualitative analysis of costs (per square metre, per unit, etc.)

At 11,600 AED/m2, the cost figure is way above any standard cost for offices (i.e. 7,000 AED/m2) or industrial warehouses (i.e. 2,900 AED/m2) in Dubai (Rider Levett Bucknall, 2017).

E. Maintenance costs (heating, cooling, etc.)

The total cost of utilities in 2018 was 71,589 AED (average 5,966 AED monthly).

F. Ongoing costs and “life performance” of building, in terms of materials, maintenance, etc.

Figures are not available, though most materials used in the works tend to be very long-lasting.

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VI. Technical assessment

A. Functional assessment (use)

With 18 events in a 24-month period since March 2017, the space is well utilised. It has been used for exhibitions, talks, seminars, as well as a private function (a traditional female-only UAE wedding ceremony). The two specific users of the space whom we interviewed were particularly complimentary and grateful for what Concrete offered them, i.e. a space that did not previously exist in the Dubai scene.

B. Climatic performance, lighting, natural and/or mechanical ventilation, sun control, insect control, acoustics, orientation, etc.; description of systems developed and utilised

The space proportions, coupled with the insulation that the hybrid “skin” offers and the supplementary air-conditioning facilities, create a rather pleasant climatic environment. When the front doors are open to embrace the Yard, the 9-metre-high volume tends to be naturally ventilated by movement of hot air upwards and outwards. The skylights offer natural light through the roof. Automated horizontal blinds are in place to create dark roof conditions, when required.

C. Response to treatment of water and rainfall; discharge of water, and retention and release system(s), if any

None implemented. Rain is scarce in Dubai. Thus, there is not much that needs to be done with a very low annual rainfall of less than 100 millimetres.

D. Environmentalresponse;adaptationtothenaturalenvironment;adaptationtonativefloraandfauna

Not a challenge that Concrete and the brief could address in this repurposing project.

E. Choice of materials, level of technology

Appropriate choices of materials are made, and these are fused with suitable levels of technology. Attempts have been made to source these locally, and to have technologies requiring low levels of maintenance and high levels of reliability to suit the brief of a flexible and ever-changing event space.

F. Response to, and planning for, emergency situations, i.e. natural disasters, floods, winds, fires,earthquakes, etc.

The single-volume event spaces open up readily onto the external Yard, thereby offering easy evacuation into a safe place for the occupants.

G. Ageing and maintenance problems

Appropriate use of materials and technology make maintenance and ageing issues very easy to handle. Most materials in the structure and the finished work are durable and fit for purpose. The addition of finishing layers to substrate is avoided to a very high degree, and thereby long-term differential behaviour of varying materials is avoided.

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H. Design features: massing and volume, articulation of spaces, integration into the site (topography and neighbouring buildings)

To the extent that the brief called for and the site allowed such articulation, the design is commendable. The change of profile of the front elevation opening onto the Yard has been very successfully and organically achieved.

I. Impact of the project on the site, in terms of increased circulation or vehicular movement, changes required for infrastructure (particularly for projects in high-density areas), etc.

Concrete has attracted a high number of art lovers and others into Alserkal Avenue, thereby further activating the entire neighbourhood. Interviews with occupants and users of a number of neighbouring units revealed very positive sentiments.

J. Durability and long-term viability of the project

The project at once creates and responds to the need for such spaces in Dubai. It is part of a movement offering art gallery spaces, places for seminars and alternative locations for private events which have hitherto been the sole preserve of five-star hotels. It is very well received, and will be so for a very long time.

K. Ease and appropriateness of furnishings; interior design and furnishing

The minimalist approach to the event space and galleries has been extended through the office and support areas, as well as to services and facilities, all the way through to the choice of one-piece stainless-steel basins on painted concrete walls. This all tells a pleasant story of care, rigour and congruency running through the building, as well as its fabric, interior and furnishing.

VII. Users

A. Descriptionofthosewhouseorbenefitfromtheproject(e.g.,incomelevel,socio-culturalprofile,etc.)

Concrete offers world-class events (e.g. arts exhibitions, concerts, conferences, haute-couture shows) to virtually everyone, by opening its doors (physically and symbolically) to the external Yard that is today regarded as a people’s piazza in which to sit down, rest and admire the diverse landscape of industrial buildings inside and outside Alserkal Avenue.

Artists and art enthusiasts have been using the space to showcase their work. Concrete has turned into a refuge for those leading a nomadic artistic life, moving from one gallery to another.

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List of events:

Dates Title

Before Opening: March to April 2016 Michelangelo Pistoletto

March to May 2017 Syria: Into the Light

Concrete inauguration dinner and press conference

Burberry | The Cape Reimagined

September to November 2017 Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award

Pop-up exhibition by Arjowiggins

Launch of the Friends of the Aga Khan Museum in the Gulf and South Asia

While We Wait by Elias and Yousef Anastas

February to April 2018 GPP Photo Week 2018

Ishara: Signs, Symbols and Shared Languages

GCDN Conference

September to November 2018 Private dinner

Reconstruct Contemporary Dance Programme

Adapt to Survive: Notes from the Future

Tour of Concrete with OMA partner Iyad Alsaka

Public programme for Adapt to Survive: Notes from the Future

January to March 2019 Asia Contemporary Art Week FIELD MEETING Take 6: Thinking Collections

The Shortest Distance Between Us

Fabric(ated) Fractures

B. Response to the project by clients, users, community, etc.

1. What do architectural professionals and the cultural “intelligentsia” think about the project?

Concrete, and the whole of Alserkal Avenue, are situated within a gated community in the industrial area of Al Quoz in Dubai. In a city where event spaces often translate into five-star hotels and other luxurious venues, Concrete is a space of exception. By combining visual roughness with cultural sensitivity, it is a unique event space within Dubai and the United Arab Emirates. Jameel Arts Centre opened as recently as November 2018, is part of this culturally oriented movement in Dubai. As highlighted by key members of the regional and international arts scene, Concrete’s uniqueness is not just embedded in its (physical and symbolic) location but more interestingly as a public space in a neoliberal environment at large.

2. What is the popular reaction to the project?

Acclaimed by the media with unanimous enthusiasm, the opening of Concrete was regarded by members of the arts and cultural community as a groundbreaking moment for Dubai, the Gulf and the Global South at large. Concrete speaks the language of the risk-takers, those who aim for the decentralisation of culture,

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those who give voice and space to the existing (yet too often forgotten) arts of the Global South. Shireen Atassi, Director of the Atassi Foundation, was among the organisers of the first exhibition hosted in Concrete just a few days after its completion. In an historical moment when Syria was at the centre of attention for its turmoil, Concrete and the Atassi Foundation proposed an alternative vision of the country by celebrating its artistic production from the early 20th century to the present day. The exhibition Syria: Into the Light was, in the eyes of the Atassi Foundation, an enormous responsibility because it could have enhanced or else ruined the beauty of Concrete. The experiment was successful and today, Shireen views Concrete as a home for her nomadic Foundation.

3. What do neighbours and those in the immediate vicinity think about the project?

Concrete has put Alserkal Avenue on the international map. Those who visit Concrete in fact tend to spill over to the cafés, art galleries and other businesses in the compound.

VIII. Persons involved

A. Identificationofprojectpersonnelandtheirrolesintheproject(e.g.,client,architect,planner,consultant,craftsmen, etc.)

Client: Alserkal Avenue (Dubai) • Abdelmonem Bin Eisa Alserkal – Founder of Alserkal Avenue • Vilma Jurkute – Director of Alserkal Avenue • Sabine Forzy – Director of Projects (now retained as a consultant by Concrete)

Architects: • Main architects: Office for Metropolitan Architecture – OMA (The Netherlands) Iyad Alsaka – Principal Designer of the project Rem Koolhaas – Founding Partner of OMA Kaveh Dabiri – Associate-in-Charge and Project Leader • Local architects and engineers: CVTEC Consulting Engineers (Dubai)

Consultants: • Structural engineers: National Engineering Bureau – NEB Mohammad Sobeh (from National Engineering Bureau – NEB, but did this in his

personal capacity) • Acoustic consultant: Acoustic Logic Consultancy Pty Ltd Matthew Carter – Director of Acoustic Logic • Lighting consultant: Lichtkompetenz GmbH Paul Ehlert – Lighting Design Director of Lichtkompetenz Craftsman: • Steelwork subcontractor: Fadi Baroud of Metal Forms LLC (highly engaged in the

design and development of the steelwork for the openable doors and the moveable wall system)

• Contractor for the polycarbonate and steel pull-slide doors: Aser Razi of Italy Glass

Contractor: Blue Camel Design LLC (design-and-build contractor) • Hisham Zaher – General Manager • Patrick Daniel – Managing Partner & Founder

• Bruno Nakad – Managing Partner & Founder

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IX. Bibliography

A. List of publications

Selected Publications on Concrete:

• “Concrete at Alserkal Avenue: Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA)”, Architect, 16 March 2017.• “Concrete at Alserkal Avenue/OMA”, Archdaily, 16 March 2017.• “Concrete canvas: OMA creates a multi-purpose art gallery for Alserkal Avenue”, Wallpaper*, 24 March

2017.• “Concrete, OMA’s first completed project in UAE, opens at Alserkal Avenue”, Arab News, 23 March

2017.• “Concrete, OMA’s first completed project in the United Arab Emirates, opens at Alserkal Avenue”,

Archilovers, 16 March 2017.• “Cultural Concrete: OMA’s first project in the United Arab Emirates opens to the public”, Architizer, 16

March 2017.• “Design dispatch: Our daily look at the world through the lens of design”, Surface, 16 March 2017.• “In praise of concrete”, Financial Times, 10 March 2017.• “Koolhaas llega a Dubai”, El País, 27 March 2017 [in Spanish].• “OMA, edificio Concreteen el Alserkal Avenue de Dubai”, ArquitecturaViva.com, 22 March 2017 [in

Spanish]. • “OMA. Alserkal Avenue”, Domus, 17 March 2017 [in Italian]. • “OMA’s first completed project in the UAE opens at Dubai’s Alserkal Avenue”, Design Boom, 16 March

2017.• “OMA’s first project in Dubai is a cultural centre with moving eight-metre-high walls”, dezeen design

magazine, 16 March 2017.• “On the Avenue”, Art+Auction, March 2017• “Rem Koolhaas’ first UAE project opens doors in Dubai”, Friday, 15 April 2017.• “Syrian art has its day in the sun at Rem Koolhaas’s first Dubai building”, Artnet news, 17 March 2017.• Bannister, Laura, “At Concrete, OMA’s first building in Dubai, an ode to a disappearing valley”,

Interviewer, 24 November 2017.• Cornwell, Tim, “Let there be light”, The Art Newspaper, 16 March 2017.• Godin, Leina, “At Dubai Design Week, human-centric design overtook technology”, Frame, 22 November

2017.• Heathcote, Edwin, “OMA’s Concrete rises in Dubai”, Financial Times, 10 March 2017.• Imanova, Aidan, “OMA-designed Concrete events space opens in Alserkal Avenue”, designMENA, 12

March 2017.• Ingelis, Julia, “OMA’s Dubai-based ‘Concrete’ is pretty transparent”, A, 16 March 2017.• Leech, Nick, “Architecture as witness: We wait at Concrete, Dubai”, The National, 5 November 2017.• Leech, Nick, “How Dubai’s Alserkal Avenue is changing the way we think about architecture”, The

National, 2 November 2017.• Marelli, Carlotta, “Cosa c’è dentro al quartiere più hipster di Dubai”, Elle Decor, 22 November 2017 [in

Italian].• Res, Lucy, “Dubai’s Alserkal Avenue opens incredible OMA-designed building”, Galerie, 10 March

2017. • Spears, Tim, “AAU ANASTAS interweaves intricate, immersive installation in OMA’s Concrete”,

designboom, 23 November 2017.

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References of the report:

• “Failure of the Master Plan”, course materials of BE551: The Contemporary Built Environment, 2011, Dr Vikramāditya Prakāsh, University of Washington. Available at: https://dubaization.wordpress.com/op-eds/failure-of-the-master-plan/ (accessed 2 April 2019).

• Alawadi, K. (2014), “Urban redevelopment trauma: The story of a Dubai neighbourhood”, Built Environment, 4–(3), 357–375.

• Alawadi, K. (2017), “Rethinking Dubai’s urbanism: Generating sustainable form-based urban design strategies for an integrated neighborhood”, Cities, 60, 353–366.

• Alawadi, K., and Benkraouda, O. (2017), “The debate over neighborhood density in Dubai. Between theory and practicality”, Journal of Planning Education and Research, 1–17.

• Bagaeen, S. (2007), “Brand Dubai: The instant city; or the instantly recognizable city”, International Planning Studies, 12(2), 173–197.

• Benkari N. (2017), “Urban Development in Oman. An Overview”, WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment, 226, 143-156.

• Divecha, V., Warehouse project, Alserkal Programming publication. • Elsheshtawy, Y. (2008), “Transitory sites: mapping Dubai’s ‘forgotten’ urban spaces”, International

Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 32(4), 968–988.• Haines, C. (2011), “Cracks in the façade: Landscapes of hope and desire in Dubai”, in Worlding Cities:

Asian Experiments and the Art of Being Global, 160–181.• Kaabour M. (2008), “As Satwa vanishes, we need to remember its many stories”, in The National,

28 August. Available online at: https://www.thenational.ae/uae/heritage/as-satwa-vanishes-we-need-to-remember-its-many-stories-1.558685 (last retrieved on 30 April 2019).

• Nisha, M.M. (2014), “Understanding space, politics and history in the making of Dubai, a global city”, PhD thesis, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.

• Ramadan, E. (2015), “Sustainable urbanization in the Arabian Gulf region: Problems and challenges”, Arts and Social Sciences Journal, 6(2), 1–4.

• Rider Levett Bucknall, “International report. Construction market intelligence”, Third quarter of 2017. • Sigler, T.J. (2013), “Relational cities: Doha, Panama City, and Dubai as 21st century entrepôts”, Urban

Geography, 34(5), 612–633.• Virtudes, A., Abbara, A. and Sá, J. (2017), “Dubai: A pioneer smart city in the Arabian territory”, in IOP

Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, 245(5), 1–10.

Hossein RezaiApril 2019

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Overall masterplan of Alserkal Avenue

Alserkal Avenue

Concrete reuses four warehouse units sitting at the heart of a light industrial gated community recently converted into a cultural and alternative small business hub.

Axonometry

Structural section showing existing in red and proposed in black.

Existing ground floor Actual ground floor

New sections

Broken glass pieces embedded into the concrete finish, abutting the straight edges of Polycarbonate sheets.

The standard metal cladding to the industrial units at Alserkal Avenue which Concrete used to have and : Recladding of Concrete with the distinctive gunite and broken mirrors on 3 facades (detail above).

The front façade is open on the Yard by eight large openable doors made in steel frames and clad on both sides with translucent polycarbonate sheets. Each openable door is 6 metres wide by 8 metres tall and while visually imposing, they can be manually opened without difficulty.

The pivoting doors are made out of steel trusses (200-by-200-millimetre-square hollow sections), welded and fully assembled in the factory and erected on site over an 8-hour period (from midnight to 8 a.m. towards the last days of construction). A simple 30-millimetre-diameter solid rod acts as the lock to hold the doors into desired (open or closed) positions. Once opened, the front doors invite the inside to the Yard outside.

Simple and moveable walls/partitions are designed and placed within the space, allowing it to be carved into four separate spaces for concurrent events.

Highly performative and coordinated ceiling incorporates lighting, services, rail tracks and the skylights into one single element.

The space division can take many other permutations, responding to the requirements of flexibility and simplicity.

The minimalist approach to the event space and galleries has been extended through the office and support areas, as well as to services and facilities.

Careful attention to details at design and implementation levels demonstrates a utmost sophistication.