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Courtesy Ehrlich Architects
Aerial view.
The competition-winning scheme for this government complex in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, features a central meeting hall under a domed sunscreen, flanked by parliamentary office buildings. Taking cues from Islamic culture—such as the pattern of the mashrabiya (or latticelike sunscreen, here domed instead of flat) that throws shadows on the meeting hall’s white marble walls—and combining it with modern ideals, Steven Ehrlich, FAIA, and his team beat out 13 other firms. “We were contemporary and ancient simultaneously,” he says. The complex is projected to open in 2015.
