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Museum of Middle Eastern Modern Art by UNStudio

Architecture Cultural

Dutch architects UNStudio have sent us these images of a planned arts and retail complex in Dubai, UAE, to include the Museum of Middle Eastern Modern Art.

The 25,000 square metre project will house a number of museums, including the Museum of Middle Eastern Art, as well as performance areas, a hotel, and a shopping centre.

The complex will form part of Dubai's 'Culture Village' with construction expected to be completed in 2011.

The following is from UNStudio: -Museum of Middle East Modern Art, Khor Dubai, UAE, 2008

MOMEMA: first part of a new cultural hub in Dubai Plans are in progress for a Museum of Middle East Modern Art (MOMEMA). At the basis of the Museum is the strategic vision of making the UAE a hub for multicultural understanding.

The museum will be a celebration of the importance of Khor Dubai (Dubai Creek) as a new cultural hub within Dubai as a global city. This new cultural hub, the so-called Culture Village, will be located on 40 million square feet of land in the historic district of Jadaf.

In addition to the Museum of Middle East Modern Art, this landmark project will include an amphitheatre for live performances and international cultural festivals, an exhibition hall and smaller museums displaying local and international art, as well as a shipyard for traditional dhow builders. It will also include residential, commercial and retail zones.

It is envisaged that MOMEMA will hold a variety of spaces to exhibit Arts and Culture such as exhibitions, art galleries, leasable workshop spaces, auditorium, and amphitheatre for live performances and international festivals.

In addition, MOMEMA offers a boutique hotel with 60 keys and a boutique retail promenade on the active Culture Village waterfront, as well as a high end signature restaurant on the top level, with 360 degree views of Dubai Creek.

The Museum of Middle East Modern Art was launched in June by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. UNStudio, based in The Netherlands, has been selected to design the Museum.

Ben van Berkel, the co-founder and Principal Architect of UNStudio is an experienced designer of museums and a variety of public projects.

Ben van Berkel about the Museum of Middle Eastern Modern Art In MOMEMA Dubai we recognize the opportunity to create an entirely new type of museum, which consists of a vibrant urban centre, where professionals, collectors and public meet each other. In this way, MOMEMA will be a community-building institution within the city, and offer to both visitors and residents a continuously changing palette of experiences and events.

The building is positioned to take full advantage of the prominent location in the Culture Village. With its Dhow-like prow rising up, the building offers panoramic views to the surroundings, and vice versa.

Inside, the design of this new museum stimulates contemplation, but by other means than enforcing a restricted optical field. There are no abrupt transitions. The space (the time) you have left behind is undividedly part of the space you are in now, is part of your ecological field, is still perceptible, still surrounding you; the art contained in those spaces follows this principle. Formats, mediums, and times can be effortlessly arranged together and rearranged. There are never too many people; this museum thrives on audiences, vernissages, and spectacle. In the MOMEMA, public, event, art and business meet each other and feed on each other. The museum will cover an area of 25,000 square meters and is expected to be completed in January 2011.

The Williams Coffer Slab System has been designed for use in both commercial and residential applications and can be engineered to suit any project where concrete slabs are required. The System described:
The Williams Coffer Slab System consists of removable plastic coffer blocks suspended between a series of parallel ribs spanned across the area where a concrete slab is required. Depending on the application, the ribs will be either pre-cast concrete lattice ribs or wooden purlins. When erected, the coffer blocks and ribs form a shutter on which the concrete slab can be cast. Where wooden purlins are used as the ribs, tensile strength is provided to the concrete slab by means of steel reinforcing positioned in the beams formed between the coffer blocks. The primary reinforcing is placed above and across the wooden purlins. The secondary reinforcing is placed above transverse to the ribs. Where pre-cast concrete lattice ribs are used, the primary reinforcing is cast into the ribs with the steel lattice. The secondary reinforcing is fixed above and transverse to the ribs. Steel mesh is placed above the coffer blocks to control cracking and to add additional strength. The deck is generally supported by load bearing walls and beams. Whether to use wooden or pre-cast concrete ribs depends on the length of the span and the application. However, wooden purlins would generally be used for residential and concrete ribs for commercial applications. The span of the slab using wooden purlins will seldom exceed 7 meters, whereas a slab using concrete ribs could span as much as 10 meters.

For Commercial applications spans up to 10 meters

For Residential applications spans up to 7 meters)

The Williams Coffer Slab is a superior insitu concrete slab solution. The unique design of this system offers substantial benefits to the user; examples of which are:
Lightweight construction Ease of installation Cost effectiveness Superior strength

Lightweight Construction:
Despite the depth of the Williams Coffer Slab being almost 40% greater than that of the conventional wet deck, the amount of concrete used is considerably less as a result of the voids created by the coffer blocks. As a consequence of the lighter slab and greater effective depth, considerably less reinforcement is required. Deflections are also minimised. This weight advantage can be used to achieve longer spans and a lighter support structure. The system requires less support work than any other insitu slab

Ease of Installation:
The coffer blocks used in the Williams Coffer Slab are manufactured from plastic, making them light and easy to handle. The assembly of the coffer blocks is done on the ground before being lifted into position between the supporting ribs. The result is less labour and quick and easy installation.

Cost Effectiveness:
The Williams Coffer Slab using less material, less labour, requiring less support work and being quick and easy to install, results in substantial cost savings. This makes the Williams Coffer Slab System an extremely cost effective concrete slab.

Superior Strength:
The Williams Coffer Slab has superior strength compared to alternative concrete slabs due to the geometric shape of the coffer void, the depth of the slab and the 2 way spanning reinforcing steel bars and steel mesh. The strength of this system means that, depending on loading, spans up to 7 meters can be achieved using wooden purlins and 10 meters using pre-cast concrete lattice ribs without excessive deflections.

Holes can be drilled through the wooden purlins for the electric conduit and plumbing pipes

For Residential applications spans up to 7 meters)

The ceiling of a house painted and fitted with lights Holes can be drilled through the wooden purlins for the electric conduit and plumbing pipes

What is post tensioned slab and what are its advantages?

Post-Tensioned slabs (as its name suggests) are the slabs which have been posttensioned. The slabs may be of any type (including solid flat slab, coffered slab, ribbed slab, beam & slab system, banded flat slab, paneled slab etc) & may be used in any location (including in roofs, foundations etc) Post-tensioned slabs offer many advantages over conventional reinforced concrete slabs; some of these are More economical structures resulting from the use of prestressing steels with a very high tensile strength instead of normal reinforcing steels. Larger spans and greater slenderness. The latter results in reduced dead load, which also has a beneficial effect upon the columns and foundations and reduces the overall height of buildings or enables additional floors to be incorporated in buildings of a given height. Under permanent load, very good behavior in respect of deflections and cracking. Higher punching shear strength obtainable by appropriate layout of tendons Considerable reduction in construction time as a result of earlier striking of formwork.