International Architecture Competition

Abu Dhabi Flamingo
Visitor Center

Results

Foreword

Competition organisers

Abu Dhabi Flamingo
Visitor Center

Official Partners

Abu Dhabi Flamingo
Visitor Center

The Al Wathba Wetland Reserve, located south-east of central Abu Dhabi, was declared a protected area in 1998. The 5km² reserve is home to some 260 species of birds and other wildlife, including shrimp, scorpions, and lizards. Each autumn through spring, a wave of 4000 pink flamingos flock to the reserve, where they breed and spend the cooler winter months.

The Abu Dhabi Environment Agency (EAD) oversees the conservation of this special habitat. It manages a rehabilitation program that has, among other things, planted native trees to form a protective barrier around the reserve. The EAD also regulates the amount of water that enters the wetlands from a nearby water treatment plant.

Following the success of the Flamingo Observation Tower competition, the Abu Dhabi Flamingo Visitor Center challenge is the second Bee Breeders competition set in the Al Wathba Wetland Reserve in partnership with the EAD. The EAD will consider winning proposals for construction.

Competition participants were tasked with submitting concepts for a new visitor center, designed in balance with Al Wathba’s unique natural environment. The visitor center is to be programmed with facilities including an information center, cafe, terrace, souvenir shop, display area for specimens, training center, toilets, and a car park.

The jury sought designs with sustainability and constructability in mind. Above all, the designs were judged positively if they showed respect for the reserve’s fragile ecosystem. The visitor center is to be both a subtle building in harmony with its context, as well as an iconic architectural landmark.

Bee Breeders thanks all the competition participants. This particular competition received an especially strong collection of proposals submitted from around the world. The winning and shortlisted entries below are evidence of a wide array of material and programmatic investigations, as well as excellent visual and communicative drawing techniques.

1st Prize Winner

Project name

To see and not to be seen

Authors

Petr Janda
Anna Podroužková
Kateřina Tšponová

Czech Republic

Why do you enter architecture
competitions?

We have been participating in competitions that we consider challenging and that focus on content as well as architectural design.

Jury feedback summary

According to the jury, “The project's conceptual framework of "seeing while not being seen"  is remarkable. The proposed structure behaves as part of a living habitat rather than a building.” The project achieves the status of being an icon in a subtle manner that blends in with the landscape. The structure does not dominate its surroundings. Program and circulation flows are organized intelligently in intertwining loops that add meaning to the complexity of the overall form. Structurally, the project is quite complex and may prove to be prohibitively expensive or difficult to build in its current state, however the proposal makes up for this through the originality of its design.

2nd Prize Winner

Project name

Incubator

Authors

Wenqi Huang
Yi Yan

United States

Why do you enter architecture
competitions?

We see architectural competition as an excellent opportunity to broaden our perspective. It offers us the chance to experience and learn from different cultures, to evolve our ideas, to gain a better understanding of the relationship between humans and architecture.

Jury feedback summary

Incubator imagines a rich interior universe sheltered by a delicate shell and an oculus that opens up to the site in a dramatic way. The inner world with point lights, murals, ramps and mini pavilions is convincing, and can be imagined to offer respite to visitors from the harsh exterior environment when needed. The overall form is powerful in its soft iconicity while the materiality anchors it to its context. The rectangular cafe and terrace, however, appears foreign to the overall building form and disturbs the simplicity of the architectural gesture. The limestone cladding panels feel unnecessary and ornamental, given the otherwise light and sustainably-minded bamboo structure.

3rd Prize Winner

Project name

THE DUNE

Authors

Laurent Herbiet
Giordana Rojas

Mexico

Why do you enter architecture
competitions?

We believe regenerative architecture and sustainable design will be a key aspect in the formation of future generations of architects and users of architecture.

Jury feedback summary

The Dune offers a design that makes use of the entire site. It conceives a series of dispersed pavilions unified under a single roof canopy with a central void - its form is reminiscent of SANAA’s 2009 Serpentine Pavilion, or the same studio’s later multipurpose Grace Farms project. The jury writes of The Dune: “It feels appropriate to the needs of the site. The porosity of the structure and the central oasis space that incorporates wetlands is commendable. The building section is well crafted to demonstrate the strength of the project. The amount of glazing seems excessive from a performative standpoint. Excessive lighting at night seems to overpower the natural habitat in the rendered views.”

BB STUDENT AWARD

Project name

Well-balanced

Authors

Kinga Gawlik
Piotr Rajewski

University

Zachodniopomorski uniwersytet technologiczny w szczecinie
+74 points Buildner University Rankings!

Poland

Why do you enter architecture
competitions?

This is a chance to create an interesting concept not defined by money. And besides, this is a good opportunity to present our solutions to the many problems with which the world today is measured.
Client Favorite +
BB GREEN AWARD

Project name

VERNACULAR 2.0

Authors

Florent Sauvineau

France

Why do you enter architecture
competitions?

I participate in architecture vision competitions to compete with talented people from all over the world. This particular mind-set challenges your ability to develop conceptual approaches and strengthens your ability to communicate your proposal.

Honorable mentions

VIEWclose HONOURABLE MENTIONS

Project Name

The Feather Cloud

Country

Germany

Project authors

Sebastian Feldmann
Thomas Filke
Leon Brohmann
Philipp Brummer

Project Name

Nest Within

Company

Paradigm dh

Country

Jordan

Project authors

Saja Nashashibi

Project Name

Flamingo Visitor Center

University

Cracow university of technology
+72 points Buildner University Rankings!

Country

Poland

Project authors

Alicja Nowak
Maciej Rodak
Yaroslav Panasevych

Project Name

Horizontal Landscapes

Country

United Kingdom

Project authors

Yonatan Buchhandler
Valerio Nelli

Project Name

Flamingo Visitor Center

Country

Israel

Project authors

Hilla Havkin

Project Name

A HELIX INTO THE HORIZON

Country

Egypt

Project authors

Abdelrahman Adel
Abdallah Mekkawi

Shortlisted projects

VIEWclose Shortlisted projects

Canada

Carleton University, Canada's Capital University

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
yongmin ye
cheuk yiu tang
jamie david wong
alejandra leon de gante

United States

nader wallerich
nazanin izadi

United Kingdom

yonatan buchhandler
valerio nelli

Turkey

mevlut cihan alkan
ahmet serdar aydın

Poland

Cracow University of Technology (Politechnika Krakowska im. Tadeusza Kościuszki)

+72 points Buildner University Rankings!
alicja nowak
maciej rodak
yaroslav panasevych

New Zealand

balint iszak
csenge gyorgyi

United Kingdom

charlie kentish
benjamin hale
oliver mould

Lebanon

ahmad nouraldeen
luca fraccalvieri
haya safadi
aya meskawi

Singapore

jing zhi tay
lisa koswara
kenneth tung
inez ow

United States

310 architecture + interiors

david bradford
austin corriher
alex mcmillan
paul fox

Uruguay

Universidad ORT Uruguay (Campus Center)

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
magdalena nicolas
nicolás garza

United Arab Emirates

sabine aoun
andrea jimenez bonifaz
rodrigo escardó cuglievan

Germany

sebastian feldmann
thomas filke
leon brohmann
philipp brummer

Belgium

gilles willem
tim belaen
justine byltiauw

Ecuador

sebastian larriva
paul santacruz

Thailand

polpipat naksawat
teerakan wattanayon
ratasakon chantaluxsul

Poland

West Pomeranian University of Technology, Zachodniopomorski Uniwersytet Technologiczny w Szczecinie, ZUT)

+74 points Buildner University Rankings!
kinga gawlik
piotr rajewski

Iran

Kouman

sarah mousavi
ainaz babaki
hamidreza malekian
hosna gharini

Ukraine

KNUBA - Kyiv National University of Building and Architecture

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
alexander rekhlitskiy

Egypt

abdelrahman adel
abdallah mekkawi

Hungary

Obuda epitesz studio kft.

zsuzsanna Ötvös
alex quintus
zoltán jános kocsis
dániel silló

Canada

frederic champagne
bao tram quach

Poland

radosław domżoł
marzena kądziołka
jakub jedynak

Czech Republic

petr janda
anna podroužková
kateřina tšponová

United States

Williams College

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
ariel koltun-fromm

Portugal

hugo rebelo
francisca penteado

Cyprus

katerina pavlou
kyrkos pavlos giannakopoulos

France

Soba - south belleville architecture

guillaume dachy
delphine isart
 

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