Abu Dhabi Flamingo
Visitor Center

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.

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.

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.”