(ME Newswire): AGi Architects had recently celebrated their triumph at the prestigious Cityscape Awards 2009 in Dubai for architecture. After challenging the competition of three esteemed international architectural design firms, Dr. Nasser Abulhasan and Joaquin Perez-Goicoechea, founders and principals of AGi Architects, have successfully achieved the Commercial Building / Mixed-Use - Future Architecture Award for their efforts on The MASDAR Headquarters in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Cityscape Awards – regarded as one of the world’s premier architectural awards for the emerging markets - rewards excellence in the fields of architectural design in the emerging regions of the GCC, ME, Asia, Africa and South America, South and East Asia and Latin America. Exceptional designs, visions, performance and achievements in main emerging markets and project areas are prestigiously rewarded to talented architects.
MASDAR Headquarters:
The competition proposal for the MASDAR HQ, which is located in Masdar City, the world’s first carbon-neutral zero waste city in the world, located in Abu Dhabi, UAE, is conceived as a new type of Landmark. We envision an architecture that seeks its inspiration from timeless traditional, regional architectural models that respond to climate and culture, and re-interprets these in a matt building, creating an image appropriate to Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company and to the prestige of the UAE.
The building is conceived as a social, cultural and innovation platform; in constant transformation, while achieving a balance between the human and environment. The building acts as a laboratory for the various agencies and research groups and exhibits to the public the evolution of the research conducted within the city.
The building seeks to enhance the public-researchers interaction and fosters the interest of the local population about the environment, leading to a progressive social transformation.
The basic form of MASDAR HQ is an inside-out matt building that protects against the harsh desert sun, while maximizing shaded light and views. In its center are 9 cone-shaped exterior courtyards that extend uninterrupted from the top of the building to the lowermost level.
AGi architects is an international design firm providing comprehensive services in Architecture, Planning, Urban Design, Interior Design, and Consulting. An integration of skills allows the creation of places that provide lasting value for clients through distinctive and imaginative solutions from its offices in Madrid and Kuwait.