Latest news with #KengoKuma
Zawya
a day ago
- Business
- Zawya
Aldar unveils master plan of $11bln Fahid Island in Abu Dhabi
ADX-listed Aldar Properties has launched the master plan for Fahid Island, with a upward revised gross development value of more than 40 billion UAE dirhams ($10.89 billion). More than 6,000 luxury residences, ranging from apartments and townhouses to ultra-luxury villas, are planned on the 2.7 million square metre island with a 11-km coastline, the developer said in a statement on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange. The first residential development will be the Fahid Beach Residences, a collection of seven buildings, each featuring 65 residences, Fahid Island is one of the largest mixed-use residential masterplans launched in Abu Dhabi, said Group Chief Executive Officer Talal Al Dhiyebi. Japanese architects Kengo Kuma and Koichi Takada have designed two separate residential concepts on the island. Further residential developments are being designed by London-headquartered ACME and UAE-based NAGA Architects. In February 2023, Aldar Properties said it paid AED2.5 billion to buy Fahid Island, a 3.4 million sqm land bank located between Yas Island and Saadiyat Island, to build a new waterfront development. The project's gross development value was then estimated at AED 26 billion ($7.1 billion). (Writing by P Deol; Editing by Anoop Menon) (
Khaleej Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Khaleej Times
Abu Dhabi to have first wellness island, launches Dh40-billion project
Abu Dhabi's real estate landscape is set to expand with the launch of Fahid Island — a new Dh40 billion masterplanned destination by Aldar that promises to redefine coastal living with a focus on wellness, sustainability and community. The 2.7 million square metre island, unveiled on Monday, will feature more than 6,000 high-end homes, a 10km fitness corridor, 4.6km of beaches, and a dedicated waterfront promenade. It is being billed as Abu Dhabi's first coastal wellness island and has already received Fitwel certification, making it the first island in the world to meet the global healthy building standard. Located between Yas and Saadiyat islands, Fahid Island is designed to offer seamless access to Abu Dhabi's leisure, cultural and aviation hubs, including Zayed International Airport, all reachable in under 15 minutes. Aldar said the development includes residential offerings by renowned architects such as Japan's Kengo Kuma and Koichi Takada, along with London-based ACME and UAE-based NAGA Architects. The first homes to be released, the Fahid Beach Residences, will comprise seven mid-rise buildings, each with 65 apartments. Plans also include townhouses and ultra-luxury villas. "Fahid Island is the latest chapter in our journey to create world-class communities that reflect the values and ambitions of the UAE,' said Mohamed Al Mubarak, Chairman of Aldar. 'It builds on the success of Saadiyat and Yas Islands to offer a new benchmark in premium waterfront living, wellness, and sustainable design. With more than 30 per cent of the masterplan dedicated to natural spaces — including mangrove forests, gardens, and shaded trails, the island aims to integrate nature into daily life. The 10km Berm Park will serve as a landscaped wellness corridor with three cycling routes connected to Abu Dhabi's larger cycle loop. Aldar has also partnered with a leading international education provider to establish a school on the island, in line with the emirate's ambitions to position itself as a regional hub for educational excellence." The development's social heart will be a 2km promenade featuring retail, dining, art installations, and public spaces, while the Coral Drive retail boulevard will include boutique stores, cafes, a ballet school, and concept outlets. Aldar Group CEO Talal Al Dhiyebi said the launch comes at a time of "incredible demand from both local buyers and overseas investors,' adding that Fahid Island is one of the largest mixed-use residential masterplans to be launched in Abu Dhabi. Alongside Fitwel certification, the island has also received LEED City and Communities Platinum precertification and is targeting Estidama 3-Pearl accreditation, reinforcing its sustainability credentials.
Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
'I visited the UK city famous for jam - it's changed completely'
Scotland's fourth biggest city used to be famous for the three Js…jute, jam and journalism. But now Dundee's J, J & J have been replaced – by the V&A! Part of the city's £1billion waterfront regeneration, this super-modern design museum – the first V&A outside of London – celebrates Scotland's influence in fashion, architecture, innovation and culture. It was devised by esteemed Japanese architect Kengo Kuma – the man behind Tokyo's Olympic Stadium – with 2,500 exterior stone panels to emulate Scotland's rugged coastal cliffs. The interior whips your breath away too. Its full height atrium is filled with light and texture and a wide sweeping staircase linking the ground and first floors adds to the feeling of space. When we visited it was filled with a Shylight installation, where large silk flowers bobbed up and down while opening and closing. Upstairs houses three galleries and the Oak Room – an original two-storey tearoom by Charles Rennie Mackintosh that was discovered in pieces ready for scrap – and currently there's a colour-filled Garden Futures: Designing with Nature ticketed exhibition focusing on our passion for gardens. We couldn't leave without popping into the V&A's Tatha restaurant where floor-to-ceiling windows provide views down the River Tay. Their Taste Of Tayside afternoon tea went down a treat, with delicious locally inspired nibbles such as a haggis and cheddar scone, a Forfar Bridie – a semi-circular mince beef pie – and a mini Dundee fruit cake. Next door was another prime attraction: RRS Discovery, Captain Robert Falcon Scott's Antarctic exploration ship. Scott and his crew, including Ernest Shackleton, travelled further south than anyone before aboard this Royal Research Ship between 1901 and 1904, defying tempestuous seas, blizzards and -45C temperatures to carry out pioneering research. Both the immaculately preserved ship and an immersive museum give you a glimpse into the crew's incredible ingenuity and the hardship they faced. Such was the cold that ice would form on sailors' bunks. The officers' saloon was used as an operating theatre when the ship's doctor had to remove a man's cyst. Meanwhile zoologist Edward Wilson, who reared two emperor penguins in his cabin, would defrost animal specimens in front of the stove, causing putrid smells (adult £13, child £7, ). Dundee was once the UK hub for making jute (a fibre used for cord, cloth and sacks), employing 50,000 people in more than 120 mills and earning the city the moniker 'Juteopolis'. It also became famous for another J…jam. Janet Keiller created the first ever marmalade while trying to use up bitter Seville oranges. Her son James developed it and launched the world-renowned Keiller's jam and marmalade brand, once Britain's largest confectionery company. Publishers DC Thomson gave the city its third J… journalism. Established 120 years ago, it became famous for The Beano and The Dandy as well as several newspapers. Today, Dundee is a UNESCO City Of Design, busy yet compact and packed with independent shops and cafes, fine architecture and plenty of green spaces. On the way up there my husband Tim and I had a whale of a time on the Caledonian Sleeper, a night train that leaves London Euston most evenings. Standard tickets provide you with a reclining seat but upgrading to Club as we did gives you a twin bunk room with a sink, small en-suite with toilet and shower and comfy beds with duvets – and access to an on-board Club Car. It costs more but saves another night in a hotel, which helps even it out. And we found a meal in the Club Car – appropriately we went for haggis, neeps and tatties served by the cheerful Natalie – plus a wee tipple from the bar helped ensure a smooth sleep. I loved the novelty of going to bed in one place and waking up in another, although the downside came with the slightly daunting 6am arrival. Once in Dundee the Malmaison hotel proved to be a fabulous place to stay, handily located in a magnificent Victorian building steps away from the station. Staff were friendly, breakfasts were hearty and our stylish black and burgundy room provided views out towards the Tay, while the hotel's fabulous wrought iron spiral staircase was a city landmark in itself. For a closer look at the Tay, we hired e-bikes from Dundee Cycle Hub and peddled east along the wide riverside cycle-and-footpath, through the docks and past grand houses built by jute tycoons and pretty fishermen's cottages. We made it to Broughty Ferry, where we peeled off for a cuppa, a look at its 15th century castle, and a browse around stores selling crafts and local produce ( ). Back in Dundee, we visited another historic ship, HMS Unicorn, the oldest surviving vessel in Scotland. Although built as a warship, she never saw action after her 1824 launch so wasn't fitted out with masts and rigging. Instead she was used as a Royal Navy training ship and had a roof installed to protect her from the weather, giving her an eye-catching charm. Today you can wander around the cramped quarters that would have slept up to 300 crew, explore the gun deck, see the captain's smart quarters and learn about the mammoth fundraising effort for urgent repairs and a move to a new dock (adult £9.20, child £4.60, In need of a holiday? With the summer in full swing, the Mirror has launched its very own Travel WhatsApp community where you'll get all the latest holiday recommendations from our travel experts straight to your WhatsApp. We'll send you the latest breaking updates and exclusives all directly to your phone. Users must download or already have WhatsApp on their phones to join in. All you have to do to join is , select 'Join Chat' and you're in! We may also send you stories from other titles across the Reach group. We will also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose Exit group. If you're curious, you can read our . Back on dry land, I loved the city's cobbled streets and beautiful old buildings such as Verdant Works museum, set in a refurbished jute mill, and the grand McManus museum and gallery. Dundee's food came up trumps too. The delightful Empire State Coffee was perfect for brunch with huge cakes and cappuccinos made with beans roasted on site. At Daisy Tasker, tucked away in a former mill, we enjoyed succulent steaks alongside a pint of local brew. And at the delightful Gallery 48 we picked our way through platefuls of tasty Spanish tapas, including tuna belly with olive tapenade and artichoke, aubergine baked with honey and haggis croquettes. Gallery 48's gin menu was impressive too. I counted 56, several from the local area, with the James Keiller (he of jam fame) Dundee Dry Gin, infused with Seville orange in a nod to marmalade. On the way home we opted for one of LNER's three direct services back to London King's Cross, which took under six hours. For more options you can also change at Edinburgh. This time we certainly didn't want to sleep – the views were tremendous, with rolling hills and pretty coastal villages, the Firth of Forth and Newcastle's famous bridges. With the sleeper on the way up and the daytime service home – and Dundee 'jammed' in the middle – we'd experienced the best of all worlds.
Tatler Asia
23-05-2025
- Business
- Tatler Asia
How Osaka Expo's leading architects redefined national pavilions
One of the world's most influential architects, Kengo Kuma, whose architectural practice is headquartered in Tokyo, is known for fusing nature into his designs. For Expo 2025, the Japanese architect has designed two country pavilions—Portugal and Qatar—each rooted in the geography, history and materials of their respective nations. 'Portugal has a lot in common with Japan, both geographically and climatically,' Kuma tells Tatler. 'Both are close to the sea and [contain many] mountains, and both have a unique wind that blows from the sea to the mountains.' This elemental connection informed the design of the Portugal Pavilion, where rope, referencing the country's seafaring past, hangs from the structure, allowing visitors to feel both the air and history moving through it. For the Qatar Pavilion, Kuma drew inspiration from the dhow , a traditional wooden sailing vessel: 'I remember seeing a dhow in Qatar and being surprised at how similar it was to a Japanese boat.' The idea of water, wood and the open sea then became central to its design. 'The pavilion is surrounded by water as if it floats. I would like visitors to experience a sense of the sea.' Both pavilions make use of natural materials, a signature approach of Kuma's—and also something that responds to the environment of the site. 'The structures at the Expo are artificial, so it was particularly important for us to incorporate as many natural elements as possible,' he explains. And while the exhibits inside the pavilions are fascinating, Kuma says, 'We want to emphasise that the space leading up to the building should also be enjoyed.' He and his team want visitors to feel as if they have actually visited the country and to have a total experience that can't be gained anywhere else. Ultimately, Kuma sees Expo 2025 as a platform for rethinking design and the natural world. 'The Expo will be an opportunity to showcase new urban forms and possibilities in an age of environmental crisis. Visitors [can] consider what the relationship between architecture and nature should be.' Saudi Arabia pavilion: Foster + Partners Above A rendering of the Saudi Arabia pavilion (COURTESY OF FOSTER + PARTNERS) London-headquartered firm Foster + Partners, known for its technologically innovative work, is behind the Saudi Arabia Pavilion at Expo 2025—a design that marries tradition with forward-thinking modularity. 'We took inspiration from the scale of Saudi villages and their inherent response to human comfort. We studied the organisation and proportions of their streets and reinterpreted them in our pavilion design,' says Luke Fox, senior executive partner and head of studio at Foster + Partners. The journey through the pavilion gives visitors the experience of walking through a Saudi village. The pavilion is also a feat of sustainable engineering. 'We had 13 months to construct the pavilion, so we needed to establish a system that was as lightweight, sustainable and easy to build as possible,' says Fox. A standout innovation is the modular façade system—made from lightweight Saudi stone—that can be deconstructed, reassembled or reconfigured for future use. What's more, 'the way it has been designed and manufactured gives it the appearance of permanence'. This isn't Foster + Partners' first foray into Expo architecture; the firm designed the UAE and Qatar Pavilions for Expo 2020 Dubai. Reflecting on those projects, Fox says, 'Expos are a fantastic opportunity for countries to present themselves in the world spotlight.' For Saudi Arabia, the Expo pavilion is also a cultural bridge. 'It is designed to create meaningful connections between the Japanese public and Saudi Arabia's ancient history, recent progress and incredible artists and musicians—engaging all of the senses—and allowing visitors to experience the true spirit of the kingdom.' Singapore pavilion: DP Architects Above The Singapore pavilion (Photo: Finbarr Fallon, courtesy of The Singapore Pavilion, Expos 2025 Osaka) Above The Singapore pavilion (Photo: Finbarr Fallon, courtesy of The Singapore Pavilion, Expos 2025 Osaka) Above The Singapore pavilion (Photo: Finbarr Fallon, courtesy of The Singapore Pavilion, Expos 2025 Osaka) Singapore-based DP Architects' Singapore Pavilion at Expo 2025 presents a vision of the island that's compact yet liveable, highly innovative and sustainable, and deeply rooted in community and place. 'The Singapore Pavilion is a larger-than-life manifestation of 'a little red dot'—a term of endearment that symbolises Singapore's outsized impact and high aspirations,' says Seah Chee Huang, CEO of DP Architects and architecture lead for the Singapore Pavilion at Expo 2025. 'It reflects the city-state's relentless pursuit of innovation, resilience and sustainable solutions.' At the heart of the pavilion is The Dream Sphere, a centrepiece that embodies Singapore's collective hope for a more inclusive and thriving future. Clad in recycled aluminium discs that contain 70 per cent post-consumer waste, the façade draws inspiration from seigaiha , the traditional Japanese wave motif, and alludes to the Japanese practice of hanging wooden plaques inscribed with wishes. 'This symbolises not just the culmination of dreams but also the collective desire to turn these dreams into reality as one united nation,' Seah says. Sustainability is one of the pavilion's guiding principles. The structure integrates water-saving systems, renewable energy and pieces designed for their ease of assembly and disassembly, intended for reuse after the Expo. 'The pavilion showcases how Singapore strives to push boundaries in building a more sustainable and inclusive world,' says Seah.
Telegraph
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Garden Futures: Not for those who love a manicured lawn
There's not much greenery in evidence when I arrive outside V&A Dundee: grey skies, a leaden sheen to the River Tay, concrete panels cladding Kengo Kuma's waterfront building, which opened in 2018. Inside, an installation by Dutch design studio DRIFT extends the monochrome theme: 11 mechanised lights, with white shades inspired by flowers that close at night, rise and fall like robotic jellyfish pulsating in an imaginary ocean. But, with quotes on the walls by the likes of the 20th-century French philosopher Michel Foucault, Garden Futures, the museum's new show of more than 400 objects (an expanded, 'localised' version of a touring exhibition initiated by Germany's Vitra Design Museum), is seemingly pitched at highbrow design enthusiasts as much as horticulturalists hoping to finesse their herbaceous borders. The title of the final section – 'Garden of Ideas' – distils the approach. As someone who – to the despair of my wife – has never fired up a lawnmower, this comes as a relief. There's surely only so much excitement anyone can muster for all the scythes, rakes, watering cans and hoes in an introductory display of wall-mounted tools; many of the subsequent objects and ideas, though, proved beguiling enough to captivate this horticultural novice. That said, their presentation may irk traditionalists who relish immaculate lawns – described, in the catalogue, as monotonous 'green deserts', and associated, in the exhibition, with aggressive chemicals marketed during the 20th century to foster their growth. Filled with artworks, including paintings by those 20th-century artists-cum-gardeners Cedric Morris and Duncan Grant, and Requiem (1957), a tall, hollowed-out walnut sculpture by Barbara Hepworth, as gorgeous and sleek as an embrace, the opening section, 'Paradise', makes plain that gardens have always been central to humanity's imagination. (Consider the Garden of Eden.) At the same time, it suggests that exclusion is intrinsic to their underlying concept: the word 'paradise', we're told, derives from the ancient Persian for 'walled enclosure'. 'Garden Politics' explicitly links the history of gardening to '19th-century European colonialism and industrialisation'. (What exhibition doesn't attempt to draw such connections these days?) There's talk, too, of 'guerrilla gardening as a political tool' and 'seed bombs'. Yet, an inventive setting, evoking a hedge maze, suggests the complexity of the issues involved; and it's here that the exhibition's most powerful and moving artworks may be found: a pair of images by Dutch photographer Henk Wildschut of gardens scraped together in refugee camps in Tunisia and Lebanon, with plastic bottles for picket fences. One of the show's heroes, the artist and filmmaker Derek Jarman, magicked an unlikely garden out of stony coastal ground in Kent, having been diagnosed as HIV-positive. These examples remind us that gardens can be sanctuaries of hope. Hope is the theme of the exhibition's final stages, which showcase enterprising work by designers inspired by gardens and nature, intended to bring about a more sustainable future. A chair consisting of a single ash sapling grown for several years around a custom frame in a Derbyshire orchard (a process its makers describe as 'biofacture', not manufacture) is drooping, skew-whiff – and beautiful. A minuscule but ingenious 'system' for aerial seeding – inspired by the seed of a flower that drills itself into the earth to germinate – may provide a remedy for desertification. I could take or leave (okay, leave) the show's politicking. But exhibits like these represent brilliant, original concepts that bloom in the mind.
