Concrete, OMA’s first completed project in UAE, opens at Alserkal

Alserkal Avenue has inaugurated Concrete, its new space in the Avenue and the first project to be completed in the UAE by the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), founded by Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate Rem Koolhaas.
Abdelmonem bin Eisa Alserkal, patron and founder of Alserkal Avenue, said: “Over the last decade, Alserkal Avenue has grown and evolved organically with the arts and culture scene of the UAE. The introduction of Concrete marks a new milestone in the cultural advancement of the region.”
At a crossroads of modular design and modern architecture, Concrete is a collection of warehouses that have been conserved and re-imagined, offering the dimensions and volume of industrial spaces for a variety of projects.
Marking the first instance of such flexible, adaptive architecture in the UAE, Concrete is set to have a lasting impact on the cultural sector in the region.
At a press conference inaugurating Concrete, Rem Koolhaas, founder of OMA, said: “Dubai is one of the cities that made a deep impact on our work, and I am very happy that this particular building is our first effort here. In Concrete, we are not introducing a new shape but instead were able to infiltrate an existing building with an arts institution. This building is totally produced in Dubai; it is not a foreign ideal, and I think is significant.”
Concrete was led by Iyad Alsaka, OMA partner, who said: “The Gulf is an important region for OMA, and we are happy to have been able to collaborate with an organization like Alserkal Avenue, whose vision is so similar to our own.”
He added: “With this project, we wanted to keep the interior as neutral and flexible as possible, while transforming the existing exterior so that it would stand out among the surrounding buildings.”
Concrete will now provide space for international arts and culture events to travel to Dubai.
Alserkal Avenue’s collaboration with OMA advances the organization’s mission to promote progress in the arts and architecture, with Concrete as a leading reference point for urban design in the region and beyond.

Source: Arab News