Foster + Partners' solar powered building in Abu Dhabi

The building designed by Foster + Partners is energy self-sufficient, using solar energy to produce electricity and hot water. It is a pilot project for use of sustainable technologies in future buildings in Masdar City. The traditional models of Islamic architecture are reinterpreted using contemporary technologies and materials such as windows protected by mashrabiya, the traditional wooden gratings characterising the façades of residential buildings. In the new construction they are made of fibreglass-reinforced cement, coloured with local sand so that they fit into their surroundings in the desert and require little maintenance. The project is part of an ambitious plan involving creation of an international centre of sustainable technologies in a “carbon neutral” environment.

by Agnese Bifulco

Design: Foster + Partners
Pictures: Nigel Young / Foster + Partners, courtesy Foster + Partners
Location: Abu Dhabi, Arab Emirates

www.fosterandpartners.com