ABU DHABI CENTRAL MARKET

Foster + Partners

Have you ever thought to do all the everyday activities in only a place? In
Abu Dhabi you can live, eat, work and shop in a complex. Foster is building
the Aldar Center Market including in it apartments, hotel, offices, restaurants
and of course shops. The 500,000 m complex is a reflection of the souk,
the traditional Arab market.
Foster has designed a sequence of courtyards and alleys, integrating
balconies and colonnades, merging with large ornamental windows made of
colored glass. The windows together with the changing rhythm of squares
create a spectacle of special lighting atmosphere and dappled sunlight.

The dynamic square with 7 meters tall and 2.8 meters wide faade, combine
the low-rise levels, roof gardens that play the role of public parks and the
three towers with the underground parking.
During the hot and warm seasons, the market is open all day and night and
the barriers between inside and outside are melted, turning it into a central
venue in the city during festivals. In On the other hand, during the cold
season the spaces are enclosed by roof panels that slide into place to enable
the internal environment to be controlled more closely. The perforation in
roof and interior panels are pattern developed by Islamic arts. The
mathematical geometry creates the octagonal forms in panels, which
reference traditional zellij tile work too. Another tradition is found at the
blue and yellow glasses that shine like stars on walls and floors that bring
into the market the vivid colors. Foster created gardens in the terrace
hugging in this way the landscape of the city.
The complex is a small city into the city. It is the place where the tradition
and the functionality cuddle the interest of everyone and make them fill like
home.
Inspired by the traditional architecture of the Middle East, Central Market is
a modern interpretation of the traditional bazaar, selling almost every
conceivable product, from luxury goods to food and artisan crafts. Like the
traditional souk, these different experiences are brought together in a
sensory interior palette of dappled sunlight, warm woods, colors and running
water
Property: The Souk in the Central Market, Abu Dhabi / UAE
Client: ALDAR Properties PJSC, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Architects: Foster + Partners,
Project Team: Norman Foster, David Nelson, Gerard Evenden, Stuart
Latham, Muir Livingstone, John Blythe, Edson Yabiku, David
Crosswaite, Giulia Galiberti, Sandra Glass, Ashley Lane, Giulia Leoni,
Emily Phang, Bram van der Wal, Ho-Ling Cheung, Luca Latini,
Franquibel Lima, Chris Nunn, Riccardo Russo, Jillian Salter, Ronald
Schuurmans, SunpholSorakul, Daniel Weiss, Laura Podda, Yong Bin
Kim, Yvonne Jendreiek
Area: 689416.0 sqm
Project Year: 2014
Photographs: Nigel Young | Foster + Partners
Project Manager: WS Atkins
Structural Engineer: Halvorson and Partners
MEP Engineer: BDSP Partnership
Collaborating Architect: Planar
Cost Consultant: EC Harris International
Vertical Transportation: Lerch Bates and Associates

Fire Engineering Consultant: Exova Warrington Fire

Faade Consultant: Arup
Traffic Consultant: ETC European Transportation Consultancy
Metal construction: Shenyang Yuanda Co. Ltd., Shenyang, China
Glass: OKATHERM by OKALUX GmbH, Marktheidenfeld, Germany