Build Architecture Awards

Build Architecture Awards 2015 16 Architecture is the art of choreographing spaces, just like dance is the art of choreographing move- ments, except we experience architecture through long-lasting buildings and spaces and not through short-lived performances. I have been using this method of design for a long time. It is rather interesting because sometimes concepts start in the dance studio rather than at the drawing board. A dance transforms into lines and these lines transform into architectural drawings. Essentially, architecture is metaphysical; it touches the heart. Great architecture will take you somewhere that words cannot describe; like watching a beautiful ballet performance. I am also a ballet dancer and choreographer and have been so from a very young age. From my experience, after watching a beautiful ballet performance, people will applaud and discuss the experience with their family and friends. This is what makes a performance a success due to the shared appreciation. The same happens with a beautiful design where the choreographic prome- nades of dancing reflect the same elegant curves, flowing movements and changes in tempo. This excites people and makes them want to share their appreciation of architecture with others. Factors involving sustainability are also very important to us because of the strong correlation between the natural forms we use in our designs and the environment. For example our hotel in Abu Dhabi is a 5 tower hotel where you can find every use a visitor may dream about. The idea is to give the visitor no reason to leave the hotel, but what makes the design unique is the clever facade that looks like a honeycomb. The honeycomb can be compressed or stretched changing the shape of the building. This changes the temperature inside to increase or reduce the heat. The result is an extraordinary piece of engineering based on a very simple process from nature. Today there is a demand for good design and buildings have been too square for too long. Architects typically would design buildings that are too similar and fast to construct, and they would be essentially clones. Architecture across the centuries has not really evolved; there have been differences, but the shapes and materials have remained more or less the same. It is only today that organic forms can be easily constructed. Now is the right time to move architecture forward. Is it not a coin- cidence that planes, phones, computers, cars, furniture, etc. are all becoming curvier Private residency