2024 Galleries
The Spark Gallery pages are one of our most popular design destinations, with thousands of visitors each year. Check out some of the latest Spark entries, in the galleries below.
Galleries // 2016 Spark:Spring Concept // DMMRC - Dubai Maritime Museum & Research Center
DMMRC - Dubai Maritime Museum & Research Center
Winner - Gold
Competition: Spark:Spring Concept
Designer: Nick Karintzaidis - Architect
Design Type: Architecture, Institutional
Company / Organization / School: Nikokapa
Website: http://nikokapa.com
Relating to both the sea and the city and in constant dialogue between them, the building is an extension of the city to the sea and vice-versa. Conceived as a continuation and a transition through the wide public space, the building dives into the ocean and merges with it. The programmatic requirements, orientation, and restrained material palette were thoroughly evaluated and considered in order to reduce the building’s energy use, ongoing maintenance and provide a sustainable outcome. Overall organization follows a triangular grid, which defines the main morphological and functional aspects of both building and landscape. This grid organizes the roof cells that are supported by diamond shape structural cores. The cores achieve the necessary clear spans in order to obtain large-scale column-free spaces that allow the visitor to experience the fluidity of the interior. Inside this wide space, collection is divided in entities such as marine life, marine technology, supervisory material, interactive educational and experimental exhibits, aquariums, video projections and digital representations as well as underwater photography exhibitions. Water functions as a temperature buffer for the building, while at the same time simulates the ocean's role as a regulator of the world climate.
