Organization Of The Islamic Conference
JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA
Buildings that represent social groups, religions or specific moments in human history should be seen from a typological point of view –and not only aesthetical- different from already defined typologies which are functionally concrete and abstract, as seen in banks and large corporation office towers that are populating the skyline of every important city today. These buildings should be capable of becoming global and international icons, and at the same time objects of an extraordinary beauty. In this terms we think that the O.I.C Headquarters building, would, could and should be a singular project, not only for the place where it stands, but for the people that it represents around the world. The Cupola is seen as a visible and powerful icon from the vast and rich culture and history of Islamic architecture, appearing for a long time in very different parts of the world but always under the same common identity. An architectural element that has always been reason for defiant construction solutions, technological and scientific breakthroughs, throughout human history.
The final shape, slightly asymmetric or in movement, the oval plaza and the “towers” that conforms it, the general “Orbits” that this project proposes, suggests an actual vision of this ancient culture, proud and alive, that demands its place and part in our modern globalized world. Jeddah
has successfully combined the dignity and traditions of the past with the dynamics of the modern world. It is also the most important port and the entrance door of the pilgrimage. This building should also be a perdurable and timeless icon of that identity: “port and door”, a place to pass through, learning the historical background and at the same time building the present.
