The Yard & Concrete by OMA
Why is it significant?
Enter the wide paved public plaza of The Yard and gaze up at the translucent polycarbonate facade of Concrete. Completed in 2017, this world-renowned cultural building was designed by Rem Koolhaas and his Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA).
Key Facts
| Place | The Yard & Concrete by OMA |
|---|---|
| Address | The Yard, Alserkal Avenue, Al Quoz 1, Dubai, UAE |
| Geo Coordinates | 25.14180, 55.22550 |
| Part of Walk | Alserkal Avenue & Al Quoz: Dubai's Creative Underground |
| Generated | Generated |
Enter the wide paved public plaza of The Yard and gaze up at the translucent polycarbonate facade of Concrete. Completed in 2017, this world-renowned cultural building was designed by Rem Koolhaas and his Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA). It marks the very first building ever designed by OMA in the United Arab Emirates, earning a prestigious nomination for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture. Four dilapidated industrial warehouse shells were radically reconfigured into a flexible, multi-disciplinary exhibition venue wrapped in custom-formulated sprayed concrete and mirrored glass. The structure bridges raw industrial heritage with daring architectural innovation in the desert metropolis.
Look at the monumental eight-meter-tall exterior walls: four motorized double-height panels slide open entirely on concealed steel tracks. When fully opened, the building's interior seamlessly merges with the outdoor public plaza of The Yard, creating a colossal indoor-outdoor event arena. Inside, movable rotating ceiling panels and modular acoustic partition walls allow curators to configure the space into private lecture halls, film theaters, or vast art exhibitions. The engineering allows acoustic isolation between adjacent galleries while maintaining an airy, luminous volume beneath custom skylights.
The Yard itself functions as the civic town square of Alserkal Avenue, hosting outdoor music performances, farmers' markets, and cultural discussions. During the annual Quoz Arts Fest, thousands of visitors pack this open courtyard to watch contemporary dance companies, live brass bands, and video projection art. The translucent polycarbonate facade glows with soft interior light at dusk, casting an ethereal white luminescence across the gathered crowds. It has hosted landmark exhibitions in collaboration with the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Hayward Gallery.
Examine the exterior finish: the concrete was sprayed with crushed mirror and dark glass aggregate that twinkles subtly when caught by the desert sun.
Walk northwest along the gallery lane toward Warehouse 68 to discover Cinema Akil.