[in-enaction] competition outcomes: African Institute of Science and Technology (AIST) (Fuksas)

Fuksas Architetto Appointed to Design AIST-Abuja Campus: After an 
exhaustive international architectural competition conducted for NMI by 
the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), world-renowned 
architect Massimiliano Fuksas Architetto (www.fuksas.it) has been 
selected to design the first AIST campus in Abuja, Nigeria.

    The winning attributes of the design by Fuksas included:

        * The relationship of the campus to the city of Abuja.
        * The modest and relaxed quality of the campus design where 
each of the zones were simply expressed.
        * The beautiful water course alignment and open air museum for 
public art – not directly engaged with the built environment but instead 
a quiet independent place to enjoy.
        * The quote from Nelson Mandela on the value and significance 
of education – proposed to be carved into the stone paving of the Nelson 
Mandela Square.
        * The simple yet elegant design of the buildings which speak 
meaningfully of Africa but with an appropriate sense of modernity.
        * The architect’s serious personal commitment to Africa and, in 
particular, to the development of this campus as a great opportunity.

Fuksas’s design team includes the world-class engineering firm Arup 
Engineers (www.arup.com). This team will commence work on the masterplan 
immediately, using local architects and engineers to ensure local 
conditions and materials are incorporated into the design.

http://www.nmiscience.org/news.html

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Fuksas to Design Science and Technology Institute in Nigeria

August 8, 2006

“I wanted to design something to remember the Mandela philosophy,” says 
Massimiliano Fuksas of the African Institute of Science and Technology 
(AIST). In May the Italian architect won the RIBA-organized 
international competition to design the AIST, which will be located 
immediately south of the Nigerian capital of Abuja and will help foster 
the economic development of Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Built for the private organization The Nelson Mandela Institution for 
Knowledge Building and the Advancement of Science and Technology in 
Sub-Saharan Africa, the 2.6 million-square-foot, $360 million complex 
will provide research and education facilities for scientists and 
engineers. Faculty and administration buildings will surround the 
central Nelson Mandela Square.

cont'd....
http://archrecord.construction.com/news/daily/archives/060808fuksas.asp