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Benoy's design for a Yas Island icon blends vehicular and building architecture.
Few brand names carry the same global design cachet as Ferrari.
For over 50 years, cars produced by the Italian firm have built up a reputation for luxury, style and performance, so it's small wonder that the UAE was chosen to be home of the first ever branded Ferrari theme park.
Located on the Aldar development of Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, Ferrari World will be part of larger tourism offering that will include hotels, golf courses, retail facilities and the UAE's F1 track, which is scheduled to host the 2009 F1 Grand Prix.
Because of the searing temperatures in the Gulf region, the park will be located indoors, in air-conditioned comfort.
Housing an entire theme park indoors is a task that demands a building of considerable size, and adding to this was the real need for the building to reflect the Ferrari identity.
"Our brief was to create an icon for Abu Dhabi, as well as Ferrari and Yas Island," says Mike Lewis, designer and lead architect of the theme park, and senior associate director at Benoy.
"It's like what the Burj Al Arab is for Dubai."
Iconic design
Designing an icon proved to be a particularly inspiring challenge.
"This is like a blank canvas scheme, and in some ways it's more difficult because you don't have any constraints," says Lewis.
"Designing within constraints makes it slightly easier because you've got some rules to follow."
Despite this relative freedom, the design team was able to create rules for themselves.
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