As part of their final competition entry to design Abu Dhabi's international airport, Kohn Pederson Fox Architects commissioned Hoberman Associates to develop a responsive dome to cover a major central courtyard.

The design married a custom transforming system, based on Hoberman’s expanding iris domes, with one of Adaptive Building Initiative’s Intelligent Surfaces — the Permea™ system. With the custom operable oculus at its crown, the dome’s surface is divided into a faceted grid comprised of Permea™ panels.

Together, the systems perform environmentally both to control light levels and airflow for the large, heavily trafficked space below.

Architect:
Kohn Pederson Fox Associates

Building rendering by KPF