Flaminggo Visitor Center

The concept of the building is two ramps with a a single starting point and evolving into a floor and a roof, which shape the overall building. Under the floor slabs there is a sun shaded world for cars, pedestrians and small wildlife created to enhance the swampy garden. On top of it, the permanently accessible rooftop opens the scenic view overlooking Al Wathba wetland reserve. The mostly shadowed space below the building is designed as a tranquil garden where visitors can linger to enjoy the shade and the views. The front part of the garden is used to park your car in the shade, get dropped off by a taxi using the one-way road on site or start walking up the ramp to the building. As you start to walk up the wheelchair accessible ramp, you can take a left to continue to the first level, or proceed straight and take a right, walking up to the roof. The garden and roof can always be accessed, even during closure hours. After reaching the shadowed main entrance and entering the front door you will find the reception desk on your left and the toilet core on your right. The main desk becomes the gift shop in its middle, and the bar + kitchen at its end. In the far right of the building you will find the auditorium behind a glass inner wall. This wall is used as the display area, describing the bird species in the Al Wathba nature reserve. The recessed floor of the auditorium is the stage for the speaker, behind whom the reserve views are opening. The café on the far left provides for indoor and outdoor spots to sit. The terrace, where you can choose to sit in the shadow or the sun, is directed towards the major view of the reserve. The two ramps are structurally supported by black ‘sticks’. Executed as randomly placed and angled concrete filled steel tubes they will give the visitors a sense of being a bird in the reed. The façade is a simple glass curtain between the two concrete ramp-slabs. The only closed volume in the building is the toilet core, structurally connecting the two slabs, taking away any torque in the main structure. The top of the toilet core hides an ample room for all HVAC systems. The spiral stair serves as an additional means of secondary roof/building access, garden/building access and emergency exit. The ramps and floors are made of sustainable recycled reinforced concrete. Part of the roof is covered with solar panels providing enough energy for the HVAC of the building. The interior fixed furniture is made of local Acacia wood. The garden below doubles as a rainwater buffer. Flamingo visitor center provides a place for anyone; it’s the perfect hangout spot at the edge of nature.