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Erickson, Arthur, 1924-2009
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The Sawaber Project (a.ka. Sawaber Housing Development)

File contains 6 drawings (3 site plans, 3 exterior perspectives), ink on bond, as well as 22 photographic prints of model. The medium density and medium rise residential community was planned for approximately 5,000 people in 900 units for average income families. The units were further subdivided into nine neighbourhood clusters containing 20 dwelling units sharing the circulation space and community facilities, such as schools, mosques, shops, recreation and open spaces. This density resulted in a stepped back building form that is eight storeys in height. The A-frame space provides a shaded and naturally ventilated inner street for community facilities in a richly landscaped setting. The project was not executed; the design and documentation were not completed

Saudi Arabian National Center for Science and Technology (SANCST Science Halls)

File includes 1 photograph print of mode. The SANCST Science Halls were conceived as a demonstration centre showing the development of science within the Muslim world, and making science accessible to all. The 125 hectare site was 12 km north of the Riyadh centre core. The entry was to be through a large semi-circular plaza from which both the Headquarters Building and the Science Halls could be accessed. The Headquarters Building possesses a strong central axis and the Science Halls are located near the far end of the site. The latter is set on an oblique angle giving it dual orientation. It also uses a strong system of Islamic geometric ordering, superimposition and the rotation of the basic square. The Science Halls have a traditional introverted character and the building mass sits on the Arabic landscape like a finite object, particularly in its use of natural materials. The exterior cladding is a warm colour of horizontally stratified Riyadh limestone with varying band depths. The important features of the Science Halls are the arrival plaza and its orientation, the souk street circulation, the laboratories, the demonstration theatres, the formal gardens, the traditional riverbed gardens, and the medicinal herb gardens.

Saudi Arabian Embassy & Ambassador's Residence

Includes 9 drawings: 4 plans, 1 exterior perspective, 2 details: model; 2 combination drawings: 2 section I elevation. The site for the new Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is to occupy a prominent triangular corner in Canada's National Capital at Sussex Drive and Boteler St., with views over the Ottawa River and the distant Laurentians. The program called for three diplomatic functions: the Chancery, the Consulate and the Official Residence. Security of the functions was to be of the highest order, but also invisible, allowing the project to speak only of its graceful stately intent. The project developed the concept of perpendicular axes, one parallel to Sussex and the other at right angles to it leading into the complex. The first axis divides the major rooms of both the Chancery and the Residence. They are three storey masses with a two storey residential wing, along the ceremonial Sussex façade. The second axis assembles the entrance, the Ambassador's offices, and the Consulate building, terminating with splendid views over the Ottawa River. Along the Sussex Drive façade, a grand lawn with accompanying gardens is screened from the street by an open yet highly secure screen. The architectural vocabulary sought to create a language reflective both of the Islamic nature of Saudi Arabia and its presence in Canada's Capital. Hence the project was carefully proportioned in the Islamic genre, as well as developed with the mansard roof theme that is prevalent in Ottawa. Utilizing both stone walls and decorative screens, the project was to create harmony between the two nations in symbolic form.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Interim Headquarters

File consists of 23 drawings (1 site plan, 13 plans, 2 sections, 1 elevation, 3 exterior perspectives, 1 detail: furniture, equipment; 2 combination drawings: 1 plan I section, 1 section I elevation I detail) and 1 slide photograph of exterior. The Interim Headquarters was designed to increase the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Foreign Affairs space (12,000 m2) in Jeddah, prior to the Ministry's relocation to the capital, Riyadh. The concept for the Interim Headquarters was developed in the context of a programming and master plan study for the Ministry's Jeddah site as a whole, and on a long-range organization and management study for the Ministry. The Jeddah master plan study recommended the refurbishing of the existing headquarters, to preserve its historical and cultural value, and the continued use of the site to serve as the Jeddah Branch of the Ministry after the planned move to Riyadh. In order to complete the facility in the shortest possible time, the building was designed as a simple rectangular volume with a very regular structural grid. The building 'skin' received special design attention, to achieve the objective of a high quality 'background' building, which would not detract from the historic old Headquarters building in the centre of the site. The Interim Headquarters consists of a two-storey office block sitting on a solid base, which emerges out of the sloping site. The upper part of the glazed 'box' is surrounded with wood lattice screens, which simultaneously provide solar shading, hide unsightly mechanical equipment, and establish a visual relationship to the residential buildings of old Jeddah. Subsequent to the completion of the Ministry's new headquarters complex in Riyadh, the Interim Headquarters has continued to serve as the Ministry's Jeddah Branch, as planned.

Medina Hotel (Residential Development)

File includes 39 drawings (29 plans, 4 sections, 3 exterior perspectives, 2 interior perspectives, 1 circulation diagram) and 3 photographs (1 aerial view of site, 2 prints of site model). The hotel I residential complex in the city of Medina is a modified version of the Sawaber project. It is simpler in form, connecting the stepped blocks at the top. The site is irregular in shape filled with vegetation and trellis-covered parking. The project incorporated an existing mosque and turned the souk-like street into a grand lobby, a shopping concourse for the hotel and a community place for the apartments.

King Abdulaziz University

File contains 17 drawings (8 plans, 9 exterior perspectives) and 381 photographs (368 slides [173 of drawings, 114 of model, 81 miscellaneous] 13 prints of model). The King Abdulaziz University interspersed academic facilities with residential compounds in a layout respecting traditional settlement patterns. The men's campus is separate from the women's campus on a 260 hectare site. The site is undeveloped and is a continuation of the Jeddah Coastal Plain, 6 km east of Jeddah's downtown core. The University locale is separated from the city's core by an existing airport and an existing residential area to the east. The university was designed to accommodate 17,000 students, 2,000 faculty, and 5,800 support staff. In addition to the academic facilities, the university has a mosque, a museum, an aquarium, an auditorium, and botanical gardens as cultural amenities to enrich the city. A central open space spine connects the east and the west sides of the entrance area through a linear system of landscaped and building-enclosed courtyards.

Islamic University of Madinah

File includes 604 drawings, 33 presentation boards, 150 photographs, and 1 model of the entrance gate. The Islamic University of Madinah is distinguished both by its religious location and by the fact that it represents a centre for the collection, preservation, and dissemination of Islamic heritage. It is situated at the Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah, an oasis town surrounded by the desert and the rocky mountains. The valleys are the source of its water supply. The 120 hectare site also incorporates existing buildings. The university campus is characterized by the integration of teaching and living spaces organized around a hierarchy of courts. The Mosque and Faculties occupy the centre of the campus. Low buildings, not exceeding four storeys, maintain a human scale. The main gate faces the City of Madinah and the axes of the buildings are aligned to acknowledge the religiously significant Qibla in Makkah. The prominent arrival court is landscaped with water fountains and gardens as a forecourt to the main Mosque. The residential buildings are clustered, as are the Faculty buildings, housing about 2 000 students in nine-person dwelling units. Covered pedestrian walkways link the facilities beyond the campus core, such as the sports facilities, faculty housing, and commercial districts. The architectural style is based on Islamic forms: simple massing, grouping buildings around courtyards, and orientation of individual components within buildings towards courtyards, which are a source of natural light, air, and visual relief. Courtyards, arcades around courtyards, and gateways to individual buildings are the repetitive elements found throughout the campus.

Hamma Government Complex (Assemblée Populaire Nationale, Palais des Congrès, Bibliothèque nationale)

File consists of 17 drawings (1 site plan, 6 plans, 2 sections, 3 elevations, 3 exterior perspectives, 1 aerial view of site; 1 combination drawing: 1 plan I section) and 19 photographs (2 prints of model and 17 slides of model). The Hamma Government Complex was a colonial vision for Algiers following the spirit of Haussmann's Paris. The project included new buildings for the Assemblée Populaire, the Palais des Congrès, an imposing square, the National Library, and a hotel. The Hamma site sits in a privileged location due to its accessibility to transportation arteries, railroads, and future subways. The monumental group of government buildings terminate the capital's axis on a 10 hectare site. It is entered through a 12 storey triumphal arch building housing the Assemblée and the Congrès. Leading into the main square, the hotel and the library are connected to a botanical garden beyond.

Fintas Centre (a.k.a. Fintas Town Centre)

File includes 1 site plan, 1 presentation board (title block with prints of model and drawing of site plan), and 5 photographic prints of model. The Government of Kuwait initiated the development plan for a new town envisioned as a major urban centre. The Fintas Centre was to accommodate retail and commercial office space, as well as focus on clinics, cinemas, recreation, parking, a botanical garden, and a market, serving a population of 500 000. The site was a vacant rectangular superblock approximately 1 hectare, situated between the Fahaheel Expressway and the As Safar Motorway. It is west of the existing town of Fintas. Some traditional housing exists on the eastern edge of the Fintas superb lock. The mall is wrapped in a wall of parking garages simulating a walled city. There are four gates at the cardinal points: two of which enter low rise office buildings; one a conservatory surrounded by a hotel, library and theatre; and one on a bridge which links the east and the west sides of the centre.

Etisalat Head Office Building (Etisalat Headquarters)

File includes 15 drawings (10 plans, 1 section, 3 elevations; 1 combination drawing with 1 plan, section, detail), 105 photographs (40 prints: 24 of model, 16 miscellaneous; 65 negatives: 30 of model, 33 site), and 1 model of the building. The Etisalat Head Office Building in Abu Dhabi serves as the headquarters of the Emirates Telecommunications Corporation and provides a symbol for the corporation in Abu Dhabi and throughout the United Arab Emirates. The project was the winner of a Limited Design Competition conducted in 1985. It is composed of transmission facilities, branch office and head office functions, and public activities, all located on a prominent corner site in Abu Dhabi. The plan of the project responds to the corner site by directly addressing the traffic circle. By selecting a tower plan form, it also provides the office functions with good views of the adjacent gardens, the city, and sea to the north. A unique curtain wall system provides solar protection by a facetted arrangement of alternating opaque and vision panels, which give the façade its geometric pattern. At the project's summit is the radome, which houses the telecommunications/microwave functions. It is a unique solution to the problem of visually controlling the multitude of dishes and aerials required of Etisalat, recalling the traditional forms of Islamic design in a refreshing manner. This feature of the project has now become the identifying "image" of the Corporation in the Emirates. It was nominated for the Aga Khan Award in 1995.

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