OMA has announced that Iyad Alsaka and David Gianotten are new partners in the company. Their appointment supports OMA’s growing number of architectural and research projects in North Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
Iyad Alsaka. © OMA, image by Blommers+Schumm
Alsaka, as Director – Architect at OMA’s headquarters in Rotterdam, is in
charge of projects in the Middle East and North Africa. He is currently working
on masterplans in Libya, three buildings soon to go under construction in
Education City, Doha, and projects in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria and Morocco. In 2008, he worked on OMA’s acclaimed masterplan for Waterfront City in Dubai along
with several other projects in the Gulf region. Alsaka brings vast experience of the Middle East to the partnership, having joined OMA in 2007 from Dubai
Holding, where he was director of design and development and responsible for dozens of project since 2001. Alsaka was born in 1969 in Syria and studied architecture at the University of Aleppo.
David Gianotten. © OMA, image by Blommers+Schumm
Gianotten is General Manager – Architect of OMA Asia, having launched OMA’s office in Hong Kong in 2009. He is project director for OMA’s participation in the West Kowloon Cultural District project, a major development featuring museums, theatres, cultural production facilities and Hong Kong’s biggest park.
He leads OMA’s projects in Asia, including the Taipei Performing Arts Centre, Chu Hai College in Hong Kong, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, now nearing
completion, and the Edouard Malingue gallery in Hong Kong, completed in June last year. Gianotten was born in 1974 in the Netherlands and studied
Architecture and Construction Technology at the Eindhoven University of
Technology. He joined OMA in 2008 from SeARCH, in Amsterdam, where he was Managing Director – Architect.
As OMA partners, both Alsaka and Gianotten will continue their current areas of responsibility. Victor van der Chijs commented: “OMA is very happy to be adding the experience and insight of Alsaka and Gianotten to the partnership, giving us new energy and strength as we continue to grow and develop projects in North Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.” Alsaka and Gianotten join current OMA partners Rem Koolhaas, Ellen van Loon, Reinier de Graaf, Shohei Shigematsu and managing partner Victor van der Chijs.
Further Information:
OMA - Office for Metropolitan Architecture
NL-3032 Rotterdam • Netherlands
Heer Bokelweg 149
eMail: office@oma.com
web: www.oma.eu
