The first Armenian Church opened in Abu-Dhabi at the end of last year. It has been designed according to Armenian traditions and architectural style. The 2,475-square-meter building has three main structures placed in a U-shape. The main church building stands on the right and next to it in the centre stands the archbishopric. On the left is a building partially constructed of glass and decorated with the Armenian alphabet. A statue of Mesrop Mashtots, the theologist and linguist who founded the Armenian alphabet, lies ahead. In 2005, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed donated land to build the Armenian Church. Then project authors started gathering donations from the Armenian community in the UAE and Kuwait. Construction of Church began in 2012.

It might seem ironic that the oil-rich Middle East also holds nearly half of the world's renewable energy potential -but last month the President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, officially inaugurated Shams 1, the largest concentrated solar power plant (CSP) in the world. The plant was designed and developed by Shams Power Company, and it cost US$ 600 million and took three years to build. It's owned by Masdar, Abengoa Solar and Total. This gargantuan power plant covers almost 2.5 million square meters - the equivalent of about 285 football fields. According to Masdar, it will generate enough electricity to power 20 thousand homes in the United Arab Emirates. It will also displace 175 thousand tons of CO2 per year - the equivalent of planting 1.5 million trees or taking 15 thousand cars off the road. Though Abu Dhabi has made a considerable investment in CSP, key members of Shams Power Company foresee most of the country's renewable energy coming from solar photovoltaic systems to meet its 2020 energy target of producing 7% of its total energy from renewable. This is because photovoltaic systems are cheaper, faster to build and are able to be installed in more locations than CSP systems. It is good to see a region so rich in oil look to grow its renewable energy potential. Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, CEO of Masdar states, "the inauguration of Shams 1 is a breakthrough for renewable energy development in the Middle East. With the demand for energy rising exponentially, the region is undergoing a major transformation in how it generates electricity. In fact, the Middle East is poised for major investments in renewables, and Shams 1 proves the economic and environmental advantage of deploying large-scale solar projects."

Abu Dhabi staked its claim as the cultural capital of the Middle East on January 8 with the final go-ahead for its most eagerly anticipated landmark project. The main contract for the Louvre Abu Dhabi was awarded to the Dubai builder Arabtec. Construction of the US$ 653 million development will begin immediately and the new museum is expected to open in 2015. The Louvre Abu Dhabi, which arose out of a 2007 cultural partnership between France and the United Arab Emirates, won't look anything like the lavish 12th century building where Louis XIV once lived. The mushroom-shaped building designed by French architect Jean Nouvel, the Pritzker Prize winner, is slated to be part of a cultural district planned for Saadiyat Island. The architecturally stunning complex will consist of 64,000 square meters of pavilions, plazas and canals, two-thirds of it shaded by a 180-meter wide cupola that appears to float in mid air. The new museum will form the heart of the Saadiyat Island cultural district alongside the Zayed National Museum planned to open in 2016 and the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi the following year. The construction challenges are considerable. A 180-metre wide cupola supported at just four points around its perimeter will shade two-thirds of the museum campus. Perforated to cast an intricate "rain of light" below, the dome will be made of more than 100,000 individual elements in 10 layers that will overlap to form a pattern inspired by Islamic geometry and the palm fronds of traditional Arish dwellings. The Louvre Abu Dhabi will be housed in 9,200 square meters of gallery space spread across almost 30 separate buildings. Planned like a town, these range from one to three storey in height and are linked by a network of gardens, plazas and watercourses inspired by traditional Arabian falaj. The scope of the architecture and public areas may sound prodigious, but these pale in comparison to the design, engineering and infrastructure challenges that have been overcome to get the project to this stage. The museum requires a 10-metre deep waterproof basement for emergency access and plant rooms that measure 31,500 square meters. In 2009, walls were buried in the sand 40 meters deep to ensure the construction site stays watertight. Once works are complete, these will be removed to allow seawater to flow between the museum precincts in a series of canals. In 2010 alone, contractors drove 4,536 piles into the ground - 2,958 steel and 1,578 concrete - the length of which, if put end to end, is the distance from Abu Dhabi to Dubai. Most of this work has gone unnoticed. The only visible sign of progress thus far has been a curious, wedge-shaped chamber on Saadiyat in which a 1:33 scaled model of the museum's canopy, made of 15,000 aluminum and steel parts, has been light-tested to ensure its performance. But behind the scenes an international team of architects and engineers has been working for almost five years, testing the dome for factors including its ability to cast the right type of shade, and its resistance to wind, explosions and fire. Most of the preparatory work associated with the Louvre Abu Dhabi is already complete. All that remains is the small matter of delivering the more tangible parts of what will be one of the early 21st century's most anticipated architectural projects.

The United Arab Emirates government has announced plans to build the world's biggest gate in its capital, following the tradition established by the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, and the world's tallest residential building, Princess Tower. The Khalifa in World Languages project, carried out by the Sultan Bin Zayed's Culture and Media Centre, will be launched on December 2 and dedicated to the President, Sheikh Khalifa. Featuring the 25-metre-tall gate, it will also include a printed encyclopedia, a specially commissioned operetta and a website. Work started months ago but was only confirmed on September 3 by the state news agency Wam, which reported the project had been approved by Guinness World Records. The encyclopaedia will include every world flag and more than 250 translations of the President's name. The website will include a biography of Sheikh Khalifa in various languages and a history of the UAE. But Abu Dhabi might have a challenger. A gate-shaped tower is under construction in Suzhou, China. The Oriental Gate is 301.8 meters high and has 69 stories. The construction started in September 2004 and was designed by British RMJM based on the ancient city gate of Suzhou for hotel, office, retail and accommodation space. After opening the Oriental Gate will be the largest gate-shaped building and also dubbed "the No 1 Gate in the world". But more and more critics finding that the new Chinese Gate much more likes "long underpants", therefore the Abu Dhabi's is a really Gate shaped.

Suhail Mohammed Suleiman's proposal for a sustainable mosque to be built in Abu Dhabi has been given the green light, reported The inhabitat. While construction is not confirmed, the eco-mosque would be a symbol of the region's commitment to sustainable development. Powered with solar panels and planted with a green roof, the proposed structure would boast many green features, including a system that captures and recycles the run off from ritual washing in order to help irrigate the landscaped surroundings. The 23-year-old ALHOSN University graduate began working on the project while undertaking internships, and since completing the proposal it has been awarded a Five Pearl Rating from the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council. This, says Alhosn University's website, is acknowledged under the Estidama sustainability framework. The structure is crowned with a set of two crescent-topped spires that point towards Mecca, and is accompanied by an adjacent Islamic Center. Suleiman hopes the mosque will be constructed on Saadiyat Island, where the green design would join the Abu Dhabi Guggenheim and Louvre museums that are set to open by 2017.