Architecture studio Weston Williamson + Partners have triumphed in an international design competition to create a Science City for Egypt.

The Bibliotheca Alexandrina – a major library and cultural centre – organised the single phase, open contest to receive conceptual designs for a 125,000sq m (1.35m sq ft) complex designed to promote scientific knowledge to the public.

Malaysian studio Ngiom Partnership came second with Zaha Hadid Architects finishing third.

The Science City will be built in the desert in a new town on the western edge of the Egyptian capital called “6th of October City”. The complex will house interactive science exhibitions, a museum, a planetarium, an observation tower, research and development facilities, workshops, plus a conference centre. It will be the first 21st century science museum, learning and research facility in Egypt.

The brief called for “a set of buildings and spaces that must be inspiring on the outside and motivating and exciting on the inside to visitors and employees alike.” In total 446 contestants entered the competition.

The design submitted by Weston Williamson + Partners features a series of futuristic white dishes sheltering the facilities and one leaning tower densely clustered together and surrounded by desert.

Studio co-founder Chris Williamson said: “Needless to say that Egypt has a unique cultural heritage, but we were also attracted by the ambition of the project, clearly expressed through the brief. We look forward to developing the design and creating something worthy for Egypt’s future generations.”

We have won 1st prize for the Cairo Science City International Architectural Competition! https://t.co/lKXOQNjyxc

— WW+P (@WW_Architecture) August 30, 2016