flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Goettsch Partners designs new tower in Abu Dhabi

Goettsch Partners designs new tower in Abu Dhabi

Al Hilal Bank’s 24-story flagship development provides contemporary office space.


By Posted by Tim Gregorski, Senior Editor | September 7, 2012
The 24-story tower totals 87,570 square meters overall, including 49,110 square
The 24-story tower totals 87,570 square meters overall, including 49,110 square meters of office and retail space.

Architecture firm Goettsch Partners (GP) designed the flagship commercial development for Al Hilal Bank in the heart of Abu Dhabi’s Al Maryah Island, formerly known as Sowwah Island. The new office tower is located in the Emirate’s developing new central business district, with direct access to three main island roads and the nearby Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, Sowwah Square, the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange headquarters, and the Rosewood Abu Dhabi hotel.

The 24-story tower totals 87,570 square meters overall, including 49,110 square meters of office and retail space, and 1,000 parking spaces for tenants and visitors. The building will be serviced by a multi-tiered transportation infrastructure, which includes a planned light rail station.

The podium contains a retail banking facility as well as a dramatic three-story transparent lobby to the north, with pedestrian arcades on the east and west. Three cubical masses sit atop the podium, stacked like shifted blocks. Designed to set the building apart from other towers on Al Maryah Island while also providing optimally efficient, column-free spaces within, these forms derive their interest from a “push-and-pull” effect at the corners. In addition, the building’s façade changes at the created voids to accentuate the shifted aesthetic. The façade consists of an aluminum-and-glass curtain wall system with glass and notched metal-spandrel elements and vertical glass fins that enhance the building’s verticality while also providing shading.

A landscaped park and reflecting pool along the building’s western façade will draw traffic to the retail and main building entry by creating an inviting, shaded urban space. Café seating for tenants and visitors will further help activate the setting. Completion of the development is scheduled for the last quarter of 2013. +

Related Stories

Museums | Oct 20, 2015

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Bachman Wilson House finds new home at Arkansas museum

Crystal Bridges Museum reconstructed the 61-year-old Usonian house and will open it to the public in November.

Architects | Oct 20, 2015

Four building material innovations from the Chicago Architecture Biennial

From lightweight wooden pallets to the largest lengths of CLT-slabs that can be shipped across North America

University Buildings | Oct 16, 2015

5 ways architecture defines the university brand

People gravitate to brands for many reasons. Campus architecture and landscape are fundamental influences on the college brand, writes Perkins+Will's David Damon.

Architects | Oct 13, 2015

Architects Foundation expands National Resilience Initiative

The group is launching a search for three more NRI members.

Architects | Oct 13, 2015

Santiago Calatrava wins the European Prize for Architecture

The award honors those who "forward the principles of European humanism."

Office Buildings | Oct 5, 2015

Renderings revealed for Apple's second 'spaceship': a curvy, lush office complex in Sunnyvale

The project has been dubbed as another “spaceship,” referencing the nickname for the loop-shaped Apple Campus under construction in Cupertino. 

Airports | Oct 5, 2015

Perkins+Will selected to design Istanbul’s 'Airport City'

The mixed-use development will be adjacent to the Istanbul New Airport, which is currently under construction.

High-rise Construction | Oct 5, 2015

Zaha Hadid designs cylindrical office building with world’s tallest atrium

The 200-meter-high open space will cut the building in two.

Architects | Oct 2, 2015

Herzog & de Meuron unveils design for Vancouver Art Gallery expansion

The blocky, seven-story wood and concrete structure is wider in the middle and uppermost floors.  

Airports | Sep 30, 2015

Takeoff! 5 ways high-flyin' airports are designing for rapid growth

Nimble designs, and technology that humanizes the passenger experience, are letting airports concentrate on providing service and generating revenue.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category


Urban Planning

Bridging the gap: How early architect involvement can revolutionize a city’s capital improvement plans

Capital Improvement Plans (CIPs) typically span three to five years and outline future city projects and their costs. While they set the stage, the design and construction of these projects often extend beyond the CIP window, leading to a disconnect between the initial budget and evolving project scope. This can result in financial shortfalls, forcing cities to cut back on critical project features.



Libraries

Reasons to reinvent the Midcentury academic library

DLR Group's Interior Design Leader Gretchen Holy, Assoc. IIDA, shares the idea that a designer's responsibility to embrace a library’s history, respect its past, and create an environment that will serve student populations for the next 100 years.

halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021