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
| Jul 17, 2013
Retail store openings at five-year high
Analysis by RBC Capital Markets shows that U.S. retailers are planning to open 42,757 stores over the next 12 months, and some 83,700 locations over the next two years, both five-year highs.
| Jul 16, 2013
As the U.S. economy sputters back to life, contractors wait for the green light on projects [2013 Giants 300 Report]
There are enough positive indictors in the economy to justify greenlighting projects, but building owners and developers remain reluctant to pull the trigger.
| Jul 16, 2013
Robotics: A new way to demolish buildings
A robot prototype uses water jets to break up concrete structures and then sucks up the water and debris for reuse and recycling.
| Jul 15, 2013
Mergers and acquisitions transform engineering sector [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Merger and acquisition deals by MEP, commissioning, structural, and specialty engineering firms were up 14% nationwide in 2012 compared with 2011.
| Jul 15, 2013
Top Engineering/Architecture Firms [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Jacobs, AECOM, Parsons Brinckerhoff top Building Design+Construction's 2013 ranking of the largest engineering/architecture firms in the United States.
| Jul 15, 2013
Top Architecture/Engineering Firms [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Stantec, HOK, HDR top Building Design+Construction's 2013 ranking of the largest architecture/engineering firms in the United States.
| Jul 15, 2013
Top Architecture Firms [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Gensler, Perkins+Will, NBBJ top Building Design+Construction's 2013 ranking of the largest architecture firms in the United States.
| Jul 15, 2013
Zaha Hadid unveils plan for boutique condo development in New York
Related Companies taps the London-based architect for the 11-story 520 West 28th Street residential development adjacent to the High Line in Chelsea.
| Jul 12, 2013
12 award-winning healthcare projects [slideshow]
AIA's Academy of Architecture for Health announced the recipients of the 2013 AIA National Healthcare Design Awards.