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

| May 24, 2012

2012 Reconstruction Awards Entry Form

Download a PDF of the Entry Form at the bottom of this page.

| May 24, 2012

Gilbane’s Spring 2012 economic report identifies multiple positive economic and market factors

Anticipating increasing escalation in owner costs through 2014.

| May 24, 2012

Construction backlog declines 5.4% in the first quarter of 2012?

The nation’s nonresidential construction activity will remain soft during the summer months, with flat to declining nonresidential construction spending.

| May 24, 2012

Stellar completes St. Mark’s Episcopal Church and Day School renovation and expansion

The project united the school campus and church campus including a 1,200-sf chapel expansion, a new 10,000-sf commons building, 7,400-sf of new covered walkways, and a drop-off pavilion.

| May 23, 2012

MBI Modular Construction Campus Launched on BDCUniversity.com

White Papers, Case Studies, Industry Annual Reports, published articles and more are offered.

| May 23, 2012

Gifford joins Perkins Eastman as principal

Design and planning expertise in science, technology, education, and healthcare.

| May 23, 2012

McRitchie joins McCarthy Building as VP, commercial services in southern California

McRitchie brings more than 18 years of experience in the California construction marketplace.

| May 23, 2012

Arizona Army National Guard Readiness Center awarded LEED Silver

LEED certification of the AZ ARNG Readiness Center was based on a number of green design and construction features SAIC implemented that positively impacted the project and the broader community.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category



Urban Planning

The magic of L.A.’s Melrose Mile

Great streets are generally not initially curated or willed into being. Rather, they emerge organically from unintentional synergies of commercial, business, cultural and economic drivers. L.A.’s Melrose Avenue is a prime example. 


Curtain Wall

7 steps to investigating curtain wall leaks

It is common for significant curtain wall leakage to involve multiple variables. Therefore, a comprehensive multi-faceted investigation is required to determine the origin of leakage, according to building enclosure consultants Richard Aeck and John A. Rudisill with Rimkus. 

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