Global firm Wiel Arets Architects revealed its plans for a 558-foot tower in Manama, Bahrain. According to ArchDaily, the tower will be called Bahrain Bay Tower, and will consist of two residential towers connected “by a plinth of retail, office, parking, and public park space.”
Housing options in the residential sections range from one- to three-bedroom units. Throughout the two towers, glazed and operable windows allow access to light and air in each living space.
"Due to the extensive amounts of glazing on the tower’s façade, a panel-like system of sliding aluminum louvers serves as an additional layer of privacy and shading—in tandem with the façade’s treated glass, and the covered exterior terraces,” the firm explains in a release. “Together, these elements protect the tower’s interior from passive solar gain, while the louvers lend to the tower, an ever changing and thus chameleon-like appearance, due to the reflections they catch from direct sunlight."
The ground floor is designed to be publicly accessible, composed mostly of retail and public lobby space.
About the ground level design, the firm says: "Due to a division of these ground floor spaces, along the site’s southern edge, a breezeway was created that allows the public to traverse the tower’s entire site—without entering its interior—which serves to infuse the tower’s immediate context with pedestrian life. In this way, the ground level frontages of the tower’s retail spaces are maximized."
Related Stories
| Oct 7, 2013
10 award-winning metal building projects
The FDNY Fireboat Firehouse in New York and the Cirrus Logic Building in Austin, Texas, are among nine projects named winners of the 2013 Chairman’s Award by the Metal Construction Association for outstanding design and construction.
| Oct 7, 2013
Reimagining the metal shipping container
With origins tracing back to the mid-1950s, the modern metal shipping container continues to serve as a secure, practical vessel for transporting valuable materials. However, these reusable steel boxes have recently garnered considerable attention from architects and constructors as attractive building materials.
| Oct 4, 2013
Sydney to get world's tallest 'living' façade
The One Central Park Tower development consists of two, 380-foot-tall towers covered in a series of living walls and vertical gardens that will extend the full height of the buildings.
| Oct 4, 2013
Mack Urban, AECOM acquire six acres for development in LA's South Park district
Mack Urban and AECOM Capital, the investment fund of AECOM Technology Corporation (NYSE: ACM), have acquired six acres of land in downtown Los Angeles’ South Park district located in the central business district (CBD).
| Sep 24, 2013
8 grand green roofs (and walls)
A dramatic interior green wall at Drexel University and a massive, 4.4-acre vegetated roof at the Kauffman Performing Arts Center in Kansas City are among the projects honored in the 2013 Green Roof and Wall Awards of Excellence.
| Sep 23, 2013
Six-acre Essex Crossing development set to transform vacant New York property
A six-acre parcel on the Lower East Side of New York City, vacant since tenements were torn down in 1967, will be the site of the new Essex Crossing mixed-use development. The product of a compromise between Mayor Michael Bloomberg and various interested community groups, the complex will include ~1,000 apartments.
| Sep 20, 2013
August housing starts reveal multifamily still healthy but single-family stagnating
Peter Muoio, Ph.D., senior principal and economist with Auction.com Research, says the Census Bureau's August Housing Starts data released yesterday hints at improvements in the single-family sector with multifamily slowing down.
| Sep 19, 2013
What we can learn from the world’s greenest buildings
Renowned green building author, Jerry Yudelson, offers five valuable lessons for designers, contractors, and building owners, based on a study of 55 high-performance projects from around the world.
| Sep 19, 2013
6 emerging energy-management glazing technologies
Phase-change materials, electrochromic glass, and building-integrated PVs are among the breakthrough glazing technologies that are taking energy performance to a new level.
| Sep 19, 2013
Roof renovation tips: Making the choice between overlayment and tear-off
When embarking upon a roofing renovation project, one of the first decisions for the Building Team is whether to tear off and replace the existing roof or to overlay the new roof right on top of the old one. Roofing experts offer guidance on making this assessment.
