The Strata Tower, a forty-story, luxury residential building designed by architects Hani Rashid and Lise Anne Couture of Asymptote, has broken ground on Al Raha Beach and is now under construction. The tower is scheduled for completion in early 2011 and, at a height of 160 meters, will be the tallest building in the Al Dana precinct, the centerpiece of Aldar Properties PJSC’s prestigious Al Raha Beach development. The project and development will be showcased at Cityscape Abu Dhabi from May 13–15, 2008. The landmark Strata Tower is designed to signify a dignified and important future for Abu Dhabi and the region.
As a signature architectural statement, the Strata Tower’s articulate, striking physical presence seeks to encapsulate meaning through the use of abstract form drawn from both local cultural landscapes and motifs and dynamic forces of global influence. The Strata Tower’s design utilizes primarily mathematical means in its design to achieve both a poetic, as well as highly pertinent, architecture for the UAE, a region in flux with ambitions for continued rapid growth.
The Strata Tower’s innovative form was created using state-of-the-art, advanced parametric modeling tools and techniques from the onset of the design process to the production phase. The building’s design emerged from various influences and factors including economies of production and fabrication with special consideration given to environmental sustainability. Sophisticated computer modeling and tools were utilized to produce the building’s intelligent, environmentally responsive louver system that is held in a unique, cantilevered exoskeleton structure. The exoskeleton veils the entire tower in a shimmering curvilinear form set against Abu Dhabi’s surrounding desert and sea, embracing and reflecting the ever-changing light and atmospheres that enfold and contain it.
As architecture the Strata Tower resists being an overt, singular gesture reliant on a set meaning or association. Rather, the mathematical properties used, not unlike those in the manifestation of the arabesque or abstract calligraphy, give the building its supreme elegance, prominence and potential for meaning and significance.
U.S. design firm profiles $720 million sustainable Qatar Education City Convention Center at Cityscape Abu Dhabi.
Leading architects and engineers, Yamasaki, will provide a sneak peek of one of the largest purpose built convention centres in the Middle East at Cityscape Abu Dhabi today.
The 79,000 sq m architectural showpiece in Qatar’s Education City, due for completion next year, will cater to 7,000 delegates. Designed to meet and exceed world-class standards the center will feature 10 conference and performance venues, including a 4,000 seat conference hall and a 2,500 seat theatre.
The stunning design of the convention centre is centered on a steel replica of the Sidra tree. An icon in Qatari history and culture, the Sidra tree is the symbol for Qatar Foundation which seeks to be a ‘haven of learning’ for Qatar and the region. As well as hosting conferences and exhibitions, the centre will also be a venue for local and international music and arts festivals.
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Not too long after Skidmore, Owings & Merrill announced the world’s greenest office building, Adrian Smith + Gordon Architecture have unveiled what is to be not only one of the biggest buildings in the world, but also the largest mixed-use energy positive building. The 1.4 million square foot headquarters is part of the massive $22 billion zero waste, zero carbon Masdar City Development in Abu Dhabi.
