INTELLIGENT BUILDING SKIN
4.1.2. AL BAHAR TOWERS, ABU DHABI Architect: Aedas architects Year of construction: 2009-2012 Floors: 27 + 2 basement Floor area: 56.000 m² Location: Abu Dhabi, United Arab emirates Climate: hot and dry climate, and highest temperature: 50 Degree Celsius The city has intensive sunshine all year long with fewer chances of rain. In such extreme weather, environmental design is that the priority on the planning agenda.
CONCEPT • The design concept is based on the fusion between bio-inspiration, regional architecture, and performance-based technology. • Circles and orbits are used to reflect the concept of unification and unity evident in nature. The design principle is to realize a performance-oriented, culturally relevant, technologically advanced, and aesthetically intriguing building. Planning is based on six tangential arcs, taken from three intersecting circles; a pattern which forms the basis of nearly all geometric configurations known to the region. The design for the project began with two simple cylinders because the circular plan giving the foremost efficient floor area usage while also creating the best volume with the smallest amount surface area which can highly reduce the sun exposure area.
An integrated building model consisting of both the geometry of the building and the mashrabiya shading devices Figure 22 : Building layering model 23
