wasl Tower is set to reach its full height of 300 m and will soon don a one-of-its kind mantle of ceramic tiles which will give it a distinctive appearance on Dubai’s highly prominent Sheikh Zayed Road.

01 December 2020

A slender 300-m-tall skyscraper will soon reach its full height on Dubai’s Sheikh Zayed Road, on its way to boasting one of the world’s tallest ceramic facades.

wasl Tower is strategically positioned along the emirate’s main thoroughfare. Framed by the world’s tallest tower Burj Khalifa and the new City Walk Development, the high-rise acts as the point of convergence between these two key Dubai locations.

Amidst Dubai’s towering glass-clad structures, the distinctive high-rise is destined to act as a benchmark for both the region and for the developer wasl Development Group itself, ushering a new generation of ceramic-clad buildings. The design of this striking tower was assigned to the Dutch architectural practice UNStudio, in collaboration with German structural engineering consultant Werner Sobek.

The project is going full steam ahead, UNStudio tells Gulf Construction. The design studio, which has a team with an office on site, indicates that wasl Tower is “set to reach its highest point very soon”.

This new genre of towers will be cloaked with gentle ceramic features. In consultation with the client, clay was chosen as a basic material, and as such the facade fins will be manufactured as low-tech glazed ceramic elements.

According to UNStudio, wasl Tower will be “a regional touchstone for adaptability and sustainability”.  Its capacity to acclimatise to local temperatures through shading and cooling techniques sets this building apart within the hot desert climate. Its design aesthetic and ‘contrapposto’ structure revolves around ‘Figures in Motion’ and references the interconnectivity of Dubai’s complex and thorough infrastructure. This adaptable, multipurpose addition to the emirate’s skyline reflects mobility, establishes sustainability and provides opportunity, the designer adds.

Adopting a classic ‘contrapposto’ movement, the mixed-use tower faces in almost every direction and offers public areas high up in the building.

UNStudio is the lead consultant, lead architect, architect, interior design residential on the project.

Ben van Berkel, Founder and Principal Architect of UNStudio, remarks: “As the project strongly relates to and interconnects with Dubai’s urban experience, the aim is to make a visit to the wasl Tower as attractive and contemporary as possible. As such, a dedicated concept of health, comfort and well-being throughout was developed for the building.”

UNStudio’s design is closely interlinked with the engineering and sustainability concept developed by Werner Sobek. This close cooperation defines scale, light, building physics and materialisation. In addition, smart access, communication and security provide a seamless technological base which is integrated with the architecture. Clean materials, interactive light levels, in addition to good acoustics are implemented in all spaces throughout the building.

The geometry of the tower achieved its holistic appearance by means of innovative parametric design and high-tech engineering. The available sustainable measures required in the broader region have been seamlessly implemented into the design.

On the façade, a fine lace of inclined fins over the basic skin literally veils the geometry and provides the required ‘closed’ surfaces. These fins not only provide shade but also reflect daylight deep into the tower’s interior. The direction of the fins (12.8 degrees), as well as the dimensions and materialisation, have all been developed using the parametric data from the design model. This holistic facade is decorated with autonomously generated light patterns that breathes with the rhythm of the city, says UNStudio.

 

Vertical Boulevard

The open seam that runs the full height of the tower forms a ‘vertical boulevard’, which is topped by infinity pools on the roof of the tower. This seam is created by a stacking of outdoor balconies and forms a green vein which also affords a glimpse of the interior of the building. The boulevard connects the outdoor with the indoor and is a unique feature for the region.

By day, the ceramic elements of the façade creates a natural cooling system through heat loss and shading techniques.

By night, the facade lighting, designed by Arup and housed behind ceramic fins, is programmed to breathe with the rhythm of this 24-hour metropolis while providing a visual connection to the city. This facade lighting is powered by the energy cube photovoltaic (PV) panels located on the car-park building.

The interior of the tower is equally sustainable. The mixed-use programme, comprising offices, guest rooms, public areas and apartments, presented a challenging core configuration. A smart structural concept – with three 300-m-high shear walls in the core that connect four large outriggers on strategic levels – gives the tower an almost free, highly efficient floorplate.

Meanwhile, a vertical transport strategy is implemented to facilitate separate access to the various components of the mixed-use tower. Three high-speed express lifts connect the four main lobbies (ground/spa/sky and rooftop) which contain most of the public programme and the main access for the hotel (at 150 m). Four office and four guestroom lifts share the same lift shaft, while the residential apartments on the higher levels have their own designated lift-group, making direct access via the basement parking possible. In total, the building provides 17 lifts, of which five are service elevators.

The tower is supported by a low-rise car-park building which, uniquely, also houses a large, column-free ballroom on the first floor. Programming this element in this location provided the advantage that the ground floor lobby now spans the full premises and creates a ‘walled’ garden, providing shade and cooling, even during the summer months.

Mandarin Oriental, one of the world’s top hospitality brands, will operate the full building and will establish its MO@Dubai hotel here, with 250-plus luxury five-star guest rooms.

• Tall ceramic-clad wonder
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