The colourful glass fins that adorn the façade of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority’s (Dewa) new Research and Development Centre and the vaulting skylight of the NESR Oilfield Research & Innovation (Nori) Centre in Saudi Arabia serve much more than an aesthetic purpose.

Technal, a brand of Norsk Hydro – the Norwegian group whose business focuses on aluminium extrusions – says its newly launched aluminium system for designing building envelopes offers multiple creative options, accommodates large glazing units and has the lowest environmental impact.