Lighthouse

Client: DIFC
Project Description: Low-carbon commercial tower with lighting features that accommodates offices, retail, convention centers and car parks.
Location: Dubai, UAE
Architect: Atkins ME

Finally Dubai started thinking green. This is the first environmentally friendly building in Dubai and will be a prototype for future low carbon developments in the region. This commercial office building will be 400m high with 66 storeys. Part of te southern facade will be covered with 4000 PV panels and will have 3 29m diameter, 225 KV wind turbines at the top of the building (much better than having them centimeters away from your office like the BWTC)...

The building will incorporate passive solar systems as well as low energy, low water engineering solutions. Materials will be selected carefully from sustainable sources leading designer to consider steel frame structure as a solution. Vertical gardens and micro-atria are being considered to enhance social aspects of the building and improve the interior qualities.

The lighting feature is important to the client because the building is aimed to be a new landmark with something special that will make it stand out at night, hence the idea of the lighthouse.

The commercial building aims to reduce its total energy consumption up to 65% and water consumption up to 40%... beating BWTC's 15% energy reduction. The project is still in its concept design and the good thing is that the client is involved in the design process because of their sincere interests in achieving a real environmentally friendly building... I just hope that more wealthy developers catch up with this trend.