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Guardian Towers
Guardian Towers
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Guardian Towers
Type
YEAR
2011
SIZE
1,000,000 +
BUDGET
$100M +
Guardian Towers, Abu Dhabi is a mixed-use
complex of an 18-storey residential tower, 18-storey commercial office tower
and 2-level retail podium.
The project sets these two mid-rise blocks
in an off-set relationship, allowing for slipped views and adjacent vistas. The
blocks undergo a process of slicing, shift and slight rotation, breaking the
static tradition of extruded, rectangular tower blocks. In doing so, the
project provides a more dynamic and more elaborate development of the façade in
relation to building form and in relation to the whole ensemble. Part of a
large new real estate development with more than 35 towers (next to more than a
dozen existing blocks), this strategy provides the project with specific
development logic.
The project is effectively two plots that
have been joined to form a communal ensemble. Guardian Towers accommodates
these different uses with a coherence that helps it read as a single project,
and yet also allows for the different occupancies to read through, particularly
in the facades. The residential tower is linear and extended, providing for
balconies and apartment views, while the office block is compressed, with
efficient floor plates.
The project was achieved by collaboration
between LAB Architecture Studio and the local architects, ERGA-Progress,
working in tandem with other consultants and specialist inputs. This included
extensive testing and visualisation of the facades and fritted glazing to
evaluate the internal and external consequences of these types of façade.
The double-skin façade for the residential
tower was a response to the Abu Dhabi climate, with extreme heat and humidity
during summer, but more moderate temperatures during winter and spring. The
open slots – as well as open balconies of the residential façade – allow for
the glazed and fritted glass of the external skin to modify and ameliorate the
direct solar gain, with the recessed windows and balcony doors partially
protected from direct solar penetration. The gradient fritting on the office
façade allows the offices to retain floor to ceiling glazing to all offices,
but with only partial transparency to the window-wall – again restricting the
over-all solar gain to the offices.
For all of the apparent complexity of the massing
and facades, with shifted, off-set and tilted surfaces, the structural plan of
both towers follows a very simple and economical column grid. The manipulated
facades are a consequence of the judicious use of nominal cantilevers, easily
constructed and with no structural gymnastics. The project was delivered 2
months early and with considerable savings, and is now fully occupied for both
the residential and office towers.
The ground floor and podium includes retail
and food and beverage tenancies. The café/restaurant on the north side of the
office tower is very successful, allowing Guardian Towers to create a sense of
destination and social interaction for the occupants of the two towers, as well
as for many of the existing and recent towers within the immediate precinct.
The ambiance and shaded forecourt of the north side allows for a unique zone of
urban relaxation and conversation.
complex of an 18-storey residential tower, 18-storey commercial office tower
and 2-level retail podium.
The project sets these two mid-rise blocks
in an off-set relationship, allowing for slipped views and adjacent vistas. The
blocks undergo a process of slicing, shift and slight rotation, breaking the
static tradition of extruded, rectangular tower blocks. In doing so, the
project provides a more dynamic and more elaborate development of the façade in
relation to building form and in relation to the whole ensemble. Part of a
large new real estate development with more than 35 towers (next to more than a
dozen existing blocks), this strategy provides the project with specific
development logic.
The project is effectively two plots that
have been joined to form a communal ensemble. Guardian Towers accommodates
these different uses with a coherence that helps it read as a single project,
and yet also allows for the different occupancies to read through, particularly
in the facades. The residential tower is linear and extended, providing for
balconies and apartment views, while the office block is compressed, with
efficient floor plates.
The project was achieved by collaboration
between LAB Architecture Studio and the local architects, ERGA-Progress,
working in tandem with other consultants and specialist inputs. This included
extensive testing and visualisation of the facades and fritted glazing to
evaluate the internal and external consequences of these types of façade.
The double-skin façade for the residential
tower was a response to the Abu Dhabi climate, with extreme heat and humidity
during summer, but more moderate temperatures during winter and spring. The
open slots – as well as open balconies of the residential façade – allow for
the glazed and fritted glass of the external skin to modify and ameliorate the
direct solar gain, with the recessed windows and balcony doors partially
protected from direct solar penetration. The gradient fritting on the office
façade allows the offices to retain floor to ceiling glazing to all offices,
but with only partial transparency to the window-wall – again restricting the
over-all solar gain to the offices.
For all of the apparent complexity of the massing
and facades, with shifted, off-set and tilted surfaces, the structural plan of
both towers follows a very simple and economical column grid. The manipulated
facades are a consequence of the judicious use of nominal cantilevers, easily
constructed and with no structural gymnastics. The project was delivered 2
months early and with considerable savings, and is now fully occupied for both
the residential and office towers.
The ground floor and podium includes retail
and food and beverage tenancies. The café/restaurant on the north side of the
office tower is very successful, allowing Guardian Towers to create a sense of
destination and social interaction for the occupants of the two towers, as well
as for many of the existing and recent towers within the immediate precinct.
The ambiance and shaded forecourt of the north side allows for a unique zone of
urban relaxation and conversation.
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