Dubai Competition

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Dubai Competition

Firm

Nicholson Architects

Type

Government + Health › Community Center

At the top level of the Tall Emblematic Structure for Dubai City one can continuously stroll about a circular air conditioned observation deck while viewing the city below or choose to descend into a garden oasis in the center of the platform which is further cooled by a system of waterfalls, all suspended beneath the sky at 130 meters above ground level.From a distance the tall emblematic structure with its glittering tiling of photovoltaic cells arranged geometrically recalls the once coveted tilery tradition of ancient Arabia and the spinning turbine helix's capturing the wind energy, signifies the relationship of Mankind respecting its place on Earth as the shepherd of the Machine that can assist in creating a more clean and beautiful world.Such is the potential of this design. I tis a suspension structure where all the necessary spaces, including the children's library, the conference rooms, the restaurant and observation level platforms are suspended from a single stainless steel cable and then secured to the vertical mast which house the elevators, stairs, sanitary and mechanical services.The stainless steel suspension cable reduces the need for structural members and therefore, increases horizon to horizon viewing possibilities everywhere and on every level, thus creating free space about it and beneath. For instance, in eliminating supporting walls on the restaurant level, seating is an open floor plan where dining can be free to the view in every direction or be divided off for more private situations with moveable partition walls like dividing curtains in a Bedouin tent. This openness, is especially so at ground level in the Entry Plaza, where under the shadow of the Children's Library (20 meters above,) the existing landscapinghas been maintained but embellished with the introduction of a new Fountain and pond with a water cascade that streams downhill toward the existing lake.The ground plane of the existing park is left open and unobstructed and it is a place to sit and view the tall Tower from below as it reflects the landscaping and water back to the viewer by mirrored stainless steel soffits incorporated into all the levels above. The region's weather with its omnipresent Sun and seasonal Winds are a source of
potential energy that will be harvested via Thin Film Solar Panels on the South side of the
vertical Mast and by Wind Turbines aligned vertically along the stainless steel suspension cable.
This continual collecting of available resources provides for the sustainability of the building
rather than it being a burden on the environment. Here then for your consideration is something different under the Sun. A building that
aspires to embrace Dubai's forward looking culture while evoking beautiful embellishments from
Man's architectural past. It is designed to be a structure that is sustainable and sustaining of the
human spirit.