In Baku, Azerbaijan, the Ministry of Taxes is a 475,000-square-foot signature structure that provides the ministry with a new headquarters to house its operations. The 31-story tower embraces the essence of Baku, the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, and is one of the tallest structures on Heydar Aliyev Avenue, the city’s major ceremonial boulevard. The tower establishes a memorable presence for the ministry on the skyline with a distinctive spiraling design that marks an important bend in the Avenue while optimizing solar orientation and views to Baku’s city center and the Caspian Sea beyond. Its design was guided by cultural responses, sustainable concerns, and its pivotal location.
Five cube forms rotate and taper upwards to form the tower, which rests on a podium base. Each stacked cube is independently cantilevered from a circular central core, and each volume is capped by a column-free green roof terrace that provides distinct separation from the next cube. Floors are rotated 1.2 degrees with respect to the floor below to create a smooth spiraling curve up the tower, gradually tapering and rotating a total of 36 degrees from base to top to optimize solar orientation and achieve ambitious energy efficiency goals.
The Ministry of Taxes features a complex range of programming. The podium base includes an auditorium, conference rooms, a cafeteria, a restaurant and a fitness club. The tower’s unique design of stacked volumes defines its office and lounge spaces, with each of the lower four cubes housing five floors of office space, and the top cube housing private guest suites for visiting dignitaries and a formal restaurant. Green spaces between volumes promote access to the outdoors, fresh air, and social spaces for employees and visitors, while above, the tower is topped by an observation deck and rooftop garden with dramatic views of Baku.
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