Al Hamra Tower
Encyclopedia
The Al Hamra Tower is a topped out skyscraper
in downtown Kuwait City
, Kuwait
. Designed by architectural firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill
, the tower is the tallest building in Kuwait on completion in 2011 at 412.6 m (1,353.7 ft). It will also be the tallest sculpted tower in the world.
The tower will include 195000 m² (2,098,962.5 sq ft) of commercial and office space. The building will connect to a five-story retail mall which totals 23000 m² (247,569.9 sq ft) of retail space and will include an integrated theater complex and an 11-story carpark
. The tower itself will be built on an 18000 m² (193,750.4 sq ft) construction site.
The Al Hamra Tower will have over 70 floors of office space, a rooftop restaurant and a spa. The shopping center will include a 10-screen cinema
complex which will also have IMAX
theaters.
Turner Construction
is in charge of the tower's construction.
The tower is due to open in 2011.
Conventional wisdom has held that skyscrapers must be symmetrical in design or risk collapse. But the Kuwaitis are trying to dispel that theory by constructing the first skyscraper with a 100% asymmetrical exterior. Al Hamra is a tower whose innovative design includes a facade with a 130-degree sweeping turn and two fins that sprout from the top and bottom of the structure in opposite directions. In a construction first, they will attempt to build the upper-most flared wall a seven-story structure that juts out 45 m from the building while suspended a quarter of a mile in the air.
It consists of two ‘wings’ which are connected by a sky bridge on each floor providing what is promised to be ‘dramatic views’.
The building isn't only aesthetic; it also serves a practical form. The twisting shape ensures optimum views, while the opposite stone clad wall acts a protective skin from the desert sun where temperatures top 55 degrees. The 80 story tall concrete wall insulates the building.
The south wall conceived as a tall protective stone element, forms the structural spine of the building and contains a sky bridge connecting the east and west office wings on each floor. The sky bridges present a unique spatial experience with deeply sculpted openings in the south.
Strategically located south wall openings allow for dramatic views towards the city, and the infinite desert beyond, while controlling the strong solar radiation from south.
On the ground floor, Al Hamra's transparent north façade opens up and welcomes tenants with a soaring 20m-tall highly articulated lamella structure inside the lobby. The geometry of the lobby area is generated by applying the principles of lamella structures.
The continuous structure acts as a completely integrated strengthening component in the lobby, while creating a dramatic lobby experience for Al Hamra's visitors.
Steel is the material of choice for most modern skyscrapers. But to deliver the molded sculpture of Al Hamra, they needed a more malleable material. They chose concrete. One of their biggest challenges was pumping 500,000 tons of concrete a quarter mile vertically.
Al Hamra will be the tallest stone clad structure on earth. Covered with 258,000 square meters of limestone, enough to tile NYC's Central Park
. While engineers were planning the building's construction they expressed concern to the architect that the flared walls could collapse under the load of the limestone. Unwilling to change their aesthetic, the two sides met in the middle. The solution: to install limestone tiles on the lower floors and a mesh tile covered with crushed limestone on the higher floor, achieving the same look, but with a fraction of the weight. The amount of materials used was:
Skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...
in downtown Kuwait City
Kuwait City
-Suburbs:Although the districts below are not usually recognized as suburbs, the following is a list of a few areas surrounding Kuwait city:Al-Salam ""السلام"" -Economy:...
, Kuwait
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
. Designed by architectural firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill
Skidmore, Owings and Merrill
Skidmore, Owings and Merrill LLP is an American architectural and engineering firm that was formed in Chicago in 1936 by Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel Owings; in 1939 they were joined by John O. Merrill. They opened their first branch in New York City, New York in 1937. SOM is one of the largest...
, the tower is the tallest building in Kuwait on completion in 2011 at 412.6 m (1,353.7 ft). It will also be the tallest sculpted tower in the world.
The tower will include 195000 m² (2,098,962.5 sq ft) of commercial and office space. The building will connect to a five-story retail mall which totals 23000 m² (247,569.9 sq ft) of retail space and will include an integrated theater complex and an 11-story carpark
Parking lot
A parking lot , also known as car lot, is a cleared area that is intended for parking vehicles. Usually, the term refers to a dedicated area that has been provided with a durable or semi-durable surface....
. The tower itself will be built on an 18000 m² (193,750.4 sq ft) construction site.
The Al Hamra Tower will have over 70 floors of office space, a rooftop restaurant and a spa. The shopping center will include a 10-screen cinema
Movie theater
A movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....
complex which will also have IMAX
IMAX
IMAX is a motion picture film format and a set of proprietary cinema projection standards created by the Canadian company IMAX Corporation. IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...
theaters.
Turner Construction
Turner Construction
Turner Construction Company is one of the largest construction management companies in the United States with a construction volume of $8 billion in 2010. It is a subsidiary of HOCHTIEF Germany.-The early years:...
is in charge of the tower's construction.
The tower is due to open in 2011.
Conception
Behbehani United General Trading Co, Kuwait, the Leica Geosystems partner in Kuwait, received on 3 May 2007 an Order for delivering the Leica Core Wall Survey Control System for the Al Hamra project.Conventional wisdom has held that skyscrapers must be symmetrical in design or risk collapse. But the Kuwaitis are trying to dispel that theory by constructing the first skyscraper with a 100% asymmetrical exterior. Al Hamra is a tower whose innovative design includes a facade with a 130-degree sweeping turn and two fins that sprout from the top and bottom of the structure in opposite directions. In a construction first, they will attempt to build the upper-most flared wall a seven-story structure that juts out 45 m from the building while suspended a quarter of a mile in the air.
It consists of two ‘wings’ which are connected by a sky bridge on each floor providing what is promised to be ‘dramatic views’.
The building isn't only aesthetic; it also serves a practical form. The twisting shape ensures optimum views, while the opposite stone clad wall acts a protective skin from the desert sun where temperatures top 55 degrees. The 80 story tall concrete wall insulates the building.
The south wall conceived as a tall protective stone element, forms the structural spine of the building and contains a sky bridge connecting the east and west office wings on each floor. The sky bridges present a unique spatial experience with deeply sculpted openings in the south.
Strategically located south wall openings allow for dramatic views towards the city, and the infinite desert beyond, while controlling the strong solar radiation from south.
On the ground floor, Al Hamra's transparent north façade opens up and welcomes tenants with a soaring 20m-tall highly articulated lamella structure inside the lobby. The geometry of the lobby area is generated by applying the principles of lamella structures.
The continuous structure acts as a completely integrated strengthening component in the lobby, while creating a dramatic lobby experience for Al Hamra's visitors.
Steel is the material of choice for most modern skyscrapers. But to deliver the molded sculpture of Al Hamra, they needed a more malleable material. They chose concrete. One of their biggest challenges was pumping 500,000 tons of concrete a quarter mile vertically.
Al Hamra will be the tallest stone clad structure on earth. Covered with 258,000 square meters of limestone, enough to tile NYC's Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
. While engineers were planning the building's construction they expressed concern to the architect that the flared walls could collapse under the load of the limestone. Unwilling to change their aesthetic, the two sides met in the middle. The solution: to install limestone tiles on the lower floors and a mesh tile covered with crushed limestone on the higher floor, achieving the same look, but with a fraction of the weight. The amount of materials used was:
- 195,000m³ of concrete
- 38,000 tons of reinforcing steel
- 6,000 tons of structural steel
Project Awards
- 2008: Chicago Athenaeum - American Architecture Award
- 2008: Chicago Athenaeum - International Architecture Award
- 2008: MIPIM/Architectural Review - MIPIM Future Project Award: Overall
- 2008: MIPIM/Architectural Review - MIPIM Future Project Award: Tall Buildings
- 2007: Miami Architectural Bienal - Bronze Unbuilt Project
External links
- Al Hamra Tower Official Website
- Al Hamra Tower on Emporis (General database of skyscrapers)
- Al Hamra Tower on SkyscraperPage (Diagrams of skyscrapers)