AL HAMRA

TOWER

Yadnyayee Pawar
ROLL NO – 46
4TH YR .
  Named One of the Best
Inventions of 2011 by Time
Magazine, Skidmore,
Owings & Merrill’s (SOM) Al
Hamra Firdous Tower will be
the tallest building in Kuwait.
 The iconic structure appears
to fold into itself, creating an
efficient form designed to
maximize views and
minimize solar heat gain.
 The commercial complex
was completed in 2011 and
is comprised of offices, a
health club and a high-end
shopping mall with theatres
and a food court.

Architect: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill 

Site Area: 10,000 m2 
Size: 195,000 m2 
Height: 412 m (74 stories)
Completion Year: 2011
 Rising 412 meters in the center of
Kuwait City, Al Hamra Firdous
Tower is a landmark tower of iconic
sculptural form that offers breath-
taking views of the Arabian Gulf.
The purity of its form, expressed by
a simple operation of removal, will
be a timeless, elegant marker in the
heart of Kuwait.

Main specification

 With the aim of maximizing views and minimizing solar heat gain on the
office floors, a quarter of each floor plate is chiselled out of the south
side, shifting from west to east over the height of the tower.
 The result reveals a rich, monolithic stone at the south wall framed by
the graceful, twisting ribbons of torqued walls,
defining the iconic form of the tower.
 The building’s appearance resembles a subtle,
elegant modern sculpture or an enshrouded figure
with its delicate glass veil reflecting the profile of
the peninsula.
 The resultant form will provide transparency on
the north, east and west sides towards the Gulf
and near-complete opacity side against the
severe desert sun to the south.
  The solid south wall is generated in order
to decrease the solar radiation. Openings
are based on the relationship of the
envelope and its position in relation to the
sun.
 The geometry of the interior wall is
generated and responds to the need to
minimize solar heat gain.
 This wall not only protects the building from
critical environmental conditions, but also
takes on the role of the structural spine of
the building.
 The point at the apex of the tower not only resolves this complex
geometry of the carved flared walls but also implies the continuation of
the sculptural form infinitely upwards.
 On each floor of the tower a skybridge connects the two wings and
presents a dramatic spatial experience with deep sculpted windows in the
south wall providing dramatic views south towards the city, the peninsula
and the infinite desert beyond.
 The tower will welcome tenants with a
soaring 20-meter tall lobby featuring a high
articulated lamella structure which supports
the tower above and articulates the space
below.
 The geometry of the lobby area is generated
by applying the principles of lamella
structures.
 The structure provides continuity from the
building to its footing and acts as a
strengthening component while being
completely integrated with the structure.