ABU DHABI’S MOST ICONIC BUILDINGS – Part 3

 

The Aldar headquarters is one of Abu Dhabi’s most distinctive buildings

Approaching Abu Dhabi from the main road, it’s impossible to miss Aldar headquarters. The enormous, disc-shaped structure rears up in front of the water, dwarfing the Al Raha Beach development growing up around it.

Considered a leading landmark for the capital and cited as the first building of its kind in the region, Aldar HQ has taken its place alongside the high-profile Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur and Lloyd’s of London as one of the world’s most impressive corporate buildings.

Aldar HQ was designed by Lebanon-and-London based firm MZ Architects and named Best Futuristic Design at the 2008 Building Exchange Conference in Spain before it even opened in 2010. Now, it’s state-of-the-art office space, spread over 23 storeys, is highly sought after among local and international companies seeking a prestigious address.

Part of the wonder behind its design stems from the steel diagrid that encircles the core. This huge band carries out much of the support work, largely eliminating the need for internal columns, which would have compromised the aesthetic appeal of the interior. To create this modern feat of engineering, architects looked back to the golden ratio, an ancient mathematical formula that informed Leonardo Da Vinci’s famous illustrations on divine proportion, which underpins the circular structure of this impressive landmark.

© Picture : MZ Architects

 

 

 

 

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