Al Hamra Tower

Al Hamra Tower
Al Hamra Tower
General information
Status	Complete
Type	Tower
Location	Kuwait City, Kuwait
Coordinates	29°22′43″N 47°59′34″E / 29.37861°N 47.99278°E / 29.37861; 47.99278Coordinates: 29°22′43″N 47°59′34″E / 29.37861°N 47.99278°E / 29.37861; 47.99278
Construction started	2004
Completed	2011
Opening	11-11-2011
Cost	$ 500 Million
Height
Architectural	412.6 m (1,354 ft)[1]
Top floor	368 m (1,207 ft)[1]
Technical details
Floor count	77[1]
Floor area	195,000 m2 (2,098,963 sq ft)[1]
Elevators	HITACHI (EL x 39, ES x 8)
Design and construction
Owner	Ajial Real Estate
Main contractor	Ahmadiah Contracting & Trading Co.
Architect	Skidmore, Owings and Merrill[1]
Developer	Al Hamra Real Estate[1]
Structural engineer	Skidmore, Owings and Merrill[1]
References
[1]

The Al Hamra Tower is a topped out skyscraper in 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 (1,354 ft).^[1] It will also be the tallest sculpted tower in the world.

The tower will include 195,000 m² (2,100,000 sq ft) of commercial and office space.^[1] The building will connect to a five-story retail mall which totals 23,000 m² (250,000 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 18,000 m² (190,000 sq ft) construction site.^{[citation needed]}

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 Movie theater/cinema complex which will also have IMAX theaters.^{[citation needed]}

Turner Construction was in charge of the tower's construction.

Conception

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

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. 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:

• 195,000m³ of concrete
• 38,000 tons of reinforcing steel
• 6,000 tons of structural steel

Project Awards

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

• 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

References

External links

• Al Hamra Tower Official Website
• Al Hamra Tower on CTBUH Skyscraper Center
• Al Hamra Tower on Emporis (General database of skyscrapers)
• Al Hamra Tower on SkyscraperPage (Diagrams of skyscrapers)