© Alessio Carrabino . Pubblicata il 02 Dicembre 2009.

The design course, which made arising the tower architectural idea, is based on the research of a symbol, which could allegorically represent the Dubai town historical development. This growth concentrates above all in the last twenty years with a speed without equal. In this short time the real estate and business boom made the town of Dubai a planetary important destination, able to attract significant investments in the financial, business, maritime and real estate fields, as well as a constantly increasing tourist flow. The analysis of this circumstance opened a deep debate leading to the allegoric representation of this development as it were an existing underground system, a sort of submerged town, which explodes as a jet, elevates itself, to re-fall down again on the territory by changing its spaces and shapes. This “concept”, in our design hypothesis, makes concrete in a “water tower” a sort of geyser which explodes, separates, break up and re-fall down on the territory by generating its modification. The water, which really spurt in the town centre, partly nebulises and partly re-fall down in the surrounding area by running the branches and again in the lake so as to generate a continuous cycle.

© Alessio Carrabino . Pubblicata il 02 Dicembre 2009.

_site plan The designing complex is integrating part of the Za’Abel Park and the access is made through the existing pedestrian path. The designed symbol, consisting not only of the podium, but also of other two small elements with a play and social destination, is completely suspended on the expanse of water created in contraposition to the existing one. The tower podium access is on the second level, in the covered public place allowing the use of the elevator leading to the Landmark top and the lower floor. On the place side there is the congress centre foyer, with service annexed and the inner stair leading to the lower floor where there is the library for children with the reading rooms divided by age and a big delimited space which not only serves as library lobby but it is also a relationship and reading area for the companion parents. Under the water level there is the 30 place parking serving the employees, the technical rooms for the water jet circulation, the electric cabins and the library warehouse, served by a dedicated inner stair as well as a good lift, which has been suitably conceived behind the reception to ease its use. The carriageable access to the garage floor is made through the detachment from the main road network and the access to a tunnel under the tower. The restrooms located in both podium floors are divided by sex and they are both equipped with disabled person restrooms. The tower consists of a steel band of “structural castings” which, joined together in circular crown, starting from the podium with a 15 meter diameter, grow thinner adhering to the reinforced concrete circular septum of the elevators at +30 meter height with a 6 meter diameter to open them at +100 meter quote where the viewpoint terrace is located. From here the tower opens with 10 different trajectory arches, like a sprinkling when reaches the inertia point and by gravity it begins to fall down on itself. The most representative three structural castings contains, at +140 meter height the panoramic bar conceived on two levels, linked by an inner stair, with completely transparent walls so as to constitute the spatial continuity between interior and exterior, the panoramic bar is linked to the structural terrace with a single elevator.

© Alessio Carrabino . Pubblicata il 02 Dicembre 2009.

The steel structural castings are covered with bright black majolica, which under the sea rays obtain luminescent reflexes, and the smooth surface makes easy the flow of the water molecular structure making it falling at the podium base. From here a series of pumps bring the water to the basement, where it is treated with suitable filters to increase its lightness and through other pumps and pipes, running in the elevator well, returns at the height of + 80 meters where there are the nozzles (10) which sprinkle and nebulise it until the base of the viewpoint. The small congress centre (100 places) has been designed to be used in its totality or separately into three different modules according to the requirements, by the means of a balancing structure which put the seats in stall position so as to obtain a better visibility and acoustic. The outer space around the tower has been intentionally treated as garden like the surrounding park so as to ease the insertion of the new structure as well as its maintenance. The inner paths have been redesigned so as to coast the new expanse of water and one of them crosses the same by linking the new modules. The first, of smaller dimensions, has been conceived as matter and translucid cube, inside which it is possible to “fell”, “touch”, “remember” Dubai thanks to plasma touch screens; the second is a stepped platform, where a chessboard and a small amphitheatre for children theatre plays found their place. By going on the path suspended on the water, you reach the library podium and, it is just the same path, which, by crossing the podium, draws this building area. The flooring of the path suspended on the water will consist of cement with orange pigments, while the place flooring will be made of grey cement. The whole podium-roofing surface will be covered by photovoltaic panels, which are architecturally integrated in the structure, so as to transform the sun energy in electric power to obtain an autonomous energetic efficiency. The place lighting has been designed with light walk system so as to minimize the light from the bottom to favour the light beam of the lighting elements under the structural castings re-falling down on themselves, in order to replace with the light, the water during the night-time. The lighting system is very important since, being the podium walls made in green-coloured light translucid glass with marble insertions, they are conceived so as to give to the natural light the possibility to enter during the day time and to the artificial light to exit in the night time; the general effect will make of difficult reading the main structure by leaving the place to a more immaterial and evanescent shape defined by the light.

© Alessio Carrabino . Pubblicata il 02 Dicembre 2009.

© Alessio Carrabino . Pubblicata il 02 Dicembre 2009.

© Alessio Carrabino . Pubblicata il 02 Dicembre 2009.

© Alessio Carrabino . Pubblicata il 02 Dicembre 2009.