The concept of this project for a new symbolic landmark of Dubai draws on the particular morphology of the flora which lives in many reserves in United Arab Emirates: the mangroves. This trees grow very close one to another, thus designing a very complex, spectacular and unique system able to provide shelter to the little animals from the predators. Alike the mangroves, this group of five tall elements, high from 15 to 170 meters, achieves a unique and emblematic system representing the city of Dubai, a town which is able to provide hospitality, security and well-being both to its inhabitants and to the many tourists. The complexity of this structure will represent the new face of a very cosmopolitan and variegated city like Dubai. Fulfilling the term of the competition program this structure is placed along the pedestrian path of the Za’abeel Park and is perfectly integrated with its landscape thanks to the organic and dynamic shape which is able to change its look depending from the different point of view or from the day or the night. All the existing buildings are preserved and are part of the whole system. The structure will be realized in recycled steel and will be entirely covered with serigraphed glass panels. The drawings on panel nr. 2 show how a new pattern has been designed by subtracting signs from the traditional Arabic decorations, a pattern which is at the same time modern but which also recalls the ancient Arabic history. Through this type of glass finish a particular trick of the light reaches the inside of the space during the day while a special effect is created during the night when the artificial light comes out from the inside of the building. As required all the facilities are placed in the podium of one of the tallest structures and are spread on two levels. The entrance hall for visitors is placed on the ground floor together with the spaces for technical equipments. This total floor area is about 150 square metres. Here the visitors will find ticket and information desks and two elevators for eight people each. The children’s library and the conference spaces for about 100 people are placed in the basement together with the toilet blocks. Even if it is placed in the basement, the children’s library receives natural illumination through one of the smallest structure which works like a skylight. The total floor area of the basement is about 650 square meters. At this same level there is also a parking for 30 cars. Even the car park receives natural illumination from a big hole in the ceiling which gives air and light to a garden which grows in the middle of the parking to purify the air from the smog produced by the cars. The reasons why the most of the functional spaces are placed in the basement are several. First of all we believe that the verticality is one of the main features which are able to turn a structure into a symbolic building. A large surface at its pedestal, instead, would have debased it. Our wish, on the contrary, was to underline the symbolic value of the building rather than its function which is only recognizable at a later stage. Besides our wish was not to subtract too much surface to the vegetation of the Za’abeel park and we have also taken into account the benefits supplied by a roof garden to the internal microclimate. On the top of the equipped tower, at about 86 metres height, there is a café on one level whose total floor area is about 150 square metres. Surprisingly in this space there is a small garden which is directly connected to a panoramic outdoor platform orientated towards the lake. Even the elevators and the stairs are panoramic. In the matter of the green building principles, the roof garden placed on the equipped building will contribute to the cooling system because only the 8-10% of the solar heat energy will be able to cross the structure thanks to the insulating effect of the ground and the evaporation of the water from the soil. A traditionally-built roof, in fact, can reach till 80° of temperature while a green roof does not reaches 25° of temperature. Moreover, a vent-hole on the top of the two smallest towers will create a “chimney effect” which will supply natural ventilation during the less hot season.
