In the time that the National Bank of Kuwait first came up with its current headquarters over 10 years ago, it was determined to make a statement regarding passive design by building an imposing tower that could stand up to the brutal temperatures in Kuwait City, the country’s capital city of the desert.
Information and photos of the 300-meter-high, 127,000 square-meter headquarters, which was built in August 2020 within Kuwait City’s Sharq area of finance, were released in the summer of. The main challenges facing the Building team, which included architects Foster + Partners and the engineering company Buro Happold, and general contractor SSH–were aimed at implementing an ambitious design that called for a fully-glazed view of Kuwait City and the Persian Gulf from the tower’s north-facing facade and also to provide the structure with enough to provide stability along the sides and shade from the scorching sun.
The final 63-story structure resembles the shape of a “squashed kidney bean,” says Daniel Knott, Buro Happold’s Associate Director of Sustainability and Physics in London, who was part of this project from the beginning.
Stabilizing the structural foundation for the National Bank of Kuwait tower
Knott spoke to the BD+C about the project in the early months of February. He explained that the convex shape, which is on the north-facing side of the tower, was the reason for having to place its extruded structural core on its south side. However, by doing this, the structural core, when it was drawn initially, was not able to provide the structure with the stiffness that it required.
The team’s idea was to use strengthened concrete wall panels that stretch all the way to the top of the tower and steel outrigger trusses that are located on the four levels of service.
The solution also required the construction of reinforced concrete fins that shade the glass facade of the building and reduce the maximum sun’s gain of 20 percent as well as annual gain of 25 percent, as per George Kerilis, a Project Principal at Buro Happold as well as the structural leader on the bank tower construction.
Photo: Nigel Young/Foster + Partners
In an email sent to the BD+C, Kerilis explained that the fins were connected to the building via cantilever stubs that extend out from all columns on every level. Knott explained that at one time, the bank was in the process of having the fins face towards the south, but the team convinced the client that pointing them to the north could help the project meet the budgetary requirements and earn LEED Gold certification. (Knott added that the original design called for fins that were horizontal; turning them vertical was a more aesthetic decision.)
Knott acknowledged that there are other shade methods that have been tested on various structures. However, the fins that are large “set a precedent.”
Many firsts for this tower
Through what Knott described as “constant analysis” of the design of the building, which included parametric design on the external side, the construction team was aware that there would be periods during daylight when the sun didn’t reach the fins. This is when the shape and design, as well as the fritted glass, are used to reduce the energy use of the tower. “This was an interesting technical challenge” that involved Frit’s heat absorption and Frit’s performance, according to Knott.
By tapering the building to the base of it, this plan increases floor space on higher levels and also encourages self-shading because the floor plates overhanging protect those floors beneath. The tapering process required each floor to be modeled in a separate manner, as per Buro Happold.
It is the National Bank of Kuwait headquarters, as per SSH, costs $433.2 million to construct and was also the first of its kind in the market, as reported by the building team and reports to New Building Materials & Construction World Infra Construction and Equipment Magazine. The tower is served by a twin elevator that includes a number of cabins for elevators that operate independently within every one of 10 concrete shafts reinforced. The tower also houses the largest maintenance building, taking two floors and soaring at a height of 250m above the sea level. The chillers of the tower were modified to deal with peak energy demands, as per Knott.
The crowning feature of the tower is an impressive, extremely-curved stick-system glazing made up of 199 glass panels.
Foster + Partners, who also designed the interior. The standout in the tower’s glitzy details is its lobby, which is 18 meters high at the bottom of the building and has “sky lobbies” at different levels. There’s a restaurant that’s double-height at level 18, a modern fitness center on level 19, and a ballroom with a 140-seat auditorium at level 38.
The tower is full of custom furniture and lighting, especially in its boardroom of triple height at the 48th level, which is distinguished by blown glass pendants and a 13-meter long board table.
Construction has begun on Cornell University’s brand new 135,000-square-foot building that will house Cornell’s Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science (Cornell Bowers CIS). It was designed by the Boston-based Leers Weinzapfel Associates. The building will connect three departments: Computer Science, Information Science, and Statistics and Data Science for the first time within one single complex.
The brand new structure, which is four stories tall, located in Ithaca, N.Y., will create a distinctive Bowers CIS precinct of continuous structure and open space which will attract students from all disciplines throughout the university, as per an announcement from Leers Weinzapfel Associates. The three floors of research linked by Gates Hall will float above an active and lively ground floor that will frame the outdoor space that is ideal for everyday gatherings, small events, and larger celebrations.