Arch 689, Project 1

Professor Wei Yan

Form Generation in High-Rise Buildings Using Parametric Modeling

Al Bahar Tower, Abu Dhabi

Description:

Al Bahar Towers, Abu Dhabi, UAE

Completion Date: June, 2012

Height: 145 meters

Stories: 29

Use: Office

Owner: Abu Dhabi Investment Council

Design Architect: Aedas Architects Ltd

Associate Architect: Diar Consult

Structural Engineer: Arup

MEP Engineer: Arup

Project Manager: Mace International

The Al Bahar Tower’s innovative dynamic façade opens and closes in response to the movement of the sun, reducing solar gain by more than 50 percent, creating a more comfortable internal environment for occupants and producing a distinctive external aesthetic which helps to define the building as a gateway to the UAE capital. The façade was conceived as a contemporary interpretation of the traditional Islamic “mashrabiya”: a popular form of wooden lattice screen found in vernacular Islamic architecture and used as a device for achieving privacy while reducing glare and solar gain (Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, 2013).

“The dynamic façade on Al Bahar, computer-controlled to respond to optimal solar and light conditions, has never been achieved on this scale before. In addition, the expression of this outer skin seems to firmly root the building in its cultural context (Chris Wilkinson, Awards Juror, Wilkinson Eyre Architects).”

The skin of this building could be divided by these elements: 

Step 1: Plan Geometry

In this phase, a model generated for changing the size of baseline and the numbers of vertexes for the plan geometry. 

Step 2: Form Generation

On this phase the main loft generated from the previous designed Poly-line.
 

Step 3: Form Structure

  
The following images demonstrate the nodes for finding specific points on the structure and connecting them through a cull pattern for the design of structure of the building. 
                                        

Step 4: Applying Pattern to the Skin 

This step illustrate the way of applying a pattern to the surface of the model. 

Step 5: Shading Element form generation

The mathematical nodes create the shading element as demonstrated in the following pictures. The parametric model enable designer to customize the openness of the form. On the next part of the project this nodes will be connected to the daylighting software. Applying this heavy module to the whole loft is considered challenging part in this project. 

Step 6: Kangaroo

Kangaroo nodes enable the parametric model to react to the lateral load. 

Step 7: Analysis

In the analysis section, the change in the lateral loads shows with a variation of the color. In addition, area of the whole building and the area of each separate floor are measured through this step.