The view from the Sky

Towers

Doha, Qatar

Tall buildings will continue to play an important role in the functioning of major urban milieu, providing that they can be specified and procured on an economic basis to ensure commercial viability.  Tall buildings should continue to command premium rents and will play an important role in providing variety and high quality accommodation.  The ability of tall buildings to provide residential and mixed use accommodation will improve their attractiveness to developers and investors in giving scope for risk management and diversification.

In the recent years Qatar’s construction sector has been the most important driving force behind a robust economy. Qatar is pressing ahead with its construction schedule ahead of the FIFA 2022 World Cup. Infrastructure development is at the center of the Qatar National Vision 2030. Qatar has a fair share of tall buildings under its belt, the country despite its small size has over 50 buildings that are more than 100 meters tall. Construction is one of the fastest-growing of non-hydrocarbon sectors in the country. According to Oxford Business Group, Qatar has some 115 hotels, totaling nearly 20,700 rooms, with 105 new hotels and a further 21,000 rooms in the pipeline. 

The Tallest Building - Tower in Qatar

Dubai Tower Doha

This skyscraper would be the tallest building in the country at 437.1 meters tall when completed. Currently, the construction of the building is on hold, the construction was started in 2007. The building has been designed by Robert Matthew Johnson Marshall (RMJM) architects. The building is designed to have 91 floors above ground with 40 high speed elevators to ferry people to and from these floors. The cost of constructing Dubai Towers Doha is estimated to about $275 million. If and when completed the Tower will have as many as 80 retails units, 304 apartments, and a 120 room 5-star hotel as well. 

Aspire Tower Doha

Also known as the Torch-Doha standing at 300 meters is the tallest building in the country. The Tower was designed by the renowned architect Hadi Simaan. The Torch was at the centre of attention during the 15th Asian Games, which Qatar hosted in 2006. The Torch Doha housed the Asian Games flame, the flame was visible across Doha through the entire duration of the games. The Torch was completed at a cost of €133,395,000 in 2007 and consists of 51 floors, 17 elevators, and a total area of 35000 square meters. The Torch Tower was converted into the 5-star rated Torch Hotel in 2011 and given its center location it quickly became a preferred place to stay for business leaders, foreign visitors, athletes. Even European Soccer teams FC Schalke 04 and Paris Saint Germain have stayed at the Torch Hotel. The location of the Torch Hotel is very convenient since it lies in the heart of the Aspire Zone and it also has an air-conditioned walkway through to the Villaggio Mall.

Barjeel Tower Doha

Also known as the Al Fardan Residences or Kempinski Residences and Suites, Barjeel Tower is currently the second highest building in Qatar and the tallest residential tower in the country. The building consists of 370 high end apartments in its 64 above ground floors. Barjeel was designed by the Arab Engineering Bureau, the building was completed in 2009, taking just 3 years for completion. The architectural height of Barjeel is 253.3 meters.

Palm Tower Doha

The Palm Towers in Doha have become an icon of the city’s cultural memory. The palm tree is a symbol of survival, and the form of these towers is meant to represent the continuance and success of the surrounding community. The faces of the buildings are punctuated with stainless steel fins as well as geometric manipulations of the form to accomplish this imagery. Standing as landmarks in Doha’s quickly expanding commercial district, the slender twin towers have a variety of office spaces to cater to the needs of its users. The circular core and hexagonal form contribute to the layout’s efficiency. At the base, the towers are connected by an eight-story parking podium to serve all visitors and occupants. The towers stand at 244.4 meters and both comprise of 58 floors above ground, each tower has 26 high speed elevators and 2188 parking spaces each. The twin towers of Qatar were inaugurated in 2011 and were designed by MZ Architects.

World Trade Center Doha

The World Trade Center building in Doha is 241 meters high. It has 51 floors above ground and 27 high-speed elevators. The building is located at West Bay in Doha, the capital of Qatar. The construction was started in 2010 and completed in 2013. The observatory of the building is located at 197.5 meters. The building is owned by Qatar General Insurance & Reinsurance Company and was designed by MZ and partners.

                                              Hilton Double Tree Sinyar Tower

This skyscraper is tall at 230 meters.The construction began in 2012 and is completed later 2016. year. The tower  have 53 above ground floors divided into 340 serviced apartments.

Starhill Gallery / Spark Architects

© Lin Ho

Architects: Spark Architects
Location: Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
Architect In Charge: Stephan Pimbley
Project Architect: Michael Gibert
Team: Kim-Lee Tan, Sevena Lee, Wenhui Lim
Lightning Designer: Snfor Sdn Bhd
Structural Consultant: RFR Shanghai
Area: 2,000 sqm
Year: 2011
Photographs: Lin Ho

© Lin Ho

Starhill Gallery is perhaps Kuala Lumpur’s most iconic shopping mall, featuring an extraordinary array of luxury shops and fine dining restaurants. Spark’s design proposal dealt with the reinvention of the existing façade of Starhill Gallery facing Bukit Bintang. This reinvention of Starhill Gallery is designed by Stephen Pimbley, founding director of Spark and the architect behind Singapore’s hugely popular Clarke Quay.

© Lin Ho

Stephen says, “Unlike many street-facing malls in Kuala Lumpur, our new façade for Starhill Gallery is firmly engaged with the public realm and generates valuable visual connections along this section of Bukit Bintang via the heavy footfall. We have designed a beacon for Starhill Gallery that celebrates its relationship with the city.”

© Lin Ho

Spark’s design has opened up the façade which provides a lot of visual interest via a continuous shop front that wraps the existing building in a crystalline skin of glass and stone panels. The new façade resembles the “wet drapery” of the ancient statues of Greece and Rome, and the beautifully crafted gowns on sale inside Starhill Gallery. The fractured variation of solidity and transparency transforms the street façade of the existing building entirely, giving it a new contemporary classic identity that stands out amongst the quick-fix, ubiquitous shopping mall façades of many of Starhill Gallery’s neighbours.

© Lin Ho

Spark’s lightweight steel, stone and glass façade is the first of their kind in Malaysia that embraces cutting-edge façade technology from the French engineer RFR, the team that delivered the Pyramid at the Paris Louvre.

First Floor Plan

Spark replaced the café at the entrance of Starhill Gallery with an iconic triple height shopping pavilion for the French luxury retailer LVMH and their cosmetics brand Sephora. Sephora is, in turn, connected to Starhill via a first floor bridge that pierces the new crystalline façade.
Spark, together with YTL, has deliberately crafted a complex building envelope using only the best materials that resonate with the importance of the building’s position and contribution to the streetscape of Kuala Lumpur. The synergy with high quality of the brands/products, as well as special visitor experience inside Starhill Gallery is undeniable.
Starhill Gallery’s new crystalline façade and the Sephora pavilion have effectively established an iconic new identity for Starhill Gallery, affirming its position as the foremost destination for luxury shopping in Southeast Asia.

Shop Mall Starhill Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Spark Architects

© Lin Ho

Architects: Spark Architects
Location: Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
Architect In Charge: Stephan Pimbley
Project Architect: Michael Gibert
Team: Kim-Lee Tan, Sevena Lee, Wenhui Lim
Lightning Designer: Snfor Sdn Bhd
Structural Consultant: RFR Shanghai
Area: 2,000 sqm
Year: 2011
Photographs: Lin Ho

© Lin Ho

Starhill Gallery is perhaps Kuala Lumpur’s most iconic shopping mall, featuring an extraordinary array of luxury shops and fine dining restaurants. Spark’s design proposal dealt with the reinvention of the existing façade of Starhill Gallery facing Bukit Bintang. This reinvention of Starhill Gallery is designed by Stephen Pimbley, founding director of Spark and the architect behind Singapore’s hugely popular Clarke Quay.

© Lin Ho

Stephen says, “Unlike many street-facing malls in Kuala Lumpur, our new façade for Starhill Gallery is firmly engaged with the public realm and generates valuable visual connections along this section of Bukit Bintang via the heavy footfall. We have designed a beacon for Starhill Gallery that celebrates its relationship with the city.”

© Lin Ho

Spark’s design has opened up the façade which provides a lot of visual interest via a continuous shop front that wraps the existing building in a crystalline skin of glass and stone panels. The new façade resembles the “wet drapery” of the ancient statues of Greece and Rome, and the beautifully crafted gowns on sale inside Starhill Gallery. The fractured variation of solidity and transparency transforms the street façade of the existing building entirely, giving it a new contemporary classic identity that stands out amongst the quick-fix, ubiquitous shopping mall façades of many of Starhill Gallery’s neighbours.

© Lin Ho

Spark’s lightweight steel, stone and glass façade is the first of their kind in Malaysia that embraces cutting-edge façade technology from the French engineer RFR, the team that delivered the Pyramid at the Paris Louvre.

First Floor Plan

Spark replaced the café at the entrance of Starhill Gallery with an iconic triple height shopping pavilion for the French luxury retailer LVMH and their cosmetics brand Sephora. Sephora is, in turn, connected to Starhill via a first floor bridge that pierces the new crystalline façade.
Spark, together with YTL, has deliberately crafted a complex building envelope using only the best materials that resonate with the importance of the building’s position and contribution to the streetscape of Kuala Lumpur. The synergy with high quality of the brands/products, as well as special visitor experience inside Starhill Gallery is undeniable.
Starhill Gallery’s new crystalline façade and the Sephora pavilion have effectively established an iconic new identity for Starhill Gallery, affirming its position as the foremost destination for luxury shopping in Southeast Asia.

First Floor Plan

Second Floor Plan

Elevation

Penang Global City Center, Malaysia

Penang, Malaysia

Photo courtesy Asymptote Architecture
Sited on Penang Hill, the Penang Global City Center (PGCC), a key component of the 256 acre development site that was formally the Penang Turf Club, is an expansive, sustainable, mixed-use development with two iconic sixty-story towers.
The design is centered on the idea of creating a new and powerful image for the city of Penang and the new initiatives associated with the development of the Northern Corridor of Malaysia.

The complex includes two iconic, sixty-story towers housing luxury residential units and five-star hotels, the Penang Performing Arts Center (PenPAC), a high-end retail and entertainment complex, an observatory, a world-class convention center and a vast public arena in the form of a plinth that serves as an entrance to the PGCC and connects it to the city beyond.


Photo courtesy Asymptote Architecture
The design of the iconic towers in particular draws inspiration from not only the lushness and drama of the surrounding mountains and seascapes, but also from
the rich and diverse cultural heritage that makes up the Malaysian nation and Penang in particular.

The forms of the two towers are comprised of both horizontal and vertical elements. Sculpted horizontal components move across the plinth, rise up and transform into articulated vertical structures.

Photo courtesy Asymptote Architecture
The vast, cascading plinth, which functions as a public plaza with multiple gathering spaces, are venues for the performing arts center, convention center and various facilities for residential, office and urban life.

Photo courtesy Asymptote Architecture

Photo courtesy Asymptote Architecture
Set against the backdrop of the nature reserve of Penang Hill, the twisting, glass facades of the towers "perform" various surface effects - reflecting, refracting and distorting views of Penang, the surrounding landscape and the seascape beyond.


Photo courtesy Asymptote Architecture
The design incorporates the latest in sustainable design and engineering technologies.


Drawing courtesy Asymptote ArchitectureSite Plan

Drawing courtesy Asymptote Architecture

Facts about Penang Global City Center

Total Area:

1.000.000 m2

Retail Complex:

400,000 m2

Convention Center:

100,000 m2

Performing Arts Center (PenPAC):

75,000 m2

Condominiums:

70,000 m2

Hotel and Service Apartments:

50,000 m2

Offices:
25,000 m2

Observatory:

1,500 m2

Parking:

190,000 m2

Developer:
Abad Naluri, a subsidiary of Equine Capital

Architects:

Asymptote Architecture

Master Plan:

Atelier Seraji