Last week, the Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC) announced their design for a 66-story office tower nicknamed ‘The Lighthouse.’ Conceptualized by Atkins Middle East, The Lighthouse strives to make low carbon commercial towers a reality in Dubai by reducing the total energy consumption up to 65% and water consumption up to 40%. The height and shape of The Lighthouse play pivotal roles in its goals for low energy consumption, allowing for the instillation of three enormous 225 KV wind turbines (29 meters in diameters), and 4,000 photovoltaic panels on the south facing façade.
The Lighthouse will contain over 84,000 square meters of commercial space and will also include parking, a convention center, retail, and an environmental visitor center and park connected to the DIFC central spine. Great importance has been placed on the building’s impact on local and global resources. Still only in development, plans are in place for all materials in the tower to be selected from sustainable sources. Atkins hopes that
Splendid! Not only are they willing to use “sustainable” sources (I’d be interested to know what sort of materials they’re considering) but the structure itself echoes the architectural designs I’ve been playing with in my undergrad independent research. I think the future of environmentally integrated architecture will focus heavily on a particular characteristic displayed elegantly in this tower – “Building Up!”. One intrinsic problem with American development is the determination to “Build Out”, to sprawl. Occupying vast regions of ground space requires the major reconstructive surgery of land and water ways, altering the native ecologic systems, and increases the costs of all transportation. By building up we bring ourselves closer to the potentials of wind and solar power, and by introducing bio-air filters (vegetation) to higher levels of altitude we can also have at least a minimal effect on CO2 emissions which otherwise work their way up to the atmosphere. There is so much potential for designs like this.
And this one is absolutely beautiful.
-Liz