[ Oppenheim Architecture + Design ] Marina + Beach Towers

Architects: Oppenheim Architecture + Design
Location: United Arab Emerits
Credits: Chad Oppenheim, Kevin Heidorn, Kevin McMorris, Sebastian Velez, Carl Römer, Santhosh Shanmugam, Juan Lopez, Robert Moehring, Manuel Morales, Constanza Collarte, Jose Ortez, Fitz Murphy, Carolina Jaimes, Jessica Santaniello Barrera, Josh Sacks, and Gianpaolo Pietri
Consultants: AREX Consultants
Landscape Architect: Green Concepts
Acoustical: Cerami Associates
MEP/FP: X-nth, Ian Banham & Associates
Structural Engineering: Ysrael A. Seinuk (YAS)
Wind Tunnel Test: Rowan Williams Davies & Irwin Inc
Client: NAKHEEL
Project Area: 2,648,850 sqf
Project Year: Estimated completion 2012
Renderings: Luxigon and Dbox

This mixed-use project, Marina + Beach Towers by Oppenheim Architecture + Design, suggests a fluidity that merges sky and water, responding to the built environment and  the landscape.  A shifted repetition happens within the tower, developing a woven tapestry on the facade.  The units are based on a standard module, and their thoughtful placement within the tower provides beautiful views and natural light, while simultaneously providing critical protection from the intense sun. After the break you will find drawings, diagrams, and renderings of this project.

The emergent building has also allowed the creation of an ethereal botanical wonderland infused with ambient light. This shaded tapestry envelops the senses with subtle responses to sight, scent and sound. Contrary to the established master plan, which hinders the development of a continuous garden with swaths of roadway, there has been a distinct desire to maintain continuity across the entire site enabled, controlled and enhanced by the topography. The surface operates as a fluid response to the distinct characteristics; private and public, of the beach and marina zones on the site. From this new ground has also emerged the opportunity for the integration of unique amenities usually associated with the lifestyle such a location allows. The symbiosis between building and landscape has also resulted in the opening of the promenade into a bazaar of curated retail and dining experiences and the opportunity for the nestling of exclusive yacht and beach clubs.

An integral aspect of this orchestration has been our focus on self sustainability and an embrace of the natural resources. Herein we have deployed our only apparatus of exploitation. The building form itself becomes a device for luring cool breezes to spaces shielded from the sun, referencing the regional time-tested tradition of wind catchers. Inconspicuously and opportunistically the structure incorporates solar and wind arrays for the generation of some of this building’s required energy. Other integral systems deployed towards complete self sustenance, include various methods for the reuse of the vast amounts of water flowing through the site. Sustainability is imbued throughout the life cycle, where intelligent planning provides innovative opportunities for energy and resource conservation, up-cycling (as opposed to re-cycling), waste, and healthy building initiatives; where ecology and sustainability allow even greater guilt-free luxury, not self denial. The orchestration of all these imperatives has generated an elegance derived from simplicity that addresses all of the needs of development without any of the proliferating exuberance.


from  archdaily