“A great building must begin with the immeasurable, must go through measurable means when it is being designed and in the end must be unmeasured.” - Louis Kahn

Kuwait City, the political, cultural and economic centre of the Kuwait emirate, has its tallest skyscraper, Al Hamra Tower standing tall as an icon to symbolize national pride, while also providing highly leasable office space. Designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM), it has a total land area of 195,000m² and a total built area of 290,000m². The tower was included in the list of Best Invention of 2011 by TIMES Magazine.

With an aspiration to maximize waterfront views while minimizing solar heat gain or (SHG) is what led to the inspiration of the building’s asymmetrical form, also drawing parallels to the traditional robes worn by Kuwaitis. The monolithic wonder of a building, resembles a gradually twisted “ribbon” like wall reaching towards the sky.

Structure
The main, 80 ft lobby extends from the tower’s center to its outlining edges while the columns along the exterior structurally supporting the rest of the tower with sloping inwardly. Each floor plate is rotated counterclockwise around the structure’s center, forming a levitating geometric revelation.

The south-facing central wall constructed of Jura limestone, has its own prominence from the other three glass-enclosed sides of the tower. The tower’s twisted ribbon walls not only serves as a visual treat but also reduces the amount of columns needed with credits to a cantilevered truss system that supports the curtain wall.

The southern façade, visible through the central space, is clad in stone with angled window cuts generated in order to decrease the solar radiation. This wall not only protects the building from critical environmental conditions, but also takes on the job of the structural spine of the building. The concrete construction of these elements also allows the flared walls to act as thermal mass walls, slowing heat gain during the day and releasing stored heat at night. The curved east, north and west façades are covered in vision glass, providing clear views of the surrounding city and Kuwait Bay while also optimizing the spaces against glare and heat gain.

On each floor of the tower, a skybridge connects the two wings and presents a significant spatial experience with deep carved windows in the south wall providing phenomenal views south towards the city, the peninsula and the infinite desert beyond.

The point at the top of the tower not only solves the complex geometry of the carved walls, but also involves the continuation of the sculptural shape up. As the tower concept took shape, it became clear that the spiraling concentrate gravity loads on the west side of the building below the southwest wall, while in the north and east they would be minimal. In response to this charge differential, engineers devised a reinforced concrete raft nearly 4 ft. thick supported on 289 piles, each between 20 to 27 m long, deeply embedded around the areas of greatest stress.

Paraboloid Walls
A pair of “f lame walls” hyperbolic paraboloid concrete define the edges of the gap gradually changing. In the resulting hollow with a wall is located 1.50 m thick reinforced concrete with punched openings angled to control the penetration of the sun. In each office floor, behind this facade there is a strong circulation corridor that connects the two wings.

Materials Used

Steel: In the structural framework 6,000 tons of steel and 38,000 tons of reinforcing steel in the rest of the building were used.

Concrete: Concrete is the material used in the construction of the Al Hamra Tower as a malleable material is needed to get the sculptural molded shapes of the walls. 500,000 tons of reinforced concrete, 195,000 m³ were used.

Stone: The 258.000m2 limestone lining the structure makes this tower in the largest structure in the world coated with this material. Experts exposed concern that flared walls not abide the weight of the stone. The solution was to use limestone tiles on the lower floors and the upper floors “trencadis”, a mesh coated with crushed limestone, significantly reducing weight while maintaining the same look. Glass: Except for the southern facade facing the desert, the rest of the building is completely coated with insulating glass, IGUs, in silvery tones. These windows are characterized by low emissivity coating and compatibility with the heating and bending process required to manufacture glass that surrounds the corners.

Lamellar Structure: The sheets in the structure of the base were built with fiberglass molds, made from 3D drawings generated by those responsible for SOM models. The construction of the flakes was a slow process, requiring almost 100 days to complete.

Awards

2008, American Architecture Award Chicago Athenaeum
2012, Award of Excellence: Landmark Structures, Structural Engineers Association of California
2008, MIPIM Future Project Award: Tall Buildings, MIPIM/Architectural Review2008, MIPIM Future Project Award: Overall, MIPIM/ Architectural Review2013, Design Award, AIA – New York City Chapter
2008, International Architecture Award, Chicago Athenaeum • 2010, Commercial/Mixed Use Built, Cityscape
2011, Skyscraper Award: Silver Medal, Emporis
2012, Award for Commercial or Retail Structure, Institution of Structural Engineers2007, Bronze Unbuilt Project, Miami Architectural Bienal
2012, Best of What’s New, Popular Science Magazine
2012, Best Tall Building Middle East & Africa: Finalist, Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH)
2012, International Structures over $100 Million, National Council of Structural Engineers Association
2012, Award of Excellence: Landmark Structures, Structural Engineers Association of Northern California
2012, Excellence in Structural Engineering, National Council of Structural Engineers Association2013, Architizer A+ Award: Office Building High Rise, Finalist, Architizer
2013, Best International Project Over $150 Million, Structural Engineers Association Of Illinois
2014, Commercial Project of the Year, Middle East Architect Awards
2015, Excellence in Concrete Construction: High-Rise Buildings, American Concrete Institute
2015, Design Award for Built Projects, AIA – Middle East

References
» https://www.skyscrapercenter.com/building/al-hamra-tower/208#facts
» https://www.designbuild-network.com/projects/al-hamra/
» https://en.wikiarquitectura.com/building/al-hamra-firdous-tower/
» https://www.re-thinkingthefuture.com/rtf-design-inspiration/a1655-al-hamra-tower-kuwait-by-som-the-twisting-future-of-architecture/
» https://www.som.com/projects/al-hamra-tower/

By -
Tuhina Chatterjee, Associate Editor Civil Engineering and Construction Review

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