An Architectural Marvel Keeps These Towers Cool

By: By Michele Berger

Published: February 5,2014

 

 

 

 

 

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The Al Bahr towers in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The panels on the outside open and close with the sun, working like an unbelievable cooling system. (Tafline Laylin/Inhabitat.com)

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They shoot into the air like giant cocoons or snuffed out cigars, looming large in a city with many unique structures. But Abu Dhabi’s Al Bahr towers — twin 29-story office buildings — have a calling card all their own. They’re wrapped in the world’s largest computerized cooling façade, a geometric system of photovoltaic panels that at once generates a percentage of the buildings’ energy and staves off the heat.
That’s no small feat in the United Arab Emirates capital, which during the summer of 2013, experienced 25 subsequent days of temperatures 100 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. One day hit 119 degrees.
“The geometric patterns that comprise this gigantic screen include over 1,000 moving elements that contract and expand during the day depending on the sun’s position,” according to Inhabitat.com. The concept is based on Masharabiya, according to the architect Aedas, a system of “traditional Arabic shading lattice-work.”
“It allows us to use more naturally tinted glass, which lets more light in so you have better views and less need of artificial light,” Peter Osborn, Aedas deputy chairman told Abu Dhabi English-language newspaper The National. “It’s using an old technique in a modern way.”
Here’s how it works: Screens of fiberglass triangles sit about six-and-a-half feet from the buildings’ exterior. They open and close based on the movement of the sun, according to ArchDaily. At night, they all fold in, leaving more of the façade visible. Then, as the sun comes up and moves around the buildings, the panels follow suit, closing when the sun shines brightest in their direction.
Aedas has earned some praise for the towers, winning Commercial Project of the Year and Best Overall Project in the Middle East from the Middle East Architect Awards 2013.
There’s no doubt the towers are cool. And thanks to a remarkable engineering feat, they’re keeping their inhabitants that way, too.