The structure – to be known as Symphony Tower – will feature an exoskeleton, which ZHA said draws inspiration from the traditional Emirati crafts of weaving with metallic threads.
ZHA has designed the modular building for client Imtiaz Developments, a Dubai-based developer.
The building, close to Dubai’s Design District, features a 34-storey tower sat above a six-storey podium and two basement levels.
Twenty-five floors of residential space, featuring around 300 flats for private sale, will sit on top of eight levels of office space.
The ground-floor podium will feature a residential lobby, office lobby and retail space.
ZHA said the exoskeleton will offer structural and environmental purposes. By shading the façades, it will reduce solar gain and shelter the outdoor living areas for residents’ comfort, the practice said.
ZHA project director Paola Cattarin said the tower’s varied external spaces were ‘achieved by both protruding beyond the exoskeleton and also pushing sections of the glazed facades inside the structure’ and that they would ‘create generous outdoor living areas while also improving the efficiency of the overall building’.
Modular construction methods using recycled steel, low-carbon concrete and responsibly sourced finishes will cut the tower’s embodied carbon, the practice said. Photovoltaics charge batteries will be used for the tower’s lighting.
Water consumption will also be reduced through greywater recycling, low-flow fixtures and ‘drought-tolerant landscaping’.
Amenities will include an outdoor gym and gaming area, a yoga studio, a library and an observatory deck.
It is not the first time ZHA has used an exoskeleton for designs. Its 42-storey Morpheus Hotel in Macau, completed in 2018, used an exoskeleton as its primary structure. And its design of the 62-storey One Thousand Museum, a residential tower in Miami completed 2020, is supported by an exoskeleton.
The Dubai tower is due to be completed in the second quarter of 2029.
Project Team
Client Imtiaz Developments
Architect Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA)
ZHA team principal: Patrik Schumacher; project director: Paola Cattarin; project associate director: Daniel Fiser; project architect: Maria Echeverri; project team:Ashwanth Govindaraji, Alexandra Fisher, Yiying Wu, Berke Gundogdu, Omar Kaddourah, Ryan Anthony Szanyi, Prasanna Balan, Maddona Kalra, Daniel Coley, Ripple Patel; BIM team: David Fogliano, Mark Winnington, Ninad Katdare; environmental and sustainability team: Carlos Bausa Martinez, Bahaa Alnassrallah, Shibani Choudhury, Aleksander Mastalski, Aditya Ambare and Abhilash Menon
Executive architect AE7
Structural engineer AE7
MEP AE7
Environmental consultant AE7
Façade engineering Tomas Bell-Wright
Fire engineer AE7
Lighting consultant AE7
Landscape consultant AE7
Renderings and animation Bloomimages
