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Construction has begun on Strata Tower by New York-based architects [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Due to be completed in 2011, the tower will have 40 storeys and be 160 metres high.

The following information is from Asymptote:
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The Strata Tower, a
forty-story, luxury residential building designed by architects Hani
Rashid and Lise Anne Couture of Asymptote, has broken ground on Al Raha
Beach and is now under construction. The tower is scheduled for
completion in early 2011 and, at a height of 160 meters, will be the
tallest building in the Al Dana precinct, the centerpiece of Aldar
Properties PJSC’s prestigious Al Raha Beach development. The project
and development will be showcased at Cityscape Abu Dhabi from May 13–15, 2008. The landmark Strata Tower is designed to signify a dignified and important future for Abu Dhabi and the region.



As a signature architectural statement, the Strata Tower’s
articulate, striking physical presence seeks to encapsulate meaning
through the use of abstract form drawn from both local cultural
landscapes and motifs and dynamic forces of global influence. The Strata Tower’s
design utilizes primarily mathematical means in its design to achieve
both a poetic, as well as highly pertinent, architecture for the UAE, a
region in flux with ambitions for continued rapid growth.



The Strata Tower’s
innovative form was created using state-of-the-art, advanced parametric
modeling tools and techniques from the onset of the design process to
the production phase. The building’s design emerged from various
influences and factors including economies of production and
fabrication with special consideration given to environmental
sustainability. Sophisticated computer modeling and tools were utilized
to produce the building’s intelligent, environmentally responsive
louver system that is held in a unique, cantilevered exoskeleton
structure. The exoskeleton veils the entire tower in a shimmering
curvilinear form set against Abu Dhabi’s surrounding desert and sea, embracing and reflecting the ever-changing light and atmospheres that enfold and contain it.



As architecture the Strata Tower
resists being an overt, singular gesture reliant on a set meaning or
association. Rather, the mathematical properties used, not unlike those
in the manifestation of the arabesque or abstract calligraphy, give the
building its supreme elegance, prominence and potential for meaning and
significance.



Principal Architects: Hani Rashid and Lise Anne Couture
Structural and MEP Engineer: ARUP, New York
Façade Consultant: Front Inc., New York
Building Information Modeling (BIM) Consultant: Gehry Technologies, Los Angeles & New York
Environmental Designers: Atelier Ten, New York & London



About Asymptote Architecture

Asymptote Architecture was
founded by principals Hani Rashid and Lise Anne Couture in 1989. Since
Asymptote’s founding the New York-based firm has been at the forefront
of technological innovation in the field of architecture and design and
received international acclaim for visionary building designs and
large-scale master plans. Asymptote is currently working on a broad
range of commissions at sites in the United States, Europe, the United
Arab Emirates and Asia including three landmark towers in Tbilisi,
Georgia; commercial office towers in Budapest and Prague and the World
Business Center Busan in Busan, South Korea, slated to be one of the
tallest buildings in Asia upon its completion in 2011. In addition to
the Strata Tower, projects designed by Asymptote now under construction include an innovative, high-end condominium building in New York City and a 500-room hotel in the United Arab Emirates.


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Posted by Rose Etheringtonhome:dezeen.com