Vision tower

Since 2005, Thompson, Ventulett, Stainback & Associates (TVS), the Atlanta, Georgia-based architecture firm, has been collaborating with Dubai Properties-a division of Dubai Holdings-on a project that is aimed to create one of the region's premier locations for living and working. After being invited to, and winning, an international design competition in Dubai in 2002, TVS recognised a burgeoning market in the UAE and myriad possibilities throughout the region. When its winning project design didn't come to fruition, TVS began pursuing other projects in the area-namely designing and/or masterplanning Dubai Media City, Dubai Expo Center, Dubai Sports City, Al Soufouh and the spiralling, candle-flickering Dubai Towers-and shortly thereafter, Dubai Properties contacted it about building Vision Tower, the gateway to Business Bay.

Awarded to TVS in 2005, and designed to incorporate 51 customised units in 500,000ft² of commercial space, Vision Tower aims at being one of New Dubai's iconic structures. Connected to Bay Avenue and several professional services via an exclusive pedestrian bridge, Vision Tower, slated for completion in the final quarter of 2008, will be Dubai Properties' only stand alone office tower in a city desperate for freehold commercial space.

The Building

TVS designed an angled sail-shaped curtain wall, which assures a unique spatial layout inside the commercial building. Vision Tower offices will range from 5,000 to 12,000ft² and be limited to the first 38 floors. And, because of its remarkable sculptural infrastructure, no two office spaces within Vision Tower will be identical, but they've all been studied and designed to address specific workplace criteria and to maximise productivity. "The office layout will be able to fit the spaces quite well and with optimal efficiency," says TVS principal architect, Manny Dominguez. "In the end, it's always nice to be in a great building, but it also needs to be an efficient place to work."

Vision Tower's entire façade will comprise a 60-storey glass curtain wall, which will be constructed of metal panels set into a customised, pin-supported glass system. Moreover, the glass chosen for the project is high-performance glass outfitted with transparent glazing, which means that it was chosen for its look as well as its ability to reflect the sun, reduce solar gain and offer a commanding view of the nearby Dubai Creek and Sheikh Zayed Road.

The façade-featuring transparent bent-glass-will be lit internally through the roof, which will act as a glass fin that is backlit to give the tower an elegant glow. The function of the glowing façade will be threefold: A chic source of illumination for onlookers; a symbol of confidence and stability for investors; and, ideally, an inspiration for those operating within its walls. "The façade gives off two kinds of light, depending on how the glazing is perceived," says Dominguez. "If you are in a low-rise building adjacent to the tower looking up, you will see the light reflect in one direction; while those in a high-rise building looking towards the tower will see the light reflected differently."

And, those reflections will be a distinctive element of Vision Tower for a long time to come, as the very nature of the façade is sleek, edgy, innovative and-because TVS chose a classic design instead of a ‘stylistic' or ‘moving' one-timeless.

Once Business Bay is completed, Vision Tower is positioned to, literally and figuratively, rub shoulders with some of Dubai's most prestigious addresses, but Dominguez insists that the philosophy behind Vision Tower goes further than aesthetics or addresses. In fact, he incorporates indigenous geological phenomena into his explanation for the design. "The bent glass façade of the Vision Tower is the building's signature element. The design team strived to create a sail-like object standing tall in the skyline of [Dubai's] desert community," says Dominguez. "The canted façade on the front side of the building incorporates the concept of ‘folded light', which occurs in desert sand dunes when one side of the dune is hit by light and the other side is shaded."

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