Aedas commissioned for Iris Crystal

International architecture firm Aedas has been commissioned to design the Iris Crystal office project in Business Bay, Dubai.

The new project will make use of a façade skin to voluntarily meet LEED requirements. The 25-storey building is estimated to cost US$68m.

"The unique double-skin façade is an important environmental device, having an outer mashrabiya screen which immediately reduces solar heat gain and glare," explained Boran Agoston, designer of the Iris Crystal and a director at Aedas.

The tower, designed for client Sheth Estate International, is based on simple geometry, while the outer façade follows a more fluid approach.

Key sustainable elements in the façade include the perforated solar skin. Beneath this is a glazed façade with continuous balconies, which provide solar shading. The balconies also ensure the incremental variation of each floor plan cannot be perceived directly from below and provide a natural cantilever connection for the façade's outer skin.

The tower itself will stand on a podium containing parking and retail elements, and will be located at the head of Business Bay Lake.