Masdar Headquarters, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Chicago firm wins global competition to design first ‘positive energy” building in Abu Dhabi
Adrian Smith+Gordon Gill Architecture (AS+GG) has won a global competition to design the Masdar Headquarters building in the emerging ecocity of Masdar, Abu Dhabi - the world’s first carbon neutral city. The building will be the first net positive energy building in Abu Dhabi, producing more energy than it uses. Smith and Gill, who formed a partnership in 2006 after years together at SOM, are no strangers when it comes to designing energy efficient towers. While at SOM the two collaborated on the design of the worlds first net zero energy tower in Guangzhou, China.

In line with Abu Dhabi’s 2030 development plan, Masdar is choosing to emphasize sustainability over height. In addition to being the first mixed use net energy project in the city, the new Masdar headquarters will be the lowest energy consumer per sq ft for a Class A office building in a desert climate. It will feature one of the world’s largest photovoltaic arrays, employ the largest solar thermal driven cooling and dehumidification system, and be the first building in history to generate power for its own construction.

Construction of Masdar City commenced in February 2008. The city will be constructed over seven phases and is due to be completed by 2016. Masdasr Headquarters is part of phase one and will be completed by the end of 2010.

Sharon McHugh
US Correspondent
source:www.worldarchitecturenews.com
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