Projects:
Index Building
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Mixed-use
under construction
Optimal structures for this mixed program were explored with the architect, Foster + Partners, before selecting this clear, architecturally expressed scheme. Six major ‘fins’ carry the weight of the entire 85-story tower and resist all wind loads— their tapering form is a direct response to the need for increased area and breadth at the building base. In the upper half of the tower, residential floors economically use conventional concrete flat slabs by introducing intermediate columns between the fins. At the mid-height lobby level, these columns stop and transfer their loads out to the fins, leaving the office floors below to span an incredible 85 feet (27 m) column free between the fins.
