The Gateway Towers, as the name suggests, are a set of identical twin towers framing the entrance from Sheikh Zayed Road into the Al Khaleed Al Tejari 1 Street leading to the Business Bay area of Dubai’s coast. Rising to 72 floors from twin L-shaped podium level base flanking the road corners, the towers majestically define not just the entry to a prime business district, but also the surrounding cityscape with their tall, iconic, steely pinnacled spires which are second only to the Burj Khalifa.
Size: 72,77,000 SF
Services : : Master Planning, Building
Design - Architecture, Landscape
Design, Interior Design Concept
Collaboration : Stantec (Formerly Burt Hill) Jayesh Hariyani while Director at Burt Hill
The Gateway Towers, as the name suggests, are a set of identical twin towers framing the entrance from Sheikh Zayed Road into the Al Khaleed Al Tejari 1 Street leading to the Business Bay area of Dubai’s coast. Rising to 72 floors from twin L-shaped podium level base flanking the road corners, the towers majestically define not just the entry to a prime business district, but also the surrounding cityscape with their tall, iconic, steely pinnacled spires which are second only to the Burj Khalifa.
Having composite panel clad surfaces curvaceously looping around pervasive glazed facades, the 26 m high bases to both towers house branded retail outlets and recreational facilities including a variety of soft and hard landscape elements adorning the street shoulders at the ground level and the green podium on the top. While active fronts light up the roadside, two levels of malls line the ribboning circulation paths within. The foot bridge from the Business Bay metro station connects to these inner and outer circulation spaces, which in turn connect across the two towers a glass bridge at the podium level through, together forming an unbroken sequence of pedestrian movement enhancing the vibrancy of the retail and recreation spaces.
Sinuous bands seem to slice away from these base elements to rise up as symmetrical cylinders wrapped in steely, glassy high-tech aesthetics, punctuated by lit up slits. Adorned throughout their height by traditionally inspired and intricately designed perforated geometrical screens, the towers delineate an iconic gateway that is at once international of substance and local of flavor.
A plethora of mixed-use programs get covered within the premises of the Gateway Towers. A vibrant and seamless pedestrian path gets chalked in and around the bases connecting the metro station at one end, across the street via a bridge, and to the Business Bay in the final lap. Vehicular movement on Sheikh Zayed road and Al Khaleed Al Tejari 1 Street have been addressed and organized. Business spaces including malls, individual entities and offices mixed with recreational and F&B outlets find premium interfaces at the base of the towers. While one entire tower has residential units viz. 1, 2, 3, and 4 BHK premium urban homes up to the 72nd floor, the floors on other tower are divided between luxurious serviced apartments and a 250 key boutique hotel. The living spaces in both towers are arranged around an elaborate central circulation core which connects down to multi-level parking facilities, and the outer surfaces afford the residents breathtaking views of Dubai round them. Residential lofts are also available, lining the street side edges of the L-shaped bases.
An investigative approach to the design was applied wherein critical data was collected and analyzed regarding the anticipated flow of pedestrian and vehicular traffic in all directions, sun angles and heat generation, energy requirements of various functions and spaces, material, financial and human resources required at various stages of the project, and many others. The analysis of this data was synthesized by a collaborative team of designers, engineers, BIM experts, animators and landscape architects in a complex coordinative process through a real time integrated application of energy modelling, animation, BIM and financial modelling. The result was the installation of a set of apt sustainable infrastructure that transformed, added value to and enhanced this space into a global benchmark for urban planning and design, and an iconic landmark for Dubai.
“A Metaphor for the Twin Peaks of Iconicity and Integrative Efficiency.”
