Burj Rub al-Hizb - Multifunctional residential complex in the city of Dubai

Project idea

In April 2021, a major urban project was publicly announced − the Dubai Urban Development Plan until 2040 – "DUBAI 2040". The program was created in order to cope with the existing urban planning problems of the city, improve the comfort of 5 key areas, and prepare the city for population growth, which is projected to increase from 3.6 million now to 7.8 million people by 2040.
The projected multifunctional residential complex is located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in the Al Sufouh district, Dubai Marina/JDR administrative district. The site is located on the coastal street of regional significance King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud St., from which you can get to the highway of urban significance Sheikh Zayed Rd after 1.3 km. The site connects to the projected artificial island on which the object is located. The plot area is 6.6 hectares, the area of the artificial island is 9 hectares.
The location of the complex is connected to other structures on artificial islands in this administrative area, Ain Dubai on the artificial island of Bluewaters, The palm Tower on the artificial island of Palm Jumeiran and Burj Al Arab on its own artificial island. These structures are island structures, thereby creating a compositional view of the city's coast, and precisely because their composition is scattered and not noticeable, a multifunctional residential complex is being designed that supports the high-altitude rhythm of the composition and unites the buildings of the coast of the district with the integrity of the visual series, as a result of which the building has acquired a height and is a supertall skyscraper.
As a result of the analysis of the functional zoning of the surrounding area of the site, it was decided to locate a public park on the coastal area, which is connected by bridges with an artificial island and the main complex. The artificial island is divided into 2 main zones – public and residential, so that visitors to the public area have the closest accessibility, and residents of the complex have the best location relative to natural resources, such as access to their own beaches and comfortable insolation of courtyards. The shape of the island is also subordinated to the shape of the projected object.

Project description

Since Islam is the official religion in the United Arab Emirates, the center of the concept of the volume of the complex was adopted by the Muslim symbol Rub al-hizb (an eight-pointed star with a circle in the center), which is used in the Koran, the holy book of Muslims. This symbol not only allows you to emphasize the cultural features of the design location, but also allows you to give plasticity to the shape of the facade of the object, thereby making a more streamlined shape to reduce wind impacts on the skyscraper. Therefore, the building was named Burj Rub al-Hizb.
The object has a double glass facade system, the first group of the glass facade protects the premises of the complex itself, and the second group of the facade, in addition to reducing the wind load due to the shape, is also a sun protection mechanism, which, due to the air gap between the facades, reduces the temperature in the premises, as a result of which it reduces the cost of cooling the complex in a particularly hot climate. The space between the two layers of the facade is created by eleven atriums of gardens and recreation areas. The planned complex provides energy saving and electricity generation systems from renewable energy sources such as solar energy, wind energy, as well as the reuse of water resources. The Burj Rub al-Hizb facility has a daily evening backlight with dimming, as well as unique scenarios for festive lighting.

Technical information

The complex is represented in 98 above–ground and 2 underground levels in a single structure, visually divided into 2 vertical blocks - a static angular shape at the base and a dominant streamlined one extending to the end of the object. The stability of the facility is achieved through the use of frame-trunk, multi-barrel structural systems, outrigger systems every 8 floors and stiffeners in the form of reinforced plates at each level. Outrigger systems also provide shading on the first facade of the object, which in turn is a sun protection mechanism in this climate. The complex has developed a complex elevator node with a clear functional zoning, which allows for timely accessibility for visitors of different groups. The facility is designed according to fire safety standards and accessibility standards for low-mobility groups of the United Arab Emirates. The entire complex is equipped with a Building Management System (BMS), this system allows you to effectively manage all the equipment in the building.
The complex itself is divided into 3 main parts – public, office and residential. The public part is located on 2 underground and 8 ground levels of the facility, including a shopping center, a service center for residents of the complex, a multi-level distribution parking lot designed for all visitors to the facility, as well as a restaurant on the last 97 and 98 levels. There are also landscaped terraces in the public part, which are designed as an extension of the adjacent park.
The office part is located from the 9th to the 31st floor, including office space, staff quarters, conference rooms and canteens for employees. Also, the office part uses a non–standard design solution for skyscrapers - a multi-barrel structural system. The change of the structural system in different modules of the building is possible due to the use of outrigger systems. In the atrium spaces between the two facades of the office area, there are recreation areas for employees.
The residential part consists of 2 types of apartments and occupies from 32 to 95 levels, the main types of apartments are business class and elite class. The business class consists of single and double apartments from 33 to 71 floors. The elite class is presented in the form of two-level four-bedroom apartments and four-bedroom apartments with increased comfort. Also, recreation areas and an eco-farm system for the needs of residents have been created on each ground floor of residential modules (8-level part of the building). The eco-farm is presented in the form of a system of vertical farms, cells in which each apartment has. There are also employees in this zone who are able to work with a highly automated agro-industrial complex for growing cultivated plants using hydroponics or aeroponics methods indoors. Residents' recreation areas are located near the panoramic glazing and around the eco-farm system, they are equipped with decorative landscaping and additional amenities.