These beautiful twin office towers in Abu Dhabi borrow ancient Arabic architectural elements to create an innovative way to shield themselves from sunlight. The two buildings are overlaid by a mechanized geometric “skin” with triangular panels that follow the sun to block it out.
The sunscreen design by Aedas Architects was inspired by the masharabiya, a beautiful form of ornate sunscreen that shields windows in the Arab world from glaring sunlight and prying eyes. The 145m-tall towers underneath, completed in 2012, are covered in glass, so the sunscreens reduce sunlight-generated heat in the building by at least 50% and probably help with the air conditioning bill as well! Open, close, and even travel horizontally to block the sun. Computers control the screens.
Image credits: Ben Job
Image credits: Aedas
Image credits: Christian Richters
Image credits: Reuters
Image credits: Daniel Erne
Image credits: Daniel Erne
Image credits: unknown
Like what you’re reading? Subscribe to our top stories.
Discussion about this post