dubai tall emblem structure by francois blanciak architect
image courtesy francois blanciak architect

continuing our coverage of the the thyssenkrupp elevator award to develop an iconic tall
emblem structure for zaabeel park in dubai, heer is francois blanciak architects' proposal.

the tower is conceived as virtually reversible, its top and bottom parts having similar circular
characteristics. in sharp contrast with the surrounding office buildings, the circulation core
here is not the focus of the plan but an element around which the program of the tower oscillates.
the lower part of the project contains a children’s library on level 1, and a series of 3
conference rooms on level 2. as a reference to islamic architecture, a shaded arcade surrounds
the ground level courtyard that leads to the entrance of the children’s library. hosting
an art gallery and designed as a prolongation of the movement induced by the rest of the
building, the generously cantilevered top-level viewing platform offers a 270° panoramic view
of the most scenic part of the dubai skyline. structurally, the tower is engineered as a continuous
steel cage which transmits the load to the deep central foundations of the circulation
core. as the two opposite horizontal parts of the tower are basically symmetrical, the weight
of the podium is used to balance and stabilize the cantilever of the viewing platform.


dubai tall emblem structure - bird's eye view
image courtesy francois blanciak architect


dubai tall emblem structure - site plan
image courtesy francois blanciak architect


cross section and south east elevation
image courtesy francois blanciak architect




plans of levels 1, 2, 4 and intermediate level
image courtesy francois blanciak architect