RIBAJ

Twisting as it rises, the ceramic-clad Wasl Tower in Dubai is designed in response to a challenging climate, and the city.

“Many towers in Dubai are affected by wind loads,” explains @ben_van_berkel, founder and principal of @we.are.uns. “While Wasl Tower could be seen as mitigating these loads on a macro scale by dampening the wind currents around the building, our primary goal was more at a micro level, seeking to harvest the wind’s cooling power by allowing it to flow around the ceramic fins and through the perforated metal grilles on their flanks, helping to expel the heat gain in the terracotta back into the atmosphere instead of through the curtain wall”.

Building performance was not the only driver for the tower’s form. UNS also pursued the idea of contrapposto – a tradition in Classical sculpture which challenges the rigidity of forms with a front, a back and two sides – so that the tower’s appearance shifts to address the urban environment in all directions.

👉 Read our full interview with Ben van Berkel at ribaj.com – link in bio

📸: @ahmadannaji / JohnsonEye
✍️: Felix Mara