NYC architectural firm Reiser + Umemoto have designed Aeon II, an office tower that will be located in…you guessed it, Dubai. With Aeon II, the Dubai norm of slick curtain-clad towers has been put aside in favor of a responsive exterior that’s in tune with the arid desert environment. The folded plan-form of this 45-story building combines the inherent efficiency of parallel floors with rich sculptural possibilities. While systematic and rational, each floor plate allows for unique office configurations, ranging from boutique to mid-size open concepts. Magnificent views are created in the tips of the folds resulting in more corner offices, because they’re the most coveted piece of corporate real estate. Moreover, the folded form create an inherently stiff outer surface, which frees the cores from the burden of lateral forces and radically reduces the roles of the central shaft.
For the building’s exterior, a new technology has been proposed. Rather than the traditional curtain wall solution, R+U propose an economical floor to ceiling window-wall assembly, which also allows for the creation of the buildings folded forms. The building’s reticulated skin is made of perforated aluminum panels. These will have a beneficial effect both aesthetically and environmentally, shading the building from glare and heat, yet allowing for directed views from within the offices. The rich variation and quality of the outer shell is created by following the folded building form. Thus while every built element is standard, the openings between them are unusual and continuously vary.
