Case study: Rolex Tower

Rolex Tower
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Architect: SOM
Location: Dubai, UAE

The project

This 60-story mixed-use tower is the second building to be completed by SOM in Dubai in 2010, after the firm saw the Burj Khalifa – the tallest building in the world – open for business earlier in the year. The tower includes 25 floors of two-and three-bedroom apartments, including two penthouses, and 31 levels of office space and ground-floor retail outlets and restaurants.

The Site

The 235m building is the latest addition to Dubai’s skyscraper-heavy Sheikh Zayed Road, and within a stone’s throw of SOMs Burj Khalifa. The developers hope that the Rolex Tower will set a new standard for tall buildings on the city’s world-famous thoroughfare, which has a mixture of high-quality designs – Emirates Towers and the World Trade Center, as well as a number of dated structures.

The Concept

SOM intended the Rolex Tower to represent a ‘shimmering desert mirage’, with the firm’s managing partner George Efstathiou saying that the design reflected the Rolex watch brand. “The building epitomizes the classic design elegance of the iconic timepiece that shares the tower’s name,” he said. A total of 40,000 m of aluminum and glass were used for the exterior, with 3385 tons of steel and 29,150 m3 of concrete used in the structure.

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An impressive glass facade extends from the foot of the 235m building to its very tip, which is capped with a clear glass beacon. SOM chose high performance, patterned green glass which fades as it the building ascends.

The tower has two set back areas designed to be used as sky terraces, while the horizontal slots at the base of the building are intended to mimic the movement of the street below, while also providing shading onto the pavement below.

Peter Ruggiero, SOM design partner, said: “Like a symphony, buildings play a roles in cities much like musicians who come together to perform a piece of music. Every participant is equally as important and when in unison, the overall effect is quite beautiful. Rolex Tower clarifies this urban vision by fitting seamlessly into Dubai’s cityscape through classic and elegant design.”

In the lobby of the building is a sculpture by Dubai-based artist James Clar of the Traffic gallery, entitled Soundwave. The seven-metre polished stainless steel sculpture represents the actual waveform of a voice saying ‘Rolex Tower’ and is suspended 2.5 m above the ground.