World Trade Center Bahrain : Architecture Information

BWTC wins prestigious NOVA Award for Innovation 18 Nov 2009 The Atkins designed Bahrain World Trade Center Wind Turbines has been selected by the NOVA Awards Jury to receive the 2009 NOVA Award in Innovation. This award, instituted by the Construction Innovation Forum in 1989 is a distinction that illuminates the innovations that have made important contributions to the international construction industry. This year a total of 641 international entries vied for recognition, first undergoing an investigation by national engineering experts before being subjected to a panel of jurors. The award was presented at the Awards Gala in Lake Buena Vista (Orlando), Florida on Tuesday, November 17 in conjunction with the National Conference of the Construction Users Round Table (CURT). In acknowledgement of the award, Atkins Design Director Shaun Killa thanked the jury for recognising the firm's engineering innovation in the international construction industry. "We are honoured that the Bahrain World Trade Center has been awarded this highly prestigious accolade for Innovation in the global construction industry. We hope this award will encourage others designers and developers to consider more innovative design solutions to reduce their building's energy and water consumption, and ultimately reduce their carbon emissions." The NOVA Awards Banquet is the annual international showcase for construction innovation. Please visit www.curt.org for more information. Iconic Bahrain towers reach further milestone The Atkins-designed Bahrain World Trade Center (BWTC) has announced the official certification of the building’s wind turbines by Bahrain’s Electricity Distribution Directorate (EDD). BWTC Photo from Atkins 211108 The turbines were inaugurated in April of 2008. Since then they have been undergoing daily safety and regulatory testing, and were commissioned to mark Bahrain’s National Day in December 2008. The BWTC’s turbines are the first in the world to be integrated into a large scale commercial development, and are predicted to provide 11-15% of the power needed to operate the offices of the 50 storey twin towers. Peter Longstaff, Atkins’ senior project manager, said: “The official certification from the EDD means that the turbines have passed their health and safety and quality inspections, so they are now fully operational and are supplying power to the development.” This milestone follows the BWTC’s most recent accolade, when it was named “Best Tall Building” in the Middle East and Africa region for 2008 by architecture’s leading body dedicated to the field of tall buildings, The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH). Bahrain World Trade Center, Manama, Bahrain 23 Dec 2007 Bahrain World Trade Center - Description Atkins was appointed to provide all masterplanning architecture and structural and MEP engineering design services for the Bahrain World Trade Center site, located on the main King Faisal Highway in Manama, Bahrain. More than half its area was previously developed, and comprised the Sheraton Bahrain Hotel, an associated single-storey luxury shopping mall, an office tower, car parking facilities, services and landscaped areas. We developed the masterplan for the extended development that rejuvenates the existing mall and hotel and provides additional 50 storey twin office towers with unobstructed views over the Arabian Gulf, a new shopping mall with anchor tenant and several food outlets. The focal point of the development is the twin triangular shaped towers which sit above a sculpted three-story podium. Tapering to a height of 240m, each tower is visually anchored to the ground by a concertina of curved, sail-like forms, and provides 34 floors of office space and an exclusive viewing deck on the 42nd floor. Unique to this building and rising to the challenge of incorporating renewable energy solutions within sustainable architecture, the design includes three 29m diameter wind turbines horizontally supported on bridges. The turbines are expected to produce between 11 and 15 percent of the total electrical consumption of the towers. Many months of research, including extensive dialogue with turbine manufacturers, was conducted through the feasibility concept and design development stages of the project. Technical validation included computational fluid dynamics modelling, wind tunnel testing, vibration and acoustic assessments, electrical integration analysis and SARM analysis. Output from these was incorporated by design teams into an integrated building, bridge and turbine design. Atkins is also responsible for the supervision of construction. Client: Confidential Facility: Commercial Features: 240m high twin office towers, shopping mall and food outlets Size: 120,00m2 total built up area Status: Under construction Awards: LEAF Awards 2006 - Best use of technology within a large scheme Bahrain World Trade Center images / information from Atkins 231207