An icon of architecture and sustainability has been created in the middle of the desert: The new headquarter of the BEEAH Group not only boasts organic design and the highest quality standards, but also a LEED Platinum certificate. Lindner Steel & Glass contributed to the project with a skylight, façade and courtyard glazing package.
Designed by Zaha Hadid
Inspired by the undulating sand dunes, the 9,000 m2 headquarters of environmental management company BEEAH blends almost seamlessly into the Al Sajaa desert: The late architect Zaha Hadid and her team at Zaha Hadid Architects used the UAE landscape as inspiration for the iconic building. Soft, natural forms without straight lines, organic walls and ceilings, and the curved façade are now emblematic of the next generation of office buildings.
Special Solutions for Special Conditions
Instead of large expanses of glass, the façade of the BEEAH headquarters in Sharjah was designed primarily with glass-fibre reinforced concrete elements. These regulate solar radiation and temperatures inside the building, making them ideal for the extreme weather conditions in the Middle East. However, special measures had to be taken to cure the GFRC elements in the middle of the desert: For two months, work on the 18-metre-high concrete dome was carried out at night – only then were the otherwise prevailing temperatures of up to 40 degrees tolerable.
A Lindner Project of the Highest Standard
Lindner Steel & Glass was responsible for the design, manufacture, supply and installation supervision of several façade areas of the headquarters – including the triangulated and twisted ribbon facade, the sloping skylight roof and the approximately 650 m2 façade of sloping glass panels in the entrance area. Another special feature is the courtyard façade of vertically curved glass, which presented the team with fabrication and installation challenges. To match the façade elements, Lindner also manufactured matt steel mullions and transoms and the associated thermally coated glazing. All of these elements were manufactured specifically for the project in the United Arab Emirates: On the one hand, to save additional CO2 emissions and, on the other, to meet the high quality standards of the architects and the client. Automatic entrance doors, aluminium revolving doors and automatic windows complete the package.
Futuristic. Sustainable. Digital.
In addition to the choice of materials, colours and finishes, the building was constructed with a particular focus on sustainability and the use of cutting-edge technologies. The new headquarters is equipped with a virtual concierge, futuristic meeting rooms, remote workspaces and an intelligent building management system that, for example, regulates the lighting and temperature inside the building according to the time of day. Electricity is generated by the building's own solar panels and stored on site in Tesla batteries, while waste water is self-filtered to minimise consumption. Re-use, avoidance and recycling of construction waste was a major concern during the construction process. This is the only way the BEEAH headquarters has achieved LEED Platinum status – with net zero emissions and minimal energy consumption.
