Masdar, Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, Headquarters Building
Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.

We issued construction documents this week for the 1.25-million-sf, seven-story Masdar Headquarters, the world’s first net positive-energy building producing more energy than it consumes. We are providing structural design services for Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill. The building’s form adapts the science and aesthetics of vernacular Arabic architecture, emphasizing natural ventilation, sun shading, high thermal mass, courtyards and vegetation. Eleven circular hollow tube steel beam wind cones provide natural ventilation and cooling, drawing warm air up to roof level, and form oasis-like interior courtyards. A vast steel trellis roof canopy incorporates one of the world’s largest photovoltaic panel arrays, while the undulating understructure formed from trusses allows the trellis cantilevers to extend to great lengths. Rooftop gardens at the top level of the base buildings create a microclimate landscaped with indigenous vegetation. The headquarters is the centerpiece of Masdar City, a zero-waste, zero-carbon-emission development, and will accommodate commercial, retail and cultural uses.