LIGHT CORE | Eduardo Parra Chavarro

Such symbol of modernization for a City that enters into a new time can´t be conventional or generic, it must be an unprecedented creation that will put Dubai in a whole new stage for future global cities. This new iconic symbol should be original and at the same time local; the Eiffel Tower can exist only in Paris, the same applies for the new Dubai symbol that should only exist in Dubai; this new symbol cannot be generic, can´t be contaminated with ephemeral trends but it should stand as a monument that can´t be copied or reproduced . . . . Original and perpetually there. Dubai gathers tradition and modernity, the tower must reflect both; the new symbol therefore must be a bridge between the ancient and the new. Like the Eiffel Tower that stands as a symbol of a era, like a structure product of its time, the tower for Dubai will stand as a product of this moment; a rationalist structure reminiscent of old Islamic tradition embodied in an avant-garde scheme linking the past, the present and the future. The tower is formulated through a rational framework as reminiscence of Islamic architecture, a rational architecture that promoted emotion thanks to the detail and magnificent craftwork. According to the .dwg file the DMD established in the precise and exact perimeter of the site is 2.30. The tower penetrates into the ground two levels, to endow the structure with more drama for his “performance”, achieving 167.9 meters that are within the range of the 170 meters. The tower is conceived like an entity born out of a spatial module of 3.6 of edge, as symbol of Islamic basic geometrical form used to create its distinguished language through manipulation and progressive geometrical constructions that generate from the abstract figure of the square. The module is then materialized with a “vierendel” structure system that acts like a cage for the fragments that “levitate”; the dimensions of the section of the system is approximately 0.60 meters leaving 3.00 meters of free space between the elements of the system. The stairs system covers 3.00 meters, with 1.50 meters of wide for each stair. The relation of the tower with its surroundings is in concordance with the competition rules as it doesn´t modify or changes the existing buildings and incorporates the existing landscape design; the podium is clear geometrical figure made out of the same material of the pedestrian walkway, that is “dropped” into the path just like every other piece of the landscape design. From then on the structure stands as something particular becoming an abstract and ideal scheme that can be used for a great variety of functions as in Islamic architecture the function is not attached to a specific form, on the contrary, the same form can lodge diverse activities. The suspended fragments of the structure respond efficiently to the winds present in the City; the winds pass through the structure, it doesn´t fight against this element, it flows into its core going up just like the light that gives significance to the proposal. The conception of the tower through the union of several units that create a variety of spaces looking all around into the city, reflect another condition of Islamic architecture; its possibility to grow infinitely and enlarge with the addition of seamlessly units . . . this proposal is therefore extremely coherent with the “light core” as one can join the other in the minds of everyone. The main structure that supports the entire scheme is design, and can be understand, like a giant construction that replicates in a greater scale, one module of the tower itself; four giant columns that are closed to lodge the mechanical, ventilation and supply equipments are united with “vierendel” beams that allows permanence in its interiors. The entire structure is conceived to be perceived and experienced in every way possible through the recognition of its complexity thanks to continuous mobility, going up and down, and changing vertical system in almost every floor. This is the most important characteristic, it´s not a “wasted” structure of reinforced concrete (like some communications towers) but a structure that can be experienced from the outside as well from the inside in every level giving the chance to see the whole extension of the city that surrounds the tower. The vertical system of stairs changes position as it enters a whole new fragment, and the joint between every “dislocation” of the stair system is a glass cube that allows interior visions of the object. The tower, as it has been clarified, becomes a bridge that links the movement of the panoramic elevators in each corner and the sound of the city, with the quiet and static, yet monumental, vertical core of the tower that projects the vertical beacon further more than the height of the structure. This proposal is not only a tower of magnificent significance that responds to the requirements of this competition in terms of height, site, program and symbolism . . . it goes further; it stands as a beacon for the world to behold.