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Al Hamra Tower Kuwait

Al Hamra & Firdous Tower: Sculpted Skyscraper Building design by SOM Architects.

post updated 16 February 2024

Al Hamra Tower Building Photos

The tallest carved concrete skyscraper in the World.

photographs © Alex-Tiberiu Balasa

page updated 10 Feb 2018

Al Hamra Tower Photos

Almost complete NBK Tower by Foster + Partners on the left:

photos © Alex-Tiberiu Balasa

sumptuous building interior:

building facade:

The formal entrance to the North, with the facade cladding curving out from the building to form a porte-cochère:

Retail mall interior:

photographs © Adrian Welch, architect

page updated 25 Feb 2017

Kuwait Sculpted Skyscraper Building by SOM

New photos of Al Hamra Firdous Tower:

photos © Adrian Welch

The Al Hamra Tower is the tallest building in Kuwait and the 23rd tallest in the world.

Dates built: 2005-11

Designed by architectural firms Skidmore, Owings and Merrill and Callison, it is the tallest carved concrete skyscraper in the World at 414 m (1,358 ft).

Turner Construction was in charge of the tower’s construction.

Al Hamra Firdous Tower by SOM (USA) and National Bank of Kuwait Tower by Foster + Partners (UK):

In context – Kuwait City skyscraper buildings:

Al Hamra & Firdous Tower

Architect: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP

Date built: 2011

Location: centre of Kuwait City, Kuwait

20 Jan 2012
Named by CTBUH as one of the The three tallest buildings to complete in 2011: World Skyscrapers

Kuwait City Tower images © Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP

Kuwait City Tower

Rising 412 meters in the center of Kuwait City, Al Hamra & Firdous tower is a landmark tower of iconic sculptural form that offers breathtaking views of the Arabian Gulf. The purity of its form, expressed by a simple operation of removal, will be a timeless, elegant marker in the heart of Kuwait.

With the aim of maximizing views and minimizing solar heat gain on the office floors, a quarter of each floor plate is chiseled out of the south side, shifting from west to east over the height of the tower. The result reveals a rich, monolithic stone at the south wall framed by the graceful, twisting ribbons of torqued walls, defining the iconic form of the tower.

The building’s appearance resembles a subtle, elegant modern sculpture or an enshrouded figure with its delicate glass veil reflecting the profile of the peninsula. The resultant form will provide transparency on the north, east and west sides towards the Gulf and near-complete opacity side against the severe desert sun to the south.

Al Hamra & Firdous Tower Kuwait film on YouTube

The solid south wall is generated in order to decrease the solar radiation. Openings are based on the relationship of the envelope and its position in relation to the sun. The geometry of the interior wall is generated and responds to the need to minimize solar heat gain. This wall not only protects the building from critical environmental conditions, but also takes on the role of the structural spine of the building. The point at the apex of the tower not only resolves this complex geometry of the carved flared walls but also implies the continuation of the sculptural form infinitely upwards.

On each floor of the tower a skybridge connects the two wings and presents a dramatic spatial experience with deep sculpted windows in the south wall providing dramatic views south towards the city, the peninsula and the infinite desert beyond.

The tower will welcome tenants with a soaring 20-meter tall lobby featuring a high articulated lamella structure which supports the tower above and articulates the space below. The geometry of the lobby area is generated by applying the principles of lamella structures. The structure provides continuity from the building to its footing and acts as a strengthening component while being completely integrated with the structure.

Al Hamra & Firdous Tower Kuwait – Building Information

Architect: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP
Status: ocompleted
Location: Kuwait City, Kuwait
Size: 195,000 gross square meters (approx. 2.1 million gross square feet)
Height: 412 meters (1,381 feet) – 74 storeys
Completion Date: 2011

Al Hamra & Firdous Tower – Key People

Client/Developer: Al Hamra Real Estate Co.

Architect: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP
Gary Haney, AIA Design Partner
Peter Magill, AIA Managing Partner
Carl Galioto, FAIA Technical Partner
Donald R. Williams, AIA Project Manager
Aybars Asci, AIA Senior Designer
Mark Igou, AIA Senior Technical Coordinator
Dean MacKenzie Designer
Samuel Ness Technical Coordinator, Eric Van Epps Technical Coordinator, James Mallory, Noppon Pisutharnon, Yasemin Kologlu, Souraya Daouk, Tobias Schwinn

Associate Architect: Al-Jazera Consultants

Structural Engineer: Skidmore Owings & Merrill LL
Mark Sarkisian, Structural Partner
Neville Mathais ; Aarom Mazeika, Senior Structural Engineer

MEP Engineer: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Roger Frechette, PE, LEED AP Director, MEP Engineering
Philip Sawyer, Senior Mechanical Engineer
Ermenegildo Di Iorio, Senior Electrical Engineer
Michael Scotter, Mechanical Engineer

Project Manager: Turner Construction Co., International
General Contractor: Ahmadiah Contracting & Trading Co.
Telecom, Acoustics, Security, IT: Shen Milsom & Wilke
Vertical Transportation: Van Deusen & Associates
Lighting: OVI (Office for Visual Interaction)
Façade Maintenance: Entek Engineering
Renderer: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP

Al Hamra & Firdous Tower Architect : Skidmore, Owings & Merrill

Kuwait Skyscarper Building Photos

To take the same photos of such tall building in detail, you should definitely use the best architecture photography camera and a wide-angle lens from a popular camera brand like Sony, Canon or Nikon.

Location: Al Hamra, Kuwait City, Kuwait