Pentominium, designed by Dr Andrew Bromberg, Executive Director at Aedas, is currently the 6th tallest building under construction and will potentially be the tallest residential tower in the world. Once completed – by the newly appointed Lebanese construction firm, Arabian Construction Co – it will provide 116,200 sq m floor space.

Located in Dubai Marina, this 516m-tower had a unique challenge, in that it had to respond to two different conditions on the site: the density/proximity of the neighbors and the extreme environment pressures of Dubai. Therefore, the building has two different sides that center around a shared core. One side is a simple extrusion that reaches the full height of the building. This side is primarily southern-oriented and utilizes a system of balconies and a vertical layer of glass to mitigate solar gain. As the building rises this layer of glass becomes wider and functions as a wind break to help protect the balcony from the higher-velocity winds as one gets to the extreme heights of the tower.

The other side of the building is a staggered shape, alternating between apartments and voids of sky-gardens. This is achieved through the introduction of 65 story-high pods that cling structurally to the core. This alternation allows for either communal or semi-private spaces and thus enables the tower to ‘breathe’ within its dense context. The result is a very thin, lightweight 516m tower that lightly sits into its setting of extruded neighbors and powerfully maintains its presence in its context and climate.

Pentominium Tower won Best Apartment, Best Development, Best Architecture, Best Property and Best High-rise Architecture Category of 2007 CNBC Arabian Property Awards.

Client: Trident International Holdings
Site Area: 3,500 sq.m.
G.F.A.: 116,200 sq.m.
Completion date: 2012