Doha

The West Bay district of Qatar’s capital city will become home to a new high-rise quarter in the next few years. The highlight will be a distinctive 200 m tower to be known as the Tornado Tower, a tower with the dynamic form of a whirlwind in the desert to be developed by JSK planners. The shape is based on a construction optimised for economic and energy efficiency that can withstand heavy loads despite its own light weight, while featuring an extremely flexible interior completely free of inetrior supports. Steel-reinforced concrete slabs combine the characteristic steel support structure and the inner reinforced concrete core in the “eye of the tornado.” A lighting concept devised together with Frankfurt lighting artist Thomas Emde emphasises the hyperbolic design of the tower’s structure, with individually controlled lighting elements where the grid members join. The fifty-floor high-rise will accommodate offices, several restaurants, a café and a recreation lounge, creating a city landmark in the new quarter, also at night.