Siemens’ Middle East Headquarters Will Be An Energy Efficient Model for Masdar City

Siemens' Middle East Headquarters in <a href="http://inhabitat.com/foster-partners-carbon-neutral-masdar-city-rises-in-the-desert/">Masdar City</a> is already under construction - and it's set to be an energy-efficient model for commercial buildings. Designed by <a href="http://www.sheppardrobson.com/projects/page.cfm?projectID=100275" target="_blank">Sheppard Robson</a>, the office building is situated right next to the light rail station and it will be 44% more energy-efficient than the baseline ASHRAE energy requirements. Aiming for LEED Platinum, the <a href="https://www.realestate.siemens.com/hq/en/index.php" target="_blank">Siemens Real Estate</a> building features a high-performance building envelope conceived as a box within a box that will maximize daylight and views but minimize solar heat gain.

<a href="https://www.realestate.siemens.com/hq/en/index.php" target="_blank">Siemens</a> and <a href="http://www.sheppardrobson.com/" target="_blank">Sheppard Robson</a> had one over-arching goal for the new middle east headquarters which was to maximize energy efficiency by building more with less.

The 20,000 sq meter building is designed as a box within a box featuring a highly insulated and tight inner envelope covered with a highly engineered aluminum facade to reduce solar heat gain.

Designed through an iterative process of traditional design and parametric analysis, the lightweight aluminum external shading system which minimizes solar gain while maximizes daylighting and views from the building.

The ground floor is conceived as a shaded public plaza and encourages pedestrian activity in and under the building to connect with the light rail station nearby.

External rooms, retail space and two office reception areas are situated in this open air public space and serve as an entrance to the building. Inside there are nine atria that punctuate the office space to provide more natural daylighting.

The open column-free floorplates makes use of an innovative post-tensioned flat slab with integrated void-forming technology that reduces materials and maximizes flexibility in office planning.