Zakari office building - Riyadh KSA - 2008 - Architecture

The project is situated in Riyadh KSA; it consists of the renovation of an existing structure composed from three levels of around 2500M2 each with one parking basement. The new project shows an addition of three partial floors facing the main road of around 1300M2 each. The large floors at the existing levels were lit by an internal central atrium which includes the escalators linking the three floors. The new proposal provides two more atriums at the lateral sides to enable better ventilation and lighting of these areas. The back elevation, opening to the back road, was blocked to avoid direct view to the facing residential area. New windows are created behind a continuous aluminum louver system that extended to the roof level of the existing building providing shade and visual discontinuity with the surrounding. A technical floor is created between the existing and the new structure by adding a cover concrete slab on the top of the existing. This floor includes the HVAC system that is ventilated on the front, the back and the upper part of the atriums through continuous aluminum louvers. The skin of the new floors is composed from two layers at the front and back elevations. The first layer consists of a curtain wall based on repetitive different modules, it includes glazed panels, aluminum opaque panels, and louvered aluminum slits for ventilation need. The second layer consists of a suspended louver system showing different orientation in accordance with the behind curtain wall variable openings. The louvers are composed from colored resin panels fixed to aluminum frames on the both sides. The whole system is suspended by stainless steel cables fixed horizontally on the slabs edges to avoid lateral movement. The elevation of the front side of the existing levels is replaced by a curtain wall composed from glazed and opaque panels (both resin and aluminum as shown on drawings). The lateral elevations are blocked by the lateral buildings and remain without any architectural intervention. Some structural works will be done to reinforce the existing. All the external works will be removed and replaced by new tiling, landscaping and new architectural fixtures.