(2003) Blue Pearl Tower

client : HE Sheikh Salman Bin Ali Bin Khalifa Al Khalifa
typology : Commercial
services : Architecture
where : Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain

With a gross built-up area of 63,113 sqm, this 183 meter tall, 43 story landmark comprises 30 levels of shell & core office space equipped with state of the art IT facilities, a 10 dedicated 10-storey podium for parking, a social club on the top (41st) floor as well as 510 sqm retail space on the ground and mezzanine levels.

Two lift cores for passengers and parking shuttle service all levels and comply with international standards for a Class A building. All building entrances are geared at ensuring discretion to the tenants and efficiency of distribution.

In what is considered a departure from traditional installations for air conditioning requirements, the property will be the first development in Bahrain to connect to a District Cooling network operated and maintained by an established regional utilities provider. The Blue Pearl Tower’s driving architectural approach is to embody the dynamic atmosphere of Bahrain’s ongoing construction drive with a sticking and immediately recognizable visual icon.

Material selections are suited to the function of this high-profile corporate office tower with an emphasis on consistency of toning and grain, particularly for the stone selection, and an overall neutral adoption of contextual color references. Solid elevations are clad in warm sand-colored granite, with accent tones along the public gallery which are in Indian Juparana; both warm treatments that contrast to the cold tones of the blue double-glazed building envelope which articulates main protrusions through punch-out floor to ceiling vision panels framed in white metallic composite aluminum sheets.

The Diplomatic Area is currently facing numerous landmark projects, including the Sheraton Expansion, the Bahrain Financial Harbor. Other mega-projects are also being planned in this area, and collectively will counterbalance the flurry of speculative construction current underway in the Seef District of Manama.