Dewan to design new landmark in Dammam

Dewan Architects & Engineers, one of the region’s leading architectural and engineering consulting firms, has been awarded the consultancy contract to design and supervise the construction of the Al-Abdulkarim Tower, the new headquarters of Al-Abdulkarim Holding (AKH), in Dammam.
Part of the 27 office floors will be assigned for AKH headquarters and the remaining office floors will be rented to outside companies.
The 35-floor commercial tower is set to open in 2014 at a strategic location within the bustling city of Dammam in the Eastern Province.
Parking facilities in the basement and 7 podiums could accommodate up to 404 cars. The total height of the tower, from the ground up, is around 150 meters.
Designed as an ‘intelligent’ building, the tower will be equipped with a state-of-the-art telecommunication system, a CCTV system, access control system, energy-saving system, computer-based building management system (BMS), a sophisticated Data Center and an advanced audiovisual system for the conference rooms.
The tower will also feature a backup standby generator and uninterruptible power supply (UPS).
According to Mohamed Al-Assam, founder and chairman of Dewan, the tower will feature a retail podium, wrapped around its main volume, as well as double-height clear glass cladding to demarcate the location of the common floors and clearly distinguish AHK’s HQ offices from the remaining lower offices which are to be leased to other firms.
The result is an aesthetically commanding tower characterized by layered juxtaposed volumes, which create an interesting composition of straight tilted and solid translucent lines and
volumes.
Additionally, the tower’s façade and tilting volumes will allow for interesting undulations within the interior, creating distinctive and dynamic office spaces on every floor, which allows the building to cater to numerous companies with varying spatial needs.