Jessica Liszewski

Blog Post 8

Capital Gate located in Abu Dhabi is another one of Tom Wrights designs. The curvy shape of the tower was inspired by the sea and desert. The buildings shape represents a swirling spiral of sand and the curved canopy is known as the “Splash” rises up on one side to create a wave-like effect. Capital Gate holds the world record for the most inclined tower in the world. This leaning tower has an inclination 4 times that of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, constructed with an 18 degree westward lean. It functions as a 5-star hotel under the Hilton Corporation, and it serves as a convention center for political and hierarchy meetings. The first 12 floors are vertically stacked and from there to the top floor at floor 36, there is gradual offset increasing as you go up which gives rise to the inclination. It holds the worlds first pre-curved core which consists of 15,000 cubic meters of reinforced concrete and 10,000 tons of steele. The external structure consists of a very strong exo-skeleton, called the diagrid, a diagonal steel mesh that carries all the weight of the floors and avoids having to use pillars or beams. The floor plates change shape and orientation to created the overhang moving from triangular to rectangular. Capital tower has a completely unsymmetrical shape which leads to no two rooms out of the 189 to be the same.

Sources: https://www.idesign.wiki/tom-wright/ http://www.skyscrapercenter.com/building/capital-gate-tower/3172