BEEAH HQ

How do you shade a façade of complex geometry?

As world-renowned pioneers in sustainability and digitisation, BEEAH wanted its new headquarters to set a benchmark for sustainable building design.

The state-of-the-art facility which serves as BEEAH’s administrative centre, was designed by Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) to achieve net-zero emissions and meet LEED Platinum standards. Its interconnected ‘dune’ shape blends seamlessly into the surrounding desert environment.

This award-winning building demonstrates how technology can increase sustainability and provides a blueprint for smart, sustainable cities of the future, and the BEEAH headquarters has become one of the more sustainable buildings in the world.

The Challenge:

Located in a semi-desert area near the city of Sharjah, heat and glare had to be accounted for when creating a shading system in order to maintain a comfortable interior whilst still allowing an abundance of natural light daylight and expansive desert views.

Whilst the building was a truly innovative, futuristic Zaha Hadid masterpiece, the unique and complex geometry of the external design provided its own challenge in creating a bespoke internal shading system as explained by Nada Taryam, director of civil and architectural projects at BEEAH: “Because of the complexity of the forms, everything needs to be coordinated prior to installation. All of the parts come together seamlessly, but this building is not a box. Everything is curved and has its own form.”

The Solution:

Guthrie Douglas and Hunter Douglas Middle East worked alongside members of the project design team to engineer a shading solution that would maximise daylight control whilst minimising the visual impact on the façade design.

• Custom-designed tension blinds using Guthrie Douglas’ TESS^TM technology and best-in-class fabric from Helioscreen
• Bottom-up running system emerging through a narrow gap in the GRP floorplate and travelling more than 10 metres, at various angles, to another concealed position within the GRP at the top of the façade
• ‘Twisted’ blind with four out of square fixing points tested to 10,000+ cycles
• Significant reduction in air conditioning usage due to the solar radiation reflected by the blinds.

“Designing a shading system for the unique geometry of BEEAH HQ’s façade required great ingenuity and attention to detail. Guthrie Douglas not only provided a great shading solution but also demonstrated a keen sensitivity to our design objectives and aspirations.”