Abu Dhabi Port Admin Building
A landmark sustianable office building
January – May 2024In collaboration with Alya AlZeyoudi, Mawadda Abdan, Rawan Habashy, Mayher Matharu
with mentors Tarek Abdoun, Waleed Elsekelly, Mohamed Moustafa
For the New York University Abu Dhabi 2024 Civil Engineering capstone project, we were tasked to design a sustainable seaport that serves as a key trade hub for Abu Dhabi. The admin building would serve as a landmark feature, providing office spaces for the logistics of the port.
This project was shortlisted as an outstanding thesis in the Anthology 2024 End of Year Thesis Competition, hosted by WTA Architecture + Design Studio.
Site Context
Passenger Terminal and Freeport Zone of Salahah Island Port
Salahah Island Port is a large secondary port designed to serve the western Abu Dhabi Emirate region, located 90 km southwest of Abu Dhabi city. The thesis proposes the master planning of the new seaport through the use of sustainable solutions, such as the full use of solar power generation, desalination of seawater to meet water demand, and the integration of mangrove ecosystems.
The thesis itself presents an exhaustive master plan, geotechnical, environmental, structural, and transportation plan for the port, including a key component of the architectural and structural design of the administration building.
The thesis itself presents an exhaustive master plan, geotechnical, environmental, structural, and transportation plan for the port, including a key component of the architectural and structural design of the administration building.
Port Location within the UAE
Climate Analysis
Abu Dhabi, located in the Middle East, experiences two distinct seasons. The hot summer months begin from around April to October, where temperatures can reach as high as 50ºC during the daytime. The coolor winter months from November to March have more pleasant temperatures ranging from 10-25ºC.
The wind rose diagram shows wind primarily comes from the Northwest, facing the Arabian Gulf. Wind from the Gulf blows stronger and is relatively cooler as convection occurs from the sea during the day. As it faces the primary facade of the building, this provides a unique opportunity to take advantage of this natural ventilation.
Design Logic
Container Form
The form and exterior facade references three shipping containers, an integral aspect of the port highlighted by the building’s design.
Staggered Sections
Each of the three sections of container forms are offset to create dynamicism and optimization of building programming inside.
Create Atrium
The middle of the building is removed and turned into an atrium to allow natural light and ventilation inside the office
Sustainable Elements
Section diagram showing natural ventilation
Northwest Elevation
Structural Engineering
Ground Floor Structural Plan
Given the architectural design and plans, a structural system was chosen consisting of the following. For the Ground Floor, flat slabs with exterior beams, solid slabs (both one-way and two-way), columns, and shear walls as the lateral load resisting system. This is the same case for the Typical Floors (2-5th), except that a cantilevered 1 meter flat slab will take the place of the exterior beams for the facade. Structural analysis was done using SAP2000 software which considered both vertical and lateral loads.
Technical Specifications
Height 16.5 m# Floors 5
Total Area 22,500 sq m