One of the world’s most problem-making natural disasters is Sandstorms. Surprisingly, big cities around the equator, like Dubai, have little to no solution for this natural behavior of the deserts, which causes many problems for city life and other species living in these desert lands or deep in the sea. Respiratory problems for citizens or shutting down the entire city’s activities are common problems caused by sandstorms in megacities like Dubai.
Project Name: Absorbent sandstorm skyscraper Dubai
Studio Name: Kalbod Design Studio
Channeling this global issue, Kalbod architecture studio decides to devise a groundbreaking idea to create multi-use skyscrapers that are not just like many of the other landmarks in Dubai but also solve this problem with its high-tech sand absorbing system. By studying the natural behavior of these desert lands and the behavior of sandstorms and mixing these scientific data with creativity, art, and technology.
The creative design process was focused on multiple goals. First, being able to minimize the impact of sandstorms in Dubai noticeably, which was possible through the innovative integration of structure, and facilities, along with a sustainable approach, which led to the formation of an area that, in addition to improving the weather conditions of Dubai, will play a very vital role in reducing energy consumption, and also provides a research base for studying nature of these storms so architecture and science will be able to provide better functioning solutions in the future.
The second goal was to place the designed skyscrapers where the storms occur the most; extensive studies were done regarding this phenomenon, resulting in the zigzag formation by Dubai’s main route. The construction of each tower was also precisely designed, inspired by the motto “form follows function” the glass structure covers the facilities that form the central part of the skyscraper. The Absorbent Sand Storm Skyscraper project consists of 25 towers on the Dubai main route, and each building has turned its form into an open embrace to absorb dust particles.
Based on scientific data, soil particles in sandstorms are electrically charged. So, the main structure of the towers consists of two deep cavities to absorb soil particles via smart panels with the opposite electric charge and remove the electrical charge from the particles in two different stages. When the Sand particles are no longer electrically charged, they go through pipes and move into the storage area at the base of each tower. It’s important to note that these smart panels will open to a certain extent according to the storm’s intensity. Due to the larger diameter of the soil particles at a lower height, the lower cavity has a larger opening.
Inside the storage area, thermal batteries have been installed so the stored sand will be heated up by clean energies like Solar energy (multiple solar panels are designed to be installed by each tower’s site). These thermal batteries are capable of storing the entire tower’s required energy for several months and also will be able to provide power for the neighboring buildings. The ultimate goal is to create a multi-functional area including a public zone, residential zones, and research institutes for physics, aerospace, technology, biology, and medicine which is obtained by 25 self-sufficient towers in Dubai’s main route to absorb sandstorms and reduce their negative impact on desert life.”
