Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
One of the last buildings designed by the late Zaha Hadid and her partner Patrik Schumacher before she passed away in 2016—the new Bee’ah Group Headquarters in Sharjah, UAE—has just opened taking its dramatic design cues from the deserted surrounding landscape and looks as if sculpted by prevailing winds and carved as a concave sand dune.
Realized with local architects Bin Dalmouk and DSA Architects International and landscape architects Francis Landscape, the 9,000-square-metre building reveals ridges that become convex as they intersect.
The project has recently been awarded a 2023 International Architecture Award by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.
The firm was commissioned to build the company’s new headquarters building in Sharjah, following the 2013 international competition.
The building, designed based on the company’s twin-pillared strategy of sustainability and digitalization strategies, is powered by its solar array and equipped with next-generation technologies for operations at LEED Platinum standards. Bee’ah Group’s portfolio spans six key industries from waste management and recycling, clean energy, environmental consulting, and education to green mobility.
As Zaha Hadid Architects explained, the building aims “to achieve net-zero emissions” and will be the group’s management and administrative center that sets a new benchmark for future workplaces.
The headquarters is conceived as the latest milestone for the company as it continues to pioneer innovations for Sharjah and across the globe, establishing a base of operations for the group to diversify into new, future-critical industries.
“With their new headquarters, Bee’ah demonstrates how technology can scale sustainable impact and ultimately serve as a blueprint for tomorrow’s smart, sustainable cities,” said Zaha Hadid Architects.
Converging sustainable principles and innovative solutions in a single building, ZHA’s new headquarters design responds to its environment.
The building is designed as interconnecting “dunes” that are orientated and shaped to optimize local climatic conditions.
While it is blended within the context of Sharjah’s Al Sajaa desert, the overall language of the project mimics its deserted surroundings, translating prevailing winds into concave sand dunes.
All interiors take plenty of daylight and views while limiting the quantity of glazing exposed to the harsh sun.
The headquarters comprises two primary dunes that house the public and management departments together with the administrative zone.
These rooms are interconnected via a central courtyard, defining an oasis within the building that is integral to its natural ventilation strategy.
“Visitors enter beneath the 15-meter high dome which further enhances natural ventilation and allows passive daylight to enter the building,” said ZHA in its project description.
“In addition to the central courtyard and open-plan office, the headquarters incorporates smart meeting rooms, an immersive visitors center, and an auditorium.”
Taking sustainability principles to its core, the building is made of a high percentage of locally procured materials and is equipped with future-ready technologies to achieve LEED Platinum standards with net-zero emissions and minimal energy consumption.
The architects have used glass-reinforced fiber panels to reduce solar gain while slab and glass cooling regulate interior temperatures for optimum comfort.
On-site water treatment is implemented to filter wastewater minimizing consumption and its solar farm charges Tesla battery packs to meet the building’s energy demand throughout each day and night.
Inside, ZHA increases employee experience by using contactless pathways, a virtual concierge, smart meeting rooms, and a companion app that automates day-to-day tasks.
“The building’s smart management system automatically adjusts lighting and temperature depending on occupancy and time of day. The rooms are also equipped for remote and hybrid work scenarios with powerful collaboration tools,” said the firm.
Zaha Hadid Architects stated that “the new headquarters is an important achievement for Bee’ah Group, signaling its growth from a company founded to proactively tackle environmental issues in Sharjah, UAE, to an international group with businesses in industries that are critical to realizing a sustainable future.”
