Interconnecting Dunes Replicate the Façade of BEEAH Group HQ
BEEAH Group’s new headquarters in Sharjah, designed by Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) is set to achieve net-zero emissions with its next-generation technologies for operations at LEED Platinum Standards.
Embodying principles of sustainability and technological advancement, the Beeah Groups’ design responds to its environment as a series of interconnecting ‘dunes’ orientated and shaped to optimise local climatic conditions. Embedded within the context of Sharjah’s Al Sajaa desert, the design echoes the surrounding landscape shaped by prevailing winds into concave sand dunes and ridges that become convex when they intersect.
The new headquarters of Beeah Group, designed by Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) will be the group’s management and administrative centre that sets a new benchmark for future workplaces, was opened in March 2022 by the His Highness Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Ruler of Sharjah.
With sustainability and digitalisation as its core business, Beeah Group works across six key industries that include waste management and recycling, clean energy, environmental consulting, education and green mobility. The Group wants to demonstrate how technology can scale sustainable impact and ultimately serve as a blueprint for tomorrow’s smart, sustainable cities, through its new HQ design.
Ensuring all internal spaces are provided with ample daylight and views while limiting the quantity of glazing exposed to the harsh sun, the headquarters’ two primary ‘dunes’ house the public and management departments together with the administrative zone interconnecting via a central courtyard, like an oasis within the building that is integral to its natural ventilation strategy.
Visitors enter beneath the 15-metre-high dome which further enhances natural ventilation and allows passive daylight to enter the building. In addition to the central courtyard and open-plan office, the headquarters incorporates smart meeting rooms, an immersive visitors’ centre and an auditorium.
The 9,000 sq. m Beeah Headquarters has sustainability at its core with a high percentage of locally procured materials and is equipped with future-ready technologies to enable operations at LEED Platinum standards with net-zero emissions and minimal energy consumption.
Glass reinforced fibre panels reduce solar gain while slab and glass cooling regulate interior temperatures for optimum comfort. On-site water treatment filtrates waste water to minimise consumption and its solar farm charges Tesla battery packs to meet the building’s energy demand throughout each day and night.
The employee experience includes 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.
“Manifesting Beeah’s twin pillars of sustainability and digitalisation, the new headquarters by ZHA is an important achievement for Beeah Group, signalling 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 realising a sustainable future,” says the Beeah spokeperson.
Following the 2013 international design competition, Zaha Hadid and her team at Zaha Hadid Architects were commissioned by Beeah to design their new headquarters that would realise net-zero emissions and be integrated with next generation technologies to achieve a new standard for employee convenience and collaboration.
ZHA delivered the Beeah Headquarters in collaboration with sustainability engineers and consultants Atelier Ten and Buro Happold, project managers Matthews Southwest, construction contractor Al Futtaim Construction, and MEP engineers Al Futtaim Engineering. Smart building technologies by Microsoft, Johnson Controls and EVOTEQ, a Beeah Digital venture.
Photograph by Hufton+Crow
Project Team
Architect: Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA)
Design: Zaha Hadid and Patrik Schumacher
Project Director: Sara Sheikh Akbari
Commercial Director: Charles Walker
Project Team: Gerry Cruz, Drew Merkle, John Simpson, Matthew Le Grice, Maria Chaparro, Frenji Koshy, Leo Alves, Erwan Gallou, Vivian Pashiali, Alia Zayani, Alessandra Lazzoni, Dennis Brezina, Eider Fernandez-Eibar, Rasha Al-shami, Ben Kikkawa, Maria Vergopoulou-Efstathiou, Haohao Chen
Phase 1 Project Director: Tariq Khayyat
Phase 1 Project Architect: Kutbuddin Nadiadi
Design Team: Gerry Cruz, Drew Merkle, Yuxi Fu, Xiaosheng Li, Edward Luckmann, Eleni Mente, Kwanphil Cho, Mu Ren, Harry Ibbs, Mostafa El Sayed, Suryansh Chandra, Thomas Jensen, Alexandra Fisher, Spyridon Kaprinis, John Randle, Bechara Malkoun, Reda Kessanti, Carolina López-Blanco, Matthew Johnston, Sabrina Sayed, Zohra Rougab, Carl Khourey, Anas Younes, Lauren Barclay, Mubarak Al Fahim
Competition Team: Xiaosheng Li, Gerry Cruz, Yuxi Fu, Drew Merkle, Lauren Barclay, Mostafa El Sayed, Alia Zayani, Mubarak Al Fahim
Consultants:
Structure/Façade/Acoustic/Transport & Civil: Buro Happold [London]
MEP/ Lighting/Fire Protection & Life Safety: Atelier Ten [London]
Sustainability (Design Stage): Atelier Ten [London]
Sustainability (Construction Stage): Buro Happold [Dubai]
Cost: Gardiner & Theobald [London]
Project Manager: Matthews Southwest [Dubai]
Landscape: Francis Landscape [Beirut]
Local Architect: Bin Dalmouk [Sharjah], DSA Architects International [Dubai]
Main Contractor: Al Futtaim Construction [Dubai]
