This high-rise structure was designed to group several banking activities which were previously disseminated between four different buildings in Jeddah. Internal usable floor space was to reach some 56300 sq m and provide sufficiently spacious offices for the bank's 2000 employees as well as to host the following functions:
· A large banking hall on the ground floor for day-to-day operations;
· Vaults for safes and security zones in the basement;
· Regional management offices;
· General management offices;
· International division with lounges; and
· Luxury offices for directors.
The 27-storyed triangular tower is placed next to a six-storey high car park of circular ground plan. Lifts and services are grouped in a separate rectangular tower abutting one side of the equilateral triangle and linked at its base to the car park. Thc triangular plan of the main structure is repeated on all floor levels. Vertically, the levels are divided into increments of 7, 9 and 7 floors, each of these with office space on two sides and a glazed wall facing inward onto an open loggia. This loggia, or garden in the air, allows for the glazed walls to be well shaded and provides views over the city. A triangular court extends vertically through the building providing both ventilation and relief of heat build-up. The stacked courtyards, combined with the windowless exterior ward off direct sunlight, but allow diffuse daylight into the building. The tower is capped by the executive floor extending over the entire area of the triangle. Externally, it is expressed as an arcade shielding a glazed wall set back from it. The banking hall at the main plaza level also spans over the full triangle, it has a mezzanine level supported on three columns and is covered by a conical skylight.
Source: Aga Khan Trust for Culture
