O-14 is a twenty-two storey tall commercial tower perched on a two-storey podium in the heart of Dubai’s Business Bay. O-14 comprises 300,000 square feet and is a collaboration between RUR Architecture of New York and the Creek Side Development Company of Dubai. O-14 is located along the extension of Dubai Creek, occupying a prominent location on the waterfront esplanade. The design of O-14 fundamentally shifts away from the architectural norm in current Dubai towers by eliminating the now obligatory curtain wall and above ground parking in favor of a shade-producing, concrete load-bearing shell and an open public space at the tower base achieved by moving the parking below ground.
High-strength self-consolidating concrete was cast around a basket weave of steel reinforcement resulting in an elegant perforated exterior shell. The holes are achieved by introducing computer numerically cut polystyrene void forms into the rebar matrix, and sided with modular steel slip forms prior to the concrete pour. The concrete shell of O-14 provides an efficient structure that frees the core from the burden of lateral forces and creates highly efficient, column-free open spaces in the buildings interior.