High-rise office building in Dubai.

The Unicorn is a concept for a tower based on the horn of the mythical unicorn. The tower, situated in Dubai or elsewhere along the coast of the United Arab Emirates, can provide office space for different companies or could serve as the headquarter for one big company. Main designtheme is a spiral reaching out to the sky, symbolising infinity and connecting heaven and earth.

The entrance of the tower consists of an easily descending surface, leading people down into a lobby under a garden, surrounded by restaurants, conference-rooms and shops. A curved colonnade of elevator shafts leads to a hall with elevators. All floor-plans comply to the theme of the spiral: both floors and voids, a quarter of each floor, spiral up along the core. Standing on one of the terraces in the main void, one will experience a cascade of interior gardens spiraling down. Each garden terrace gives access to the adjacent office space.

The void brings daylight deep into the building, reducing the need for artificial light. A double skin façade helps protecting the inner space from the heat of the sun: the hot air in the corridor between the glass layers rises to the top of the building, where it can be expelled. The Unicorn is 300 metres high and contains 55.000 sqm of floor space, conference rooms and service space. On ground-level there is another 40.000 sqm of floor space available.

The tower expresses sustainability and grace. Its shape grows from the surrounding landscape. A sloping garden extends to a path climbing up along the main structure of the building. The path collects the water from the elevations above and is covered by plants and small trees. The sloping roof garden, to which the path is connected, is part of a larger park with a wadi and various wet and dry landscape zones. The park also offers public space for both inhabitants and office-workers during their lunch-break.

Project: #401