Built on Collaboration

Just come back from a trip to the Gulf and, as always, feel inspired after seeing some of the innovative and ambitious developments underway. It's easy to get jaded by the extremes being thrown around, as every project tries to out-do the next one, but the Bahrain World Trade Center is quite unique.

Although the UAE gets most of the headlines, Bahrain is carving out a niche for itself and is well on its way to becoming a tourism and financial hub. The small Kingdom has a disproportionate amount of mega projects on its books such as the Financial Harbour, Riffa Views residential-golf development, the Qatar-Bahrain Friendship Bridge, Reef Island and Health Island (yes, it is what it sounds).

But the World Trade Center is a real stand-out and will probably become the 'icon building' of the country in the same way that Burj Al Arab Hotel is for Dubai. Designed by Atkins, it has two towers, each 240 meters high, with 50 floors. No big deal so far. What makes it different is that it's the first skyscraper in the world to integrate wind turbines - it has three 29m turbines built on bridges between the towers. They aren't just for show either; they provide 15% of the power for the two towers. Unsurprisingly, it's already won several awards for sustainability. In a region that generates a sasquatch-sized carbon footprint, the BWTC will be a positive symbol for Bahrain.

Labels: Global trends, Project profiles