Abu Dhabi’s Burj Mohammed bin Rashid named best tall building in Middle East and Africa

Named the regional winner ahead of another Abu Dhabi tower - the new Al Hilal Bank headquarters at Al Maryah Island - by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.

Burj Mohammed Bin Rashid tower stands on the far left in Abu Dhabi. Mona Al Marzooqi / The National

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat has named Mohammed bin Rashid Tower as the region’s best tall building this year.

The 88-floor, 381 metre-high tower was built as part of the new World Trade Centre Abu Dhabi complex, which was completed last year by Arabian Constuction Company for the developer Aldar Properties. It was designed by the UK architects Foster + Partners.

It was named the 2015 winner in the Middle East and Africa category ahead of another Abu Dhabi tower – the new Al Hilal Bank headquarters on Al Maryah Island.

The Abu Dhabi tower will now compete with New York’s One World Trade Center, Singapore’s CapitaGreen and Milan’s Bosco Verticale tower complex when the group names its world winner in November.

Mohammed bin Rashid Tower is one of two that has been built as part of the 400,000 square metre World Trade Centre complex. It contains 474 apartments.

The regional winner “adds a beautiful form to the Abu Dhabi skyline, which can be seen from quite a distance”, said the awards jury chairman Wong Mun Summ of the Singapore-based Woha Architects.

Talal Al Dhiyebi, the chief development officer at Aldar, said he was pleased that the tower had been recognised. He added that the building was already 95 per cent occupied less than a year after its opening, which he said demonstrated “the pent-up demand for premium quality living spaces in Abu Dhabi”.

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