Foster + Partners is returning to the Index Tower in Dubai as part of a plan to attract more shoppers.
But the company known for conceiving striking building exteriors will instead be focusing on the interior spaces of the Index tower in the city’s financial district.
The London-based architect behind the redevelopment designs of London’s Wembley Stadium and Berlin’s Reichstag has been appointed by Emirates Reit to reconfigure the retail mall and design ready-to-occupy office space.
The firm has a number of projects under its belt in the UAE including Masdar City and the tower itself, where it was the orginal architect.
Emirates Reit is a Sharia-compliant real estate investment trust which owns part of the building.
“The redesign of the retail space aims to increase the number of outlets and open up street access,” said Sylvain Vieujot, the executive deputy chairman of Emirates Reit. “This appointment sets in motion our plans to make Index Tower a unique and exciting retail and leisure destination.”
Demand for smaller office space has been rising in the city, according to Ben Crompton, a managing partner at the estate agency Crompton Partners.
“As the focus of UAE government shifts to increase entrepreneurship there is a need for smaller office space,” said Mr Crompton. “So there is greater demand for offices that are 100 square metres and perhaps even less, which hasn’t been the case in the past with large foreign conglomerates coming in or with traditional government-backed entities which take up 70 per cent office space in Abu Dhabi.”
Emirates Reit owns several office floors in the building with 1,404 car parking spaces and the retail mall located over ground and podium levels as well as the sky lobby.
The 80-storey tower includes 25 office floors, three levels of retail outlets, 40 residential apartment floors and seven penthouse levels. The building was completed in 2011 and Foster + Partners was selected for the redesign in a tender process. It will also work on outside landscaping on the podium level.
thamid@thenational.ae
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