SOCAR Tower
SOCAR Tower in Baku is the tallest building in Azerbaijan and the Caucasus region. The building, a skyscraper, is the headquarters of SOCAR (State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic). Construction started in 2010[2] and was completed in 2016. The SOCAR Tower is located on Heydar Aliyev Avenue, a long highway from the main airport to downtown Baku, which is visible on the way to the city center. It is one of the landmarks of the Azerbaijani capital, along with the Flame Towers and other architectural masterpieces.
SOCAR Tower | |
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General information | |
Status | Complete |
Type | Headquarters |
Architectural style | Structural expressionism |
Location | Heydar Aliyev Avenue, Baku, Azerbaijan |
Coordinates | 40.4055158°N 49.8814638°E |
Construction started | 2010 |
Completed | 2016 |
Opening | 2016 |
Cost | US$ 406.5m[1] |
Owner | SOCAR |
Height | |
Architectural | 209 m (686 ft) |
Technical details | |
Floor count | 42 (2 underground + 38 overhead dwelling + 2 overhead attic) |
Floor area | 100,000 m2 (1,100,000 sq ft) |
Design and construction | |
Architect | Heerim Architects & Planners Co. Ltd. |
Developer | SOCAR |
Main contractor | Tekfen Construction and Installation |
Design
The building, which was designed by Heerim Architects from South Korea, is an example of structural expressionism.[3] It is composed of two towers which curve around each other as they rise, according to skyscraper.com, "the seemingly shorter tower almost looks like its resting its head on the chest of the taller tower. The taller towers peak slightly bending over it in a confident, reassuring and comforting manner".[4] The tower is 209 m (686 ft) tall and have 42 floors, covering an area of 12,000 m2 (130,000 sq ft) and providing 100,000 m2 (1,100,000 sq ft) of usage area. The headquarter mainly houses office space, but it also has conference and sports facilities, a guest house, retail spaces and food outlets.
The building's design is based on a composite system of steel construction (made by Permasteelisa Group) with reinforced concrete walls. The building is designed to be resistant to wind speeds of 190 km/h (120 mph) and a magnitude nine earthquake by the Richter scale.[2]
The building, designed by South Korean Heerim Architects & Planners Co. Ltd, based on the concept of "wind and fire", was built by the Turkish company Tekfen Construction and Installation.[4][2]
Gallery
- SOCAR Tower on an Azerbaijani stamp
- Construction on 12 January 2013; shot 1
- Construction on 12 January 2013; shot 2
- August 2013: Construction of 37th story of the core
- 23 February 2013: 19th floor of concrete core construction
See also
References
- "Azerbaycan devlet petrol şirketi genel merkez inşaati (SOCAR tower) projesi" [Azerbaijan state oil company headquarters building (SOCAR tower) project]. www.tekfeninsaat.com.tr (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 2014-10-17. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
- "Ilham Aliyev attends ground breaking ceremony of SOCAR's new building". www.news.az. 12 October 2010. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
- "SOCAR Tower, Baku - SkyscraperPage.com". skyscraperpage.com. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
- "Tekfen Construction to build SOCAR's new headquarter". www.tekfen.com.tr. June 2010. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
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