Project story · Alexandria, Egypt
A crown for the shoreline
Alexandria Tower narrows and swells as it rises, ending in a sculpted crown. From the sea and from the city, it is a silhouette made to be recognised.
By byJOOM · Alexandria Tower · Mixed-use · Hospitality and resorts
A profile that moves
The tower narrows and swells as it rises, so floors near the top gain wide views and a distinct crown. It is a building with a waist, not a prism. The movement of the profile is how it answers the question every tall building has to answer: how to be tall without being a block.
A base that welcomes
For guests, residents, workers and visitors, the entrance and lower floors welcome the public, while the upper floors look out over the sea. A glazed, palm-lined base reaches the waterfront promenade. At the foot of the tower, sculpted supports branch like trees and give the entrance a covered, shaded character.
Branching supports
Close to the base the supports leave the ground as slender stone piers, then divide and rise around the glazed lobby. They frame the entrance the way a grove frames a clearing, and they carry the eye up toward the first terraces of the tower. Palms in front repeat the idea.
A ring of fins at the top
At the top, a ring of slender fins catches the sunset. In the evening they turn the crown into a lantern. A slender, softly curved profile and planted terraces also help soften the wind, which is a real consideration on the Alexandria shoreline.
A silhouette designed to be recognised from the sea and from the city alike.
Seen from two directions
The tower is designed to be recognised from the sea and from the city alike. That double reading is the discipline of the scheme: one silhouette, two audiences, and a crown that has to work for both.
A silhouette for a skyline of sunsets
In the pictures the whole shoreline is warm and low, the towers of the city small beside it, and Alexandria Tower is the one clear vertical. It is drawn to be that shape, and nothing else is asked of it.
This article describes design intention. The images are design visualisations, not photographs of a finished building. See the Disclaimers.