Inspired by Mashrabiya, the exterior skin of the two glass towers sits 2m outside the glass facade. This screen acts to reduce solar gain and the amount of glare inside the building. At night the shading system contracts and closes then as the sun begins to rise and strike the facade, the umbrella like shading devices open and shade that face of the facade from the sun. The facade system is programmed to track the movement of the sun across the sky and expand and contract to provide the maximum amount of shade.
The dynamic triangular units act as individual shading devices that unfold to various angles in response to the sun’s movement in order to obstruct the direct solar radiation.
In total, each tower has 1049 mashrabiya shading devices, each weighing about 1.5 tonnes. The shape of the building in plan and elevation led to 22 different variations in the mashrabiya geometries, which in itself created a challenge for managing their manufacture and assembly.
Image courtesy : https://inhabitat.com/exclusive-photos-worlds-largest-computerized-facade-cools-aedas-al-bahr-towers/