2472
Global
Height rank

Tornado Tower

Doha
Height
1
To Tip:
Height is measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance to the highest point of the building, irrespective of material or function of the highest element (i.e., including antennae, flagpoles, signage and other functional-technical equipment).
195.1 m / 640 ft
2
Architectural:
Height is measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance to the architectural top of the building, including spires, but not including antennae, signage, flag poles or other functional-technical equipment. This measurement is the most widely utilized and is employed to define the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) rankings of the "World's Tallest Buildings."
195.1 m / 640 ft
3
Occupied:
Height is measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance to the highest occupied floor within the building.
186.5 m / 612 ft
1 2 3 Tornado Tower
  Floors
Above Ground
The number of floors above ground should include the ground floor level and be the number of main floors above ground, including any significant mezzanine floors and major mechanical plant floors. Mechanical mezzanines should not be included if they have a significantly smaller floor area than the major floors below. Similarly, mechanical penthouses or plant rooms protruding above the general roof area should not be counted. Note: CTBUH floor counts may differ from published accounts, as it is common in some regions of the world for certain floor levels not to be included (e.g., the level 4, 14, 24, etc. in Hong Kong).
51
Below Ground
The number of floors below ground should include all major floors located below the ground floor level.
3
Height 195.1 m / 640 ft
Floors 51
Official Name
The current legal building name.

Tornado Tower

Other Names
Other names the building has commonly been known as, including former names, common informal names, local names, etc.

QIPCO Tower

Type
CTBUH collects data on two major types of tall structures: 'Buildings' and 'Telecommunications / Observation Towers.' A 'Building' is a structure where at least 50% of the height is occupied by usable floor area. A 'Telecommunications / Observation Tower' is a structure where less than 50% of the structure's height is occupied by usable floor area. Only 'Buildings' are eligible for the CTBUH 'Tallest Buildings' lists.

Building

Status
Completed
Architecturally Topped Out
Structurally Topped Out
Under Construction
Proposed
On Hold
Never Completed
Vision
Competition Entry
Canceled
Proposed Renovation
Under Renovation
Renovated
Under Demolition
Demolished

Completed

Completion

2008

Country
The CTBUH follows the United Nations's definition of Country, and thus uses the lists and codes established by that organization.

Qatar

City
The CTBUH follows the United Nations's definition of City, and thus uses the lists and codes established by that organization.

Doha

Function
A single-function tall building is defined as one where 85% or more of its usable floor area is dedicated to a single usage. Thus a building with 90% office floor area would be said to be an "office" building, irrespective of other minor functions it may also contain.

A mixed-use tall building contains two or more functions (or uses), where each of the functions occupy a significant proportion of the tower's total space. Support areas such as car parks and mechanical plant space do not constitute mixed-use functions. Functions are denoted on CTBUH "Tallest Building" lists in descending order, e.g., "hotel/office" indicates hotel function above office function.

Office

Structural Material
All-Steel
Both the main vertical/lateral structural elements and the floor spanning systems are constructed from steel. Note that a building of steel construction with a floor system of concrete planks or concrete slab on top of steel beams is still considered an “all-steel” structure as the concrete elements are not acting as the primary structure.

All-Concrete
Both the main vertical/lateral structural elements and the floor spanning systems are constructed from concrete which has been cast in place and utilizes steel reinforcement bars and/or steel reinforced concrete which has been precast as individual components and assembled together on-site.

All-Timber
Both the main vertical/lateral structural elements and the floor spanning systems are constructed from timber. An all-timber structure may include the use of localized non-timber connections between timber elements. Note that a building of timber construction with a floor system of concrete planks or concrete slab on top of timber beams is still considered an “all-timber” structure as the concrete elements are not acting as the primary structure.

Mixed-Structure
Utilizes distinct systems (e.g. all-steel, all-concrete, all-timber), one on top of the other. For example, a Steel Over Concrete indicates an all-steel structural system located on top of an all-concrete structural system, with the opposite true of Concrete Over Steel.

Composite
A combination of materials (e.g. steel, concrete, timber) are used together in the main structural elements. Examples include buildings which utilize: steel columns with a floor system of reinforced concrete beams; a steel frame system with a concrete core; concrete-encased steel columns; concrete-filled steel tubes; etc. Where known, the CTBUH database breaks out the materials used within a composite building’s primary structural elements.

Concrete-Steel Composite

Height
Architectural
Height is measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance to the architectural top of the building, including spires, but not including antennae, signage, flag poles or other functional-technical equipment. This measurement is the most widely utilized and is employed to define the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) rankings of the "World's Tallest Buildings."

195.1 m / 640 ft

To Tip
Height is measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance to the highest point of the building, irrespective of material or function of the highest element (i.e., including antennae, flagpoles, signage and other functional-technical equipment).
195.1 m / 640 ft
Occupied
Height is measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance to the highest occupied floor within the building.
186.5 m / 612 ft
Helipad
Height, measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance, to the building's helipad.
194.3 m / 637 ft
Floors Above Ground
The number of floors above ground should include the ground floor level and be the number of main floors above ground, including any significant mezzanine floors and major mechanical plant floors. Mechanical mezzanines should not be included if they have a significantly smaller floor area than the major floors below. Similarly, mechanical penthouses or plant rooms protruding above the general roof area should not be counted. Note: CTBUH floor counts may differ from published accounts, as it is common in some regions of the world for certain floor levels not to be included (e.g., the level 4, 14, 24, etc. in Hong Kong).

51

Floors Below Ground
The number of floors below ground should include all major floors located below the ground floor level.

3

Top Elevator Speed
Top Elevator Speed refers to the top speed capable of being achieved by an elevator within a particular building, measured in meters per second.

7 m/s

Tower GFA
Tower GFA refers to the total gross floor area within the tower footprint, not including adjoining podiums, connected buildings or other towers within the development.

80,000 m² / 861,113 ft²

Rankings

#
2472
Tallest in the World
#
246
Tallest in Middle East
#
34
Tallest in Qatar
#
34
Tallest in Doha
Other Consultant

Other Consultant refers to other organizations which provided significant consultation services for a building project (e.g. wind consultants, environmental consultants, fire and life safety consultants, etc).

(not specified)
Architect
Design

Usually involved in the front end design, with a "typical" condition being that of a leadership role through either Schematic Design or Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.

CICO Consulting Architects & Engineers; SIAT
Structural Engineer
Design

The Design Engineer is usually involved in the front end design, typically taking the leadership role in the Schematic Design and Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.

Stroh + Ernst AG
Other Consultant

Other Consultant refers to other organizations which provided significant consultation services for a building project (e.g. wind consultants, environmental consultants, fire and life safety consultants, etc).

Geotechnical
Prof. Quick und Kollegen - Ingenieure und Geologen GmbH
(not specified)

CTBUH Awards & Distinctions

Best Tall Building, by Region, Middle East & Africa 2009 Winner

2009 CTBUH Awards

 

CTBUH Initiatives

Tornado Tower CTBUH Signboard Completion

15 June 2011 - Event

CTBUH Activities in Qatar

22 September 2010 - Event

Videos

22 October 2009 | Doha

2009 Best Tall Building Award Winners: Tornado Tower, Doha, Qatar

Frank Zabel, CICO Consultants presents at the CTBUH 2009 Chicago Conference. Each year the CTBUH recognizes excellence in tall building design and construction by conferring...

Research

01 December 2016

An Overview of Structural & Aesthetic Developments in Tall Buildings Using Exterior Bracing & Diagrid Systems

Kheir Al-Kodmany, University of Illinois; Mir M. Ali, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

There is much architectural and engineering literature which discusses the virtues of exterior bracing and diagrid systems in regards to sustainability - two systems which...

 

About Tornado Tower

Soaring over the West Bay district, Doha’s Tornado Tower rises high, overlooking the Bay and most of its high rise neighbors. With its simple form and gentle curves, the tower offers a memorable, elegant silhouette that is recognizable from all vanishing points. Sitting strongly on a pristine plaza, Tornado Tower tapers gently inwards towards its slender mid-height point, then outwards again towards its summit.

The name Tornado was developed by the design team to describe the distinctive, hyperbolic shape of the building. This form is enhanced by a unique lighting system, designed especially for the tower by renowned light artist Thomas Emde. His kinetic light sculpture, by its movement of light, suggests the torsion of a tornado. The lighting system is programmable and is capable of producing over 35,000 variations of lighting patterns to create a stunning visual effect at night.

To construct a relatively lightweight building, a tubular steel “diagrid” structural external envelope was employed. The diagonal pattern of the skin increases the stiffness of the lateral force-resisting system of the perimeter walls. The concrete core of the building is connected to this perimeter structure with clear spanning steel beams topped with composite slabs creating a flexible, column-free office space at each floor level. All floors are also designed with state of the art, raised flooring systems to maximize flexibility for office space planning.

Located on a flat site of 18,500 square meters (199,000 sq ft), the building occupies only around 3,000 square meters (32,300 sq ft) of this, leaving free space around it to enhance the striking visual appearance of the building’s form and shape. The circular footprint of the building, with a diameter of 60 meters (197ft) at the ground floor, includes a ground level restaur-ant, support facilities and a bank. Sixteen high-speed passenger elevators swiftly serve over 84,000 square meters (904,000 sq ft) of office space throughout the building, a first floor cafeteria and conference rooms and the 27th floor recreation area which includes a gym and a juice bar. The building is accompanied by 1500 car parking spaces housed within three levels of underground basement parking. Due to the shape of the building, the total lettable office space available on each floor varies from between 1,260 to 2,400 square meters per floor (13,560–25,800 sq ft). This offers high flexibility in both the size of office space available and the specific sub-division layout of office space within those areas. Surrounded by 360-degree view terraces, the topmost three floors of Tornado are dedicated to VIP offices. The top level of the VIP floors also has direct access to a helipad.

The design of the building is an honest one in that the perimeter structure is an integral part of the design expression—it is on show with the exposed tubular structural system of the façade clad in part with aluminum composite panels. High performance glass and internal sun shading devices ensure that cooling costs are reduced and architectural detailing ensures a relatively airtight building, reducing air leakage to a minimum. In addition rainwater is recycled and used for irrigation purposes. Fire safety measures include dedicated fire lifts and extra stairs. The use of a steel perimeter structure, rather than the more usual concrete structure predominantly utilized in the region, makes for much more slender structural members, maximizing the uninterrupted panoramic views across the city and beyond.

The building itself makes a positive impact to the whole West Bay area of Doha. As an instantly recognizable focal point it brings context and positional sense to the streetscape, with the building situated in a wide, open plaza rather than mounted on a podium. The surrounding areas are left relatively uncluttered with the provision of car parking hidden away below ground, leaving only visitor parking at street level. Detailed traffic impact assessments were carried out to ensure the infrastructure in place was sufficient to cope with the additional vehicular movements anticipated to be generated by the fully occupied building.

The artistic and entertainment value of the kinetic sculpture of the external façade lighting makes the building equally as impressive after dark as during daylight hours and creates a lasting impression not only from on land but also from out at sea where its light show takes on the appearance of a lighthouse denoting a safe and reassuring haven. In this way, the building is important to the wider community not only as a place to work but also as a work of art, prompting discussion and debate.

CTBUH Awards & Distinctions

Best Tall Building, by Region, Middle East & Africa 2009 Winner

2009 CTBUH Awards

22 October 2009 | Doha

2009 Best Tall Building Award Winners: Tornado Tower, Doha, Qatar

Frank Zabel, CICO Consultants presents at the CTBUH 2009 Chicago Conference. Each year the CTBUH recognizes excellence in tall building design and construction by conferring...

22 October 2009 | Doha

CTBUH 8th Annual Awards

The CTBUH named the Linked Hybrid building as the 2009 Best Tall Building Overall at the 8th Annual Awards Dinner, held at Crown Hall in...

22 October 2009 | Doha

Interview: Tornado Tower

Stuart Allen & Frank Zabel of CICO Consultants are interviewed by Jeff Herzer during the 2009 CTBUH Chicago Conference at Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago....

15 June 2011

Tornado Tower CTBUH Signboard Completion

Doha’s Tornado Tower, winner of the 2009 Best Tall Building for Middle East and Africa, has now completed a signboard which commemorates this accomplishment.

27 September 2010

CTBUH Activities in Qatar

The local CTBUH Qatar Chapter organized their 2nd regional meeting, while CTBUH Communications Manager Jan Klerks was invited to speak at TowerTech trade fair in Doha.

31 May 2010

First Regional Meeting of the CTBUH Qatar Chapter

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat organized the first regional meeting of the Qatar Chapter. This event was held at the Tornado Tower.

15 October 2009

Doha Tower Tech

CTBUH Research & Communications Manager Jan Klerks and Trustee William Maibusch represented the CTBUH as the guests of honor during the TowerTech fair in Doha.