The Bahrain World Trade Center (also called Bahrain WTC or BWTC) is a , 50-floor, twin tower complex located in

Manama Manama ( ar, المنامة ', Bahrani Arabic, Bahrani pronunciation: ) is the capital and largest city of Bahrain, with an approximate population of 200,000 people as of 2020. Long an important trading center in the Persian Gulf, Manama is h ...

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

. Designed by the multi-national architectural firm

Atkins Atkins may refer to: Places in the United States * Atkins, Arkansas, a city * Atkins, Iowa, a city * Atkins, Louisiana, an unincorporated community * Atkins, Nebraska, an unincorporated community * Atkins, Virginia, a census-designated place * ...

, construction on the towers was completed in 2008. It is the first

skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ris ...

in the world to integrate

wind turbine A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each year. ...

s into its design. The wind turbines were developed, built and installed by the Danish company Norwin A/S. The structure is constructed close to the

King Faisal Highway King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

, near popular landmarks such as the towers of

Bahrain Financial Harbour Bahrain Financial Harbour ( ar, مرفأ البحرين المالي, commonly abbreviated as BFH) is a waterfront commercial development project located on the northern shore of Manama, the capital city of Bahrain. Costing $1.5 billion and cover ...

(BFH), NBB and Abraj Al Lulu. It currently ranks as the second-tallest building in Bahrain, after the twin towers of the Bahrain Financial Harbour. The project has received several awards for

sustainability Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livi ...

, including: # The 2006 LEAF Award for ''Best Use of Technology within a Large Scheme''. # The Arab Construction World for Sustainable Design Award.

Structural details

The two towers are linked via three skybridges, each holding a 225 kW

, totalling to 675 kW of wind power capacity. Each of these turbines measure in diameter, and is aligned north, which is the direction from which air from the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...

blows in. The

sail A sail is a tensile structure—which is made from fabric or other membrane materials—that uses wind power to propel sailing craft, including sailing ships, sailboats, windsurfers, ice boats, and even sail-powered land vehicles. Sails may ...

-shaped buildings on either side are designed to

funnel A funnel is a tube or pipe that is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, used for guiding liquid or powder into a small opening. Funnels are usually made of stainless steel, aluminium, glass, or plastic. The material used in its construct ...

wind through the gap to provide accelerated wind passing through the turbines. This was confirmed by

wind tunnel Wind tunnels are large tubes with air blowing through them which are used to replicate the interaction between air and an object flying through the air or moving along the ground. Researchers use wind tunnels to learn more about how an aircraft ...

tests, which showed that the buildings create an S-shaped flow, ensuring that any wind coming within a 45° angle to either side of the central axis will create a wind stream that remains perpendicular to the turbines. This significantly increases their potential to generate electricity. The wind turbines are expected to provide 11% to 15% of the towers' total power consumption, or approximately 1.1 to 1.3 GWh a year. This is equivalent to providing the lighting for about 300 homes, 258 hospitals, 17 industrial plants, and 33 car engines. The three turbines were turned on for the first time on 8 April 2008. They are expected to operate 50% of the time on an average day.

Popular fiction

The Bahrain WTC was featured prominently in the 2009 science fiction SyFy channel

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

movie '' Annihilation Earth''. In the movie, an incident involving a subatomic collider in the year 2020 creates cataclysmic effects on planet Earth. CGI is used in the movie to show the WTC collapsing as a result of an

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...

, though the reason for the ear

Gallery

File:Bahrain's World Trade Center - after the showers (311240304).jpg, Bahrain World Trade Center and

under construction in 2006 File:Bahrain World Trade Center from below.jpg, The three

s are at the centre of the two

skyscrapers A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ris ...

File:Bahrain World trade Center .jpg, Bahrain World Trade Center during the

blue hour The blue hour (from French ; ) is the period of twilight (in the morning or evening, around the nautical stage) when the Sun is at a significant depth below the horizon. During this time, the remaining sunlight takes on a mostly blue shade. T ...

References

External links

{{Commons category, Bahrain World Trade Center
bahrainwtc.com/

Worldwatch, ''Bahrain Propels Wind Energy to Urban Future''

BBC, ''Skyscraper powered by wind''

''The World Trade Center at Baharain has Giant Wind Turbines!''

''Faithful+Gould Middle East & India''
Office buildings completed in 2008 Buildings and structures in Manama Skyscrapers in Bahrain Sustainable buildings in Bahrain

Twin towers Skyscraper office buildings

Structural details

Popular fiction

Gallery

See also

References

External links