SOCAR Tower is a skyscraper in
Baku, Azerbaijan. It is the 4th
tallest building in Baku and in Azerbaijan. The skyscraper serves as the headquarters of
SOCAR (State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic). Construction started in 2010
and was completed in 2016, where it became the tallest building in Baku until it was surpassed by the Port Baku Towers. 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 Baku's major landmarks, along with the
Flame Towers.
Design
The building, which was designed by Heerim Architects from
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
, is an example of
structural expressionism
High-tech architecture, also known as structural expressionism, is a type of late modernist architecture that emerged in the 1970s, incorporating elements of high tech industry and technology into building design. High-tech architecture grew fro ...
.
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".
The tower is tall and have 42 floors, covering an area of and providing 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 and a magnitude nine earthquake by the
Richter scale
The Richter scale —also called the Richter magnitude scale, Richter's magnitude scale, and the Gutenberg–Richter scale—is a measure of the strength of earthquakes, developed by Charles Francis Richter and presented in his landmark 1935 ...
.
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
Tekfen Holding A.S. (Tekfen Group) is a Turkey-based holding company involved in engineering and construction, textile, food processing and other industrial sectors.
History
With foundations laid in 1956 by three civil engineers – Feyyaz Berk ...
.
Gallery
File:Stamps of Azerbaijan, 2012-1037.jpg, SOCAR Tower on an Azerbaijani stamp
File:Socar Tower 02.jpg, Construction on 12 January 2013; shot 1
File:Socar Tower.jpeg, Construction on 12 January 2013; shot 2
File:SOCAR tower.jpg, August 2013: Construction of 37th story of the core
File:SOCAR Tower.jpg, 23 February 2013: 19th floor of concrete core construction
See also
*
List of twisted buildings
Buildings can appear to be twisted by design, where the twisting (torsion, helix, etc.) is structural rather than merely an ornamental detail. The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat defines a twisting building as one that progressively rot ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Socar Tower
Buildings and structures under construction in Azerbaijan
Buildings and structures in Baku
Skyscrapers in Azerbaijan
SOCAR
Twisted buildings and structures
Skyscraper office buildings