RMJM attends Global Tall Building Studio

Estimated reading time: 3 min

RMJM was delighted to be invited to the “Global Tall Building Studio” this week to discuss innovative skyscraper design with university students in the UAE. The event gives a platform to encourage students to conceptualise and innovate designs in high-rise structures under the guidance of international consultants who have been associated with tall building design in the UAE. RMJM has, of course, a long history of working on some of the region’s most iconic architecture and was a natural choice to provide architectural input.

Hosted by the Manipal University Dubai campus, in collaboration with Manipal Executive Eduction, the event challenges first to final year students of architecture from various countries to create an innovative design for a tall building. Much like in the real world, there is an emphasis on collaboration throughout the week. Students also attend sessions on facade engineering, vertical transportation, structural challenges and sustainable design. The aim of the studio is to engage students of architecture with a practical understanding of the design and construction industries.

RMJM were represented by Andreas Alexandridis, a senior architect from the Dubai studio, who oversaw a workshop with the students on the first day of the event. Andreas explained: “In the workshop, students were briefed to conceptualise a high-rise commercial building on an existing plot in Dubai with the key parameters being the form, function and facade. I used RMJM’s Capital Gate as an example, taking the students on a journey back to the first steps of its conception and then explaining how it became the building we see today. The original sketches for the Capital Gate, at first glance, might have looked similar to some of the sketches I saw from the students when budget and viability are forsaken for eye-catching design. However, I was able to demonstrate the clear, structured thinking process on form, functionality and facade design through unpublished renders, sketches and rare photos of the construction process. Hopefully the presentation helped add perspective to the way students need to develop their concepts and pushed them to think creatively.”

RMJM continues to have close ties to those in education, providing expertise, offering guidance and showing a clear pathway for students to establish themselves in the architecture industry. To keep abreast of all of RMJM’s activity in these areas please follow on our various social media channels.

RMJM’s Andreas Alexandridis delivers a presentation to the students