SOCAR Tower is a skyscraper in
Baku
Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...
, Azerbaijan. It is the 2nd
tallest building in Baku and in Azerbaijan. The skyscraper serves as the headquarters of
SOCAR (State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic). It is one of Baku's major landmarks, along with the
Flame Towers.
Construction began in 2010
and was completed in 2016. It was the tallest building in Baku until it was surpassed by the Port Baku Towers.
Design
Designed by Heerim Architects of
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
, the building is an example of
structural expressionism
High-tech architecture, also known as structural expressionism, is a type of Modern architecture#Late modernist architecture, late modernist architecture that emerged in the 1970s, incorporating elements of high tech industry and technology into ...
.
The building looks like two towers that curve around each other as they rise, according to skyscraper.com, "the seemingly shorter tower almost looks like it's 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 high and has 42 floors, covering an area of and providing of usage area. The headquarters is primarily office space, but also includes conference and sports facilities, a guest house, retail space and food outlets.
The design of the building is based on a composite system of steel construction (manufactured by the Permasteelisa Group) with reinforced concrete walls. The building is designed to withstand wind speeds of 190 km/h (120 mph) and an earthquake measuring nine on 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 Richter in collaboration with Beno Gutenberg, and pr ...
.
The building, designed by the South Korean company Heerim Architects & Planners Co. Ltd, based on the concept of "wind and fire", was built by the Turkish company
Tekfen Construction and Installation.
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
File:Rail yard, Baku (P1090216).jpg, SOCAR Tower (at right) seen from rail yard
See also
*
List of twisted buildings
Buildings can appear to be twisted by design, where the twisting (Torsion (mechanics), 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 ...
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