Rolex Tower was completed in 2010 as part of a new generation of skyscrapers on Dubai’s main thoroughfare, Sheikh Zayed Road, and continues SOM’s tradition of exemplary mixed-use development in the Middle East. The 235-meter tower contains offices, apartments, two penthouses, retail space, and a parking garage. Its grand lobby creates a dramatic sense of arrival, emphasized by a specially-commissioned suspended steel sculpture by local artist James Clar.
![Rolex](https://www.som.com/wp-content/uploads/fly-images/68352/205275_000_N587_large-1633628507-scaled-140x209-c.jpg)
![Rolex](https://www.som.com/wp-content/uploads/fly-images/73424/205275_000_N591_large-1638286376-scaled-140x203-c.jpg)
The design team responded to the constraints of the site by stacking the different programmatic requirements within a single, elegantly-proportioned 61-story volume. Two setbacks organize its massing into three tiers, indicating the changes of use within, and forming sky terraces. The building is sheathed in a curtain wall of high-performance, patterned green glass. Opaque at ground level, the glass becomes more transparent as it ascends, becoming nearly translucent at the tower’s pinnacle. At night, the tower is illuminated by a lighting system, integrated with the facade, which can be programmed to display an array of colors and motion.
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![Rolex](https://www.som.com/wp-content/uploads/fly-images/73422/205275_000_N586_large-1638286355-scaled-140x188-c.jpg)
The two penthouses atop the skyscraper offer sweeping views of the urban Sheikh Zayed Road and neighboring financial district. The three-bedroom, three-bathroom floor plan maximizes privacy through complete separation from the guest bedrooms and housekeepers’ quarters, setting a new standard for comfort in a competitive local market. They also feature a 140-square-meter terrace with a slatted, open-air aluminum trellis and private swimming pool. The restrained design consists of a palette of elegant and durable materials, along with hand-selected fixtures that make the space adaptable to different tastes.
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