Baku, Azerbaijan
FXCollaborative, Renaissance Construction Azerbaijan and Heerim Architects & Planners design a 475,000-square-foot tower for the Ministry of Taxes of the Republic of Azerbaijan to provide the Ministry with a new office headquarters to house occupants under one roof in an exceptional signature structure.
Its design was guided by cultural responses, sustainable concerns, and its pivotal location.
The project has been awarded a 2021 International Architecture Award by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.
The Ministry of Taxes embraces the essence of the energetic city of Baku, the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan.
Baku’s rapid growth in the last few decades has transformed the city into a lively urban hub for the Caspian Sea region, with several contemporary skyscrapers and a futuristic urban composition.
The tower is located near a number of other recent high-rises and is one of the tallest structures on Heydar Aliyev Avenue, the major ceremonial boulevard that features a mix of Soviet-era architecture, contemporary headquarters buildings, and a notable cultural center by Zaha Hadid.
The tower establishes a memorable presence for the Ministry on the skyline with a unique spiraling design that marks an important moment on the Avenue while optimizing solar orientation and views to Baku’s city center and the Caspian Sea.
The tower is composed of five cube forms of varying sizes that rotate and taper upwards, which rest on a podium base.
Each of the stacked cubes is independently cantilevered from a circular central core (recalling Frank Lloyd Wright’s famous Johnson Wax Research Tower), and each volume is separated by a column-free green roof terrace that provides distinct separation from the next cube.
Each floor is rotated 1.2 degrees with respect to the floor below to create a smooth curve up the tower and its distinctive spiraling design.
The geometric forms gradually taper and rotate a total of 36 degrees from the base to the top, optimizing solar orientation and allowing the tower to achieve ambitious energy efficiency goals.
A white metal scrim, tuned to the solar orientation, further reduces heat load, while floor-to-ceiling glass offers stunning views.
The tower, which comprises 31 floors (plus 2 below-grade floors of parking), features a complex range of programming to support the Ministry.
In addition to offices, the building houses a range of associated amenities. The podium base includes a 400-seat auditorium, conference rooms, a cafeteria, restaurant, and fitness club, which can be operated separately after business hours.
The tower’s office and lounge spaces are defined by its unique design of stacked volumes, with each of the lower four cubes housing five floors of office space, and the top cube housing private one-and two-bedroom guest suites for visiting dignitaries and a formal restaurant.
Each volume is separated by green spaces that promote access to the outdoors for the buildings’ occupants, and the tower is topped by an observation deck and spectacular rooftop garden, with a helipad above.
Placed throughout the tower, these indoor/outdoor green spaces promote access to the outdoors and provide natural environments adjacent to workspace, access to fresh air, and social places for employees and visitors alike.
In 2012, the team was commissioned to design the mixed-use office tower for the Ministry of Taxes of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
The design was completed with input from a number of consultants. Innovative structural solutions were developed to support the five twisting cubes, and address high seismic and wind loads.
Construction of the project began in 2016. The project celebrated its structural topping out in April 2018 and will be opened in early 2021.
Project: Ministry of Taxes
Architects: FXCollaborative
Associate Architects: Renaissance Construction Azerbaijan
Consulting Architects: Heerim Architects & Planners
Client: Ministry of Taxes of the Republic of Azerbaijan
General Contractor: Tefken Construction & Installation Co, Inc.
Photographers: Tefken Construction
