QUILL Tower Rendering during Schematic Design Phase, NEOM City, Saudi Arabia

QUILL TOWER

NEOM City, Saudi Arabia, 2023 - ongoing

NEOM selected Choi+Shine Architects to develop six

iconic, high voltage towers to express its vision for the

future and its environmentally and socially sensitive

energy masterplan.

Each design was developed as a family of towers,

conforming to NEOM's guidelines while closely working

with NEOM’s engineering and management teams.

Each design was analyzed for structural and electrical

performance and studied installation, fabrication,

maintenance methods and cost feasibility, to ensure constructibility.

Far Right: Illusion of movement, circular Moire Pattern

DESIGN PRINCIPLES

Elemental and Organic:

Repetitive components creates a whole, making the design cost effective and adaptive to various site and power requirement.

Reflection & Transparency:

Mirrored and transparent finishes are an innovative way to refocus the visual experience, to reflect the environment, so that the structures seems to disappear.

Biomorphic Surface:

Patterns to disguise the structure and make them illegible

Sculptural Principle:

Articulated structure allowing for variations

LIGHT AS A FEATHER

Symbolism of quill feathers is largely due to its lightness - a symbol of ascension and spirituality. The lightness, the sense of levitation also relates to the symbolism of hope and new growth. As birds shed and regrow their feathers, they symbolise renewal, rebirth, and hope for a brighter future (eg, ‘Hope is the Thing With Feathers’ by

Emily Dickinson).

Each linear barb is articulated as components that create the airy and open whole, while the relationship between barbs and the in- between spaces creates optical illusion that further emphasises the lightness; it contributes to the ethereal presence with diffused profile of the form and blurs the boundary of the physical material.

LEARNING FROM NATURE

Evolutionary patterning was applied to the tower for Camouflage.

Repetition of modular elements in regular intervals creates visual rhythm and lightness.

QUILL Towers located along a new line development in NEOM city. The simulation reflects different terrain conditions and environments along the new line.

Credit: King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)

THE VISUAL LANGUAGE OF LANDSCAPE

Angular and organic land form and its patterned and layered geological characteristics in NEOM regions inspired the project. The alternation of solid/void space in sediments was incorporated into the design as distinctive design element from the local topography.

EARLY STUDIES

Study Images showing textures of growth in various parts of NEOM. Sketches emphasise elemental composition and its variation in multiples.

Left: patterns from indigenous birds inhabited the NEOM region for millennia

Left: Photos and sketches from the site visit

Center: Electron microscopy showing Interlocking barbules in

each barb of a feather.

Left: examples of optical illusion ( circular Moire

pattern) for the visual variation and dematerialisation

Optical illusion blurs the boundary of the physicality and blends it into the landscape. it creates an

expression of light within, while prompting a sense of movement and variation. It also creates an illusionary depth which contributes to the perception of illusionary form.

DEMATERIALIZATION:

Reflectivity of the material allows for the optical

illusion and blurs into the landscape, while the

concave form and colouring make the elements still

visible to the birds to avoid possible bird collisions.

Optional 2D coloured materials creates an optical

mirage and blurs into the background.

PERCEPTION OF MULTIPLE

The design considers viewer’s perception of multiple towers in mobility. The project explored possible formal variations in sequence and juxtaposition of porous structure overlapping with the varying sightline, creating the visual illusion of mobility and weightlessness.

INNOVATION: INTEGRATED INSULATORS & CONDUCTORS

Taking a departure from a conventional approach which considers the transmission towers as a separate entity to merely support the conductors and insulators overhead, QUILL tower incorporates insulators and conductors as integral parts within the tower.

Suspension Towers

This innovative and comprehensive approach allows for the

simple and elegant design and engineering solutions. It enhances the sculptural quality of the tower, reducing the visual clutter from the functional components for the electrical transmission.

Tension Towers

NIGHT TIME PRESENCE & MULTI FUNCTIONALITY:

Integration of lighting transforms the Tower as a light sculpture. The use of light is both decorative and functional,

helping to minimize night-time bird collisions with

spectrally selective lighting and for line general illumination.

Lighting can be used at a strategic location, during selective time period, such as the migration season.

STRUCTURAL STUDIES:

- Torque

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx

STUDY OF MODULARITY

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx