Ocean Heights

«If the plot has a water view — you cannot build a straight box. You must turn the building to face the ocean.»

— DAMAC · 2006 PROJECT BRIEF

In 2005 DAMAC acquired a Dubai Marina plot with direct shore frontage. The problem: on a narrow site, a standard rectangular tower would let only 30–40% of units see the beach — the rest would look along the facade, without a full water view. The solution came from the Asian architectural school: they hired Hong Kong's Aedas, known for twisted high-rises in Shanghai and Singapore.

Aedas proposed a gentle twist: every floor shifts about 0.5 degrees relative to the one below, totalling 30 degrees of rotation from floor 1 to 82. This rotated the facade so that 90% of units got a direct water view.

It's worth noting: this is not as radical a move as Cayan Tower's 90° twist (delivered three years later). Ocean Heights is more cautious — its rotation isn't obvious at first glance — but compare the first-floor plan with the top-floor plan and the difference is clear. It was a test run for Marina, after which what SOM achieved at Cayan became possible.

Contractor: Arabtec. Construction started in 2006. The 2008 financial crisis did not halt the project but slowed finishing works. Final delivery took place in 2010 — Ocean Heights became one of the first high-rises delivered in Marina after the crisis. This gave DAMAC a reputation as a 'reliable' developer against the backdrop of many frozen neighbouring projects.