Altair (building)

The building is located in Colombo, in an area the Urban Development Authority plans to convert into a pedestrian-only promenade to facilitate the high-street retail component being constructed at street level. The building's podium consists of a retail podium for 2 levels of high street shopping and public plaza in front. The public plaza was created by diverting traffic away from the area, making a waterfront plaza for the city. This fully-pedestrianised plaza will allow the annual Navam Perehera to pass through and will be fronted by both high street shopping as well as public kiosks, etc. Due to its location, the building enjoys 270-degree unobstructed views of Beira Lake and the Indian Ocean and panoramic views of the hills beyond. == Features ==

Altair has 400 apartments ranging from to over . == Design and construction ==

The building is designed by Moshe Safdie of Safdie Architects, Boston, in association with Design Team 3 Singapore and Thailand as detailing and submitting architects, Derby Design Dubai as structural engineers and CKR Dubai as M & E engineers. Altair comprises two structures: a vertical tower and a leaning tower. The leaning tower is inclined from level 5 to level 39 and goes vertical up to roof level at a height of 209 meters. The leaning or stepping tower has an angle of 13.8 degrees from the vertical one and leans towards the vertical tower. The two towers are connected by steel outriggers at four points at levels 39 and 41. Interior work is underway and Altair was scheduled to be completed in 2019. Construction was halted for five years, and begun anew in 2020 after review of the project and resolution of some financial issues. Altair opened in March 2021. ==See also==