innovative engineering architecture
Vincent explains how the curvaceous form emerged:
“Due to the proximity to the water and the significance of the sea to Abu Dhabi, we started looking at the designs in waves and curves. The conference building has a lot of curves; there’s the primary U-shaped curve for the courtyard, the roof curves, along with the ports of the doorways. So this was the thinking when we were looking at the tower.” The design of Capital Gate needed to harmonise with the
existing National Day Grandstand – an integral part of the exhibition centre complex. Vincent adds: “It is extremely significant for the city, so we tried to merge the old with the new and bring the grandstand back to life.” This principle was previously applied to the completed
Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre which incorporates the structure of the grandstand. Accordingly, a link was created from Capital Gate to the grandstand via a stainless steel mesh that descends down the face of the tower. The mesh also has an important functional application.
Tony Archibold, associate director at Dubai-headquartered RMJM, the architects behind the project, explains: “The mesh protects the office side of the building from getting too much heat. At the same time it is 70 percent trans- parent, so there is little impact on the views.” Vincent adds: “The mesh has been angled so that it
catches the rising sun and diffuses 30 percent of the heat but not much of the light. It brings down the operating needs of the building, saving on air-conditioning.” He also sta tes that the mesh complements the nautical concept. “The building form is the wave and the mesh is the ‘splash’.”
Each floor plate is completely different and the floors physically change shape as the building rises. Design decisions in one area affect the other parts. That’s a big challenge
NAILING THE DESIGN
Once the concept was devised it was time to finalise the specifications of the building. Mike Johnson, ADNEC’s senior project manager on Capital Gate, describes the blueprint: “There are 34 floors with two main uses – offices and a hotel – both with separate entrances. The offices start on the second floor while the hotel starts on the 18th tea room are on the 19th
. The suspended pool deck and while there are some executive suites and a helicopter pad above.” Johnson clarifies the measurement of the lean. “When you hear about the 18 degree lean, it’s referring to the break from
the vertical to the most extreme point. It moves out 33 metres,“ he comments. Archibold elaborates on the client’s requirements, saying: “The client specified VVIP flagship offices with uninter-
rupted floor plates and a true five-star boutique hotel product which would be a new model for the area. Thankfully both their vision and ours was on a par.” He adds: “I think we went beyond the brief. There is now an internal atrium which is small at the bottom but becomes
very large at the top, which is unusual. At the same time, there was a special reasoning behind the size of the hotel rooms. They are extremely large and all have amazing views – there is no ‘bad side’ to the building.” He reveals how an unexpected complication was discovered during groundwork. “When site work commenced, we found
that the site contains a major utility pipe for the whole of Abu Dhabi city. Obviously we couldn’t move it. The government subsequently wanted the building to be six metres away from the pipe for health and safety, so the basement had to be pulled back and we lifted the entire building 2.5 metres off the ground. This meant we had to quickly redesign the landscaping as well as vehicular and civil defence access.” Yet the complexity of the tower presented a far greater challenge, as Archibold explains: “Each floor plate is com-
pletely different and the floors physically change shape as the building rises. All elements influence one another and design decisions in one area affect the other parts. That’s a big challenge.
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/apr-may 2010
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