Construction of Burj Al Arab began in 1994, and was completed in 1999 It was built n the shape of the Arab dhow, a type of Arabian vessel. Two ‘wings’ spread in a V shape to form a ‘mast’, with the space in between them making the worlds largest atrium. It needed to be a building that would become synonymous with the name of the country.
Principal Structural Engineer of Building Martin Halford
Eversendai Engineering
130 foot Deep Piles
Outer Steel Frame V
Inner Reinforced Concrete V
Core Connection
Central Core Service
Transmits Gravity Loads
Since the Burj Al Arab is built on a man-made island into the sea, certain geotechnical considerations had to be considered. Mainly, the ground beneath the Burj Al Arab is sand and silt. To take this into account, the foundation was made with cement piles that reach a depth of 130 feet. The foundation of this superstructure does not reach bedrock; therefore the stability comes from the shear forces along each deep pile.
The Burj Al Arab withstands gravity loads through the stability of the two intertwined V’s of steel and concrete. The concrete walls and slabs come out from the point of the V which is a special service core. At the end of each floor level are wings. Gravity loads are transferred down from the core and wings to the foundation. The use of a core and wings was suitable for this structure to allow for the world’s largest atrium to be enclosed between the two sides of hotel suites.
3 Tube Steel Trusses
Cross-bracing and Curved Truss Arch
Teflon Coated
Fiberglass Fabric
As a tall building, the lateral loads of the Burj Al Arab are of most importance. Due to the geographic location in the Persian Gulf, winds and seismic activity had to be considered. The building was built to withstand a fifty year wind of 100 miles per hour and a seismic ground acceleration of 0.2 times gravity (Reina).
The structure transfers lateral loads in a number of ways. First, the Burj Al Arab has three tubular steel trusses on the outside of the two sides of the V. These trusses act as cross bracing to wind and earthquake forces. The translucent fabric wall of the atrium is not only a stunning architectural feature but also helps transfer lateral load. The fabric covers a series of steel cross bracing and is comprised of two layers of fiberglass material which is Teflon-coated. The fabric goes over the trussed arches mentioned before.
Due to the rigidity, lateral loads are transferred to the fabric wall which acts similar to a diaphragm. The shape of Burj Al Arab lowers wind forces more effectively then a square building because of the streamlined V and curved fabric atrium wall.
Joint Venture between
Al Habtoor Engineering
Murray and Roberts
Fletcher Construction
The companies all joined to gather because by utilizing the separate talents of each partner; the bulk of the risk could be redistributed to the firms that were best equipped to handle each particular issue. The risks that needed to be considered were:
1. labor supply
2. concrete work
3. structural steel supply
4. Erection
5. high rise management experience
6. Purchasing
7. cost control
8. management staffing
1- Al Habtoor Engineering had the responsibility to provide the project with the labor required the quality of the concrete and block work. The procurement system put in place by the joint venture was based on Al Habtoor Engineering's proven system.
2- Murray and Roberts brought the expertise for detailing, fabrication, shipment and erection of the complex structural steel. This was subcontracted to Genrec Steel Fabricators of Johannesburg, South Africa, a company owned by Murray and Roberts.
This subcontract would reduce financial risk.
3- Fletcher had the high-rise management and planning expertise. The project director and project manager came from Fletcher and were based in Dubai.
Construction in two phase
Phase 1
Value Engineering and
Constructability
Phase 2
Actual Construction
The first phase would address the complexity of the building construction and take advantage of a three-month lead. This allowed time for construction scheduling, purchasing of forming systems, planning for crane and hoisting, and initial programming. The project used this time for value engineering and development of innovative methods for accomplishing the unique tasks. Some of the major challenges in this phase were related to the exoskeleton embodiments, which were redesigned in order to ease the installation and speed up the cycle times to adhere to the tight schedule. In addition to the exoskeleton, Genrec was faced with redesigned some of the structure just to facilitate constructability. The rear-braced frame was completely redesigned from lattice girder construction to box girders. This was not only a saving in money but also made the building much easier to build (Al Habtoor).
For phase 2 the client had the option to award it to another contractor should the results of the first phase prove to be unsatisfactory. The client decided to stick with the same firms since there methods were already proving to speed up and cheapen construction. Phase 2 was all of the actual construction of the structure. The partners used many new technologies to speed up construction and lower the construction cost so the companies could earn more profit by saving money in such places as labor and equipment (Al Habtoor).
One new technology that was used was Cantilever’s Top Climbing Jump Form system for the main core area.
Cantilever Pty Ltd, Queensland, Australia designed and furnished the 300 ton forming system. A top climbing jump form system requires the form to hang off a structural steel grid and to be jumped utilizing a dozen synchronous electric - operated screw jacks that lift the entire system by pushing off the top of the walls previously poured. The form system chosen for the wing walls and the stair cores was Doka's SKE automatic-climbing form system. The wing areas of the building house the two-storey suites. Each of the six walls per wing are 13 meters long and were poured in 3.57 meter lifts. Doka designed the forms such that only two climbing brackets per form were necessary. The fewer suspension points meant fewer man hours were required for each operation therefore saving time and money.
Another place where technology was used was in the form system for the main floors. This form system was also designed, manufactured and furnished by Cantilever Pty Ltd. This form was designed as a flying cable and was supported by brackets attached to the walls. The form itself weighed 18 tons. The frame for each form was constructed with large castellated steel beams and measured 18.3 meters long by 8.1 meters wide. Once the slab was cast and reached sufficient strength, the forms were jacked down off the wall brackets and flown into the next position with tower cranes.
The table forms saved time by eliminating the need for shoring labor to hold them up. In addition, Meinhardt International helped the joint venture re-engineer the slabs to a post-tensioned design, reducing the labor on reinforcing steel and time required to get sufficient strength to strip the form (Doka).
The forming a joint venture the companies undoubtedly contributed the most to the success of the project. The companies’ use of value
engineering, constructability, and preplanning and
planning that included all
members of the group helped to keep cost down as well as keep up with the schedule that was set by the owner.
Majority of Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing Designs by DSE Engineering Group
All designs are very involved given the nature the project
Exterior Electrical Designs
Subcontracted out to
Speirs and Major Associates
As you might expect the mechanical, electrical and plumbing designs for this building are quite involved given the building’s size and architecture.
Each facet of the MEP has its own individual design challenges. One can imagine the difficulty associated with cooling a building in a city with an average temperature of 80˚ Fahrenheit in the winter, especially when the greater part of the building’s outside is covered in glass. The complexity is only multiplied when you consider that the building is a hotel and that each of the 202 suites are outfitted with their own electricity and plumbing feeds.
The structure is made of a steel exoskeleton wrapped around an reinforced concrete tower.
The space between the wings is enclosed by a Teflon-coated fiberglass sail, curving across the front of the building and creating an atrium inside. The sail is made of a material called Dyneon, spanning over 161,000 square feet, consists of two layers, and is divided into twelve panels and installed vertically. The fabric is coated with DuPont Teflon to protect it from harsh desert heat, wind, and dirt. The fabricators estimate that it will hold up for up to 50 years.
At 14,000 channels it is the largest architectural lighting control system ever made (Futronix). Each suite has one or more PFX-32 dimming control systems, which operate the lighting in every room.
The largest suites have five systems giving a total of 160 channels of lighting. As if the interior lighting schemes were not enough, each suite is also equipped with digital surround sound, multimedia enhanced 42” plasma television, internet access, touch-screen video and teleconferencing, fax machine, photocopier, data port and to top it all off, automated curtains (Burj Al Arab).
The Burj Al
In fabric atrium wall
The membrane is constructed from 2 skins of PTFE coated fiberglass separated by an air gap of approximately 500mm and pre-tensioned over a series of trussed arches. These arches span up to 50 meters between the outer bedroom wings of the hotel which frame the atrium, and are aligned with the vertical geometry of the building. The double-curved membrane panels so formed are able to take positive wind pressures by spanning from truss to truss and negative wind pressures by spanning sideways. Additional cables have been provided running on the surface of the fabric to reduce the deflection of the membrane
The trussed arches which can extend out from the supports by up to 13 meters are supported vertically at the 18th and 26th floors by a series of 52mm diameter cross-braced macaloy bars.
Girders at these floors transfer the load to the core structure. These bars are then pre-tensioned to ensure that the whole structure remains in tension.
An expansion joint is provided for the full height of the building on the right hand side of the wall. This enables the building to 'breath' under wind loads and avoids the exertion of large horizontal loads on the relatively weak bedroom structures.
The resulting form is entirely appropriate for the building and its function with the fabric reducing solar gain into the atrium and providing an effective diffused light quality. It is also appropriate for the Middle-East region where its predicted lifespan and self-cleansing qualities should resist the aggressive environment.
A stay in this luxurious hotel will range in price from two to seven or more thousand U.S. dollars a night. Just getting inside the doors for a tour of the Burj Al Arab costs approximately one hundred and fifty U.S. dollars. Despite these prices, it has been said that the Burj Al Arab will actually never be able to make a profit.
However, the building more than pays for itself by creating a potent marketing symbol for
surrounding Dubai (Economist.com).
BUT As we know:
A great deal of the United Arab Emirates current economy is dependent upon international
tourism. The Burj Al Arab quickly became the city’s definitive icon; it is now to Dubai what the Eiffel Tower is to Paris. Tourism worldwide has seen a gradual decrease over the last few years.
However, more recently it has been increasing in Dubai, thanks in large part to Burj Al Arab.
(Time Out Dubai).
Resource: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3IloFyM61Q
This is the Burj Al Arab, the only 7 stars hotel in the world, it was built in only 18 months...
And opened its doors in 2003...