Saturday, December 20, 2008

Nakheel Harbour & Tower Photos December 19th 2008

Nakheel Harbour & Tower Photos December 19th 2008 photo update.. Foundation work conintues at a fast pace, but dont get excited yet.. the foundations wont be completed until late 2010.







Friday, December 19, 2008

Portland masterplans retail space in 1km-tall Dubai tower

Portland Design is masterplanning the 70 000m2 retail area in Dubai's proposed 1km-tall Nakheel Tower (concept image pictured).

Property developer Nakheel, which is also responsible for Dubai's Palm Islands project, appointed the consultancy in July, six months after Portland approached the developer about the project.

Portland reports that in the build-up to the tower's completion in 2012, Nakheel will be seeking lighting and wayfinding designers, among other design specialists.



'We intend to compete for the wayfinding contract when that comes along', says Portland general manager, United Arab Emirates, Stephen Walsh, wondering at the 'challenge of lighting a 1km-high building'.

The tower is being designed by architect Woods Bagot, but the plan details remain a mystery, apparently to prevent other developers beating the tower's record-breaking scale.

Nevertheless, Portland reveals that the retail area will cover several levels in the base of the tower, the foundations for which are now complete. The building will feature several independent structures joining to create one.

Portland aims to differentiate the mall from the dozens of huge shopping centres in Dubai.

'We want to help create a neighbourhood for the wider community, and fully integrate landscaping and the public realm into the retail design. We also have to bear in mind, of course, that it will be a major tourist attraction,' says the group's creative head of developments, Markham Darbyshire.

Walsh would not reveal Portland's conclusions about the shape and size of the retail offer, but he describes the group's role on the project as 'looking at who the customers are, how much space can be supported by the customer base, how the space should be distributed across the site and how it should be allocated'.

Most of the mall's customers will be drawn from the new Nakheel Harbour development, which will include more than 19 000 residential apartments.

Monday, December 15, 2008

Nakheel Harbour and Tower from Google Earth

Nakheel Harbour and Tower from Google Earth (updated Dubai version):

the circle is 130 m in diameter... more than 13,000 sqm!


Sunday, December 14, 2008

Nakheel receives bids for Tall Tower

Published: 12 December 2008 12:48 GMT Author: Colin Foreman More by this Author Last Updated: 12 December 2008 12:48

Three groups submit proposals for 10-year project to build AED30bn landmark skyscraper in Dubai.

Local developer Nakheel has received proposals from three groups for the contract to build the tower at the AED140bn ($38bn) Nakheel Harbour and Tower development in Dubai.

The bidders are a joint venture of the local/Australian Al-Habtoor Leighton, South Africa's Murray & Roberts Contractors (Middle East) and Japan's Takenaka Corporation; the UK's Laing O'Rourke in joint venture with Japan's Taisei Corporation; and South Korea's Samsung Corporation (MEED 18:11:08).

Samsung is also part of a joint venture that is building the Burj Dubai, along with the local/Belgian Bel Hasa Six Construct and the local Arabtec Construction.

The AED30bn Nakheel tower will be developed over 10 years. The client plans to shortlist two groups by the end of the year and select one to provide pre-construction services by early 2009. The pre-construction period is expected to last at least one year. Enabling works on the development, which are scheduled to be completed in October 2010, are being executed by France's Soletanche Bachy. Work on the tower's superstructure is expected to follow shortly after.

In June, sources close to the project said the tower had been designed to be 1.4 kilometres tall. However, Nakheel has only confirmed that it will be more than 1km high. Even so, once finished, it will be taller than the Burj Dubai, which is expected to be about 820 metres high when completed in 2009.

The Nakheel tower was originally called the Pinnacle and was to be located on the Palm Jumeirah, before becoming part of the Dubai Waterfront scheme, when it was renamed Al-Burj. It is now known as the Tall Tower.

The consultancy team for the tower includes UK-based WSP, US-based Leslie E Robertson Associates and Australia's Woods Bagot.

The development will be built alongside the proposed Arabian Canal next to Ibn Battuta Mall and Jumeirah islands.

It will cover an area of 2.7 square kilometres and will be home to more than 55,000 people. The development will also include 250,000 sq m of hotel and hospitality space, and 100,000 sq m of retail space.

The scheme was launched in October 2008 but, given the global economic climate, doubts soon surfaced over whether it would move ahead. Nakheel has already begun to delay work on some of its other projects, such as Palm Deira and Dubai Waterfront, Gateway Towers and Trump International Hotel and Tower.

However, the developer's decision to move ahead with the Tall Tower is the latest sign that some major schemes will proceed.

The Al-Habtoor/Murray & Roberts/Takaneka joint venture was recently awarded the AED4.9bn ($1.3bn) contract to build Concourse 3 at Dubai International airport (MEED 8:12:08).

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Construction giants vie for Nakheel Tower deal

TOWER DEAL: Three major construction players are vying for pre-construction contract for Nakheel's 1km-plus tower. (Supplied)


Al-Habtoor Leighton, Murray & Roberts and Al Naboodah Laing O’Rourke are among the contractors which have bid for the pre-construction phase of work on the 1 kilometre-plus tower planned by Nakheel.

The three construction firms confirmed to Arabian Business on Wednesday they placed bids before last week’s deadline for the contract which involves preliminary non-construction work on the mega-project including programme costing.

The master developer is expected to compile a shortlist of contractors by the end of the year before selecting one company by early 2009 to provide pre-construction services for the structure, which is planned to be the tallest tower in the world.

The pre-construction period is expected to last for around a year, with the tower developed over 10 years.

Nakheel chief executive Chris O’Donnell said last month funding for the $38.12 billion project, unveiled in October, would be secured by the sale of land around the tower to other developers.

The tower is part of the Nakheel Harbour & Tower development in Dubai, which will cover an area of 2.7km and be built alongside the proposed Arabian Canal.

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Nakheel Harbour & Tower Photos December 6th 2008

lots of activities at the Nakheel Harbour & Tower site but it's difficult to see anything from the outside...








Thursday, November 27, 2008

World's tallest tower plan 'will not be delayed

Nakheel’s plans to build the tallest tower in the world will not be stalled by a slowdown in the property market in Dubai, but the master developer has put on hold taking on new projects for the time being, chief executive Chris O’Donnell said.

With foundation work on the 1.4km-high skyscraper underway, the property market would be “moving positively” again by the time the foundations were complete within two to three years, O’Donnell told Arabian Business.

He said funding for the $38.12 billion project, unveiled last month, would be secured by the sale of land around the tower to other developers.

“We indicated when we launched that we would do the foundation work and that is underway and will take two or three years. My view is that within two or three years you will find the Dubai market well and truly moving positively.

"So we think that’s the right thing to do,” he said on Wednesday evening ahead of Nakheel taking delivery of the QE2, which it plans to transform into a hotel and tourist attraction off the eastern trunk side of Palm Jumeirah.

In response to a question of whether Nakheel was considering cutting jobs, O’Donnell said the Dubai-based firm was assessing the impact of the global financial crisis on its operations to “match resources to meet its workload.”

“We are reviewing the situation,” he said. “The world economic crisis is having an affect on Dubai and we are assessing what the impact is and what we are looking to do in the future is to match supply with demand. We will match our resources to meet the workload.”

Emaar Properties, another Dubai master developer, said on Monday it may consider making staff redundant due to the downturn in the local real estate market, while Omniyat Properties could cut up to 100 jobs and Dubai developer Damac has said that it planned to lay off 200 employees.

O’Donnell said following launches in the last year and a half of the Universe, Mina Rashid and Nakheel Tower, it was not taking on any new projects for the time being.

“We are delivering over 50 percent of everything that will be delivered in Dubai over the next ten years. We are managing sub-projects within our projects, so smaller projects within Palm Deira and Palm Jumeirah and the Waterfront,” he said.

He said $80 billion was the last figure Nakheel had given for the value of its projects including international assets and as this was a conservative estimate the amount was still correct despite the global financial crisis.

O’Donnell firmly denied there were any plans for a merger between Nakheel and Emaar.

“The government has come out and confirmed that is not the case, so there’s definitely no Nakheel and Emaar merger that’s being considered,” he said.

It follows a comment on Monday by Emaar chairman Mohamed Ali Alabbar saying he would welcome a merger with Nakheel if the opportunity arose.

Nakheel, part of state-owned conglomerate Dubai World, is building three palm-shaped islands off the Dubai coast, as well as an archipelago in the shape of the world.

The financial crisis has hit demand for real estate in Dubai from foreign investors, which make up a large percentage of buyers, while tightening liquidity has made home financing more difficult.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Behind the scenes: Nakheel's tallest tower plan

Developer Nakheel is to trump rival Emaar Properties in the contest to build the world's tallest building, with the Dubai-owned developer unveiling plans for a tower that will dwarf the Burj Dubai.

Nakheel is poised to build Nakheel Harbour and Tower that will be more than one kilometre high, as part of a $38.12 billion project that will include the world’s first inner city harbour.

This video gives you the behind the scenes story of the project with interviews with CEO Chris O'Donnell, a look at the company's launch night for the ambitious development which was held at the Atlantis resort in Dubai and attended by Hollywood couple Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jone plus there's a 3D view of how the tower will look when complete.

The development, located at the intersection of Sheikh Zayed Road and the $11 billion Arabian Canal currently under construction, will cover an area of more than 270 hectares and eventually house more than 55,000 people.

The project will take more than 10 years to complete, but with some stages coming on line much earlier.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Nakheel extends closing date for tower proposals

The closing date for preliminary proposals for the 1 kilometre-plus tower planned by the UAE's Nakheel has been extended to 4 December. The tower is part of the AED140bn ($38bn) Nakheel Harbour & Tower development in Dubai.

The companies invited to bid for the tower are the local/Australian Al-Habtoor Leighton, the local/UK Al-Naboodah Laing O'Rourke, South Africa's Murray & Roberts Construction (Middle East), South Korea's Samsung Corporation, Japan's Taisei Corporation and France's Vinci Construction Grand Projets.

The AED30bn tower will be developed over 10 years. The client plans to shortlist two groups by the end of 2008 and select one group to provide pre-construction services by early 2009. The pre-construction period is expected to last for at least a year.

Enabling works on the development are being carried out by France's Soletanche Bachy. The package is scheduled for completion in October 2010, and work on the tower's superstructure is expected to follow shortly after.

In June, sources close to the project said the tower had been designed to be 1.4 km high. However, Nakheel has only confirmed that it will be more than 1km high. Once finished, it will be taller than the Burj Dubai, which is expected to be about 820 metres high when completed in 2009.

The consultancy team for the tower includes UK-based WSP, US-based Leslie E Robertson Associates and Australia's Woods Bagot.

The development will be built alongside the proposed Arabian Canal and next to Ibn Battuta Mall and Jumeirah islands. It will cover an area of 2.7km and will be home to more than 55,000 people (MEED 31:10:08).

Monday, November 17, 2008

World's tallest tower secrets revealed

TOWER SECRETS: Architects have revealed how the world's tallest tower will cope with high winds. (Supplied)Architects behind the design of the Nakheel's one kilometre high Dubai tower have revealed the secrets of how it will cope with high winds.

Mark Mitcheson-Low, director in charge of the project and Woods Bagot Middle East managing director, said the cylindrical tower, which will be 95 metres in diameter, is in fact four towers encircling an internal void, linked at intervals by sky bridges.

This design, he said, would mitigate the effects of the wind load, allowing the air to pass freely through the building.

The individual quadrants of the building allow for structural rigidity against the strong winds usually experienced at the higher building levels.

Often limiting engineering possibilities beyond 500 metres, the wind will pass through vertical gills, which have been proven in wind tunnel testing to reduce the windload by three-fold.

At about every 25 levels, sky bridges will bind the building together to provide a structural integrity which, unlike any building before it, affords the tower greatly increased stability and the opportunity to build higher.

They will also house mechanical, electrical and plumbing services and would provide safe crossing points if one of the towers were disabled due to an emergency, Mitcheson-Low added.

He said: "The design is an example of the human ability to overcome the forces of nature and harness them to create a monument dedicated to past, present and future generations of the Gulf.

"Nakheel and Woods Bagot have pushed the design envelope with a project that will be central to the development of one of the world's most exciting cities."

When Nakheel announced the project prior to the Cityscape show in Dubai in September, it was said to become the world's tallest tower when complete but shortly afterwards, Saudi-based Kingdom Holding Company said it was planning to build the Kingdom Tower which would be more than 1km high.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Al Burj Building site photo

What a perfect place to take some great pictures of the al burj site. Can't believe we missed it..

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Norman Disney & Young to work on Nakheel Harbour & Tower



Leading engineering firm Norman Disney & Young (NDY) is expanding its global influence with the launch of its Dubai office and the announcement that it will work on the landmark Nakheel Harbour & Tower project in Dubai.

NDY will provide mechanical, electrical, fire and hydraulic services for the kilometre-high Tower, plans for which were unveiled this month. The Nakheel Tower will have more than 200 floors, 150 lifts and enough facilities that residents need never leave the building. It will also lead the way in sustainable design.

The Nakheel Tower is NDY's biggest project to date, and the firm will provide services to an approximate 30-40% of the overall project value, including hydraulics, air conditioning, fire protection and evacuation systems.

In order to meet the task ahead, NDY has opened an office in Dubai. With ten staff already in place, it plans to double this number by the end of 2008, and continue recruiting into next year.

The sheer scale of the project will create a range of different and new challenges that NDY will have to mitigate, including:

- Temperature - the Tower experiences five different climactic conditions and, as a result, there are design considerations at each level. One such consideration is known as a 'reverse stack effect'. This will cause high pressure differences between inside the building and outside which will require careful management to prevent such problems as doors being very difficult to open, lift doors jamming and high air loss from air conditioned spaces.

- All water systems will require pumping in stages because pressure requirement exceeds the pressure rating of equipment and pipework. In the case of chilled water, the number of stages which can be used is limited by the temperature rise as the water passes though the heat exchangers between each pressure stage.

- Electrical systems - the project has the power requirements equivalent to those of a small city, necessitating substations throughout the Tower. Back up power supplies will also be crucial because in the case of fire the Tower's 156 lifts will be essential for evacuation.

- Environmental considerations - these will include an on-site black water treatment plant, providing the equivalent of 10 Olympic-sized swimming pools of recycled water per day. This water will be used for irrigation within the overall development.

Dennis O'Brien, NDY director, said:

'The Nakheel Tower represents one of the most groundbreaking construction and infrastructure projects in the world to date, and we relish the opportunity to be involved. Every project raises fresh challenges but none more so than this one. NDY is committed to finding the most effective solution for each challenge.'

'As a business, this project also presents the opportunity for NDY to grow into the Middle East, with the launch of our new office in this expanding market strengthening the firm's international position,' O'Brien added.

Friday, October 31, 2008

Nakheel invites contractors to submit plans for Tall Tower in Dubai

Contractors have until 20 November to bid for 1-kilometre-high skyscraper.
Selected companies have been invited to submit proposals by 20 November for a tower at least 1 kilometre high at the AED140bn ($38bn) Nakheel Harbour & Tower development in Dubai.

The companies are the local/Australian Al-Habtoor Leighton, the local/UK Al-Naboodah Laing O'Rourke, South Africa's Murray & Roberts Construction (Middle East), South Korea's Samsung Corporation, Japan's Taisei Corporation, and France's Vinci Construction Grand Projets.

The AED30bn tower will be developed over a period of 10 years. The client plans to shortlist two groups by the end of the year and select one group to provide pre-construction services by early 2009. The pre-construction period is expected to last for at least one year.

Enabling works on the development are being executed by France's Soletanche Bachy. The package is scheduled for completion in October 2010, and work on the tower's superstructure is expected to follow shortly after.

In June, sources close to the project said the tower had been designed to be 1.4km tall. However, Nakheel has only confirmed that it will be more than 1km high. Once finished, it will be taller than the Burj Dubai, which is expected to be about 820 metres high when completed in 2009.

The Tall Tower was originally called the Pinnacle and was to be located on the Palm Jumeirah, before becoming part of the Dubai Waterfront scheme, when it was renamed Al-Burj. The consultancy team for the tower includes UK-based WSP, US-based Leslie E Robertson Associates and Australia's Woods Bagot.

The development will be built alongside the proposed Arabian Canal and next to Ibn Battuta Mall and Jumeirah islands. It will cover an area of 2.7km and will be home to more than 55,000 people (MEED 8:10:08).

"The cost of construction of the tower, canal and other buildings will be AED140bn," Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, chairman of Dubai World and Nakheel told those attending the formal launch of the project on 5 October.

The development will include 250,000 square metres of hotels and hospitality space, and 100,000 sq m of retail space.

Other Nakheel projects have been affected by the global credit crisis. Work on its multi-billion dollar Palm Deira project has been scaled back, and it is now unclear what its development strategy across its $100bn-plus portfolio will be in the coming months.

It is likely that Nakheel, along with other developers in Dubai, will prioritise certain projects. The move to select a contractor for the Tall Tower suggests the scheme is a priority for Nakheel and the Dubai government.

In addition, the costs incurred during the preconstruction period will not be such a large financial burden as actual construction work such as dredging.

By 2011, when work on the tower's superstructure is due to start, the economic crisis may have passed, allowing Nakheel to proceed with work in a more benign financial climate.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Nakheel Harbour & Tower Renders

The tower was designed by Woods Bagot architects and it will be built by Nakheel, the same developer which has built those fancy state-of-the-art man-made islands in Dubai. The skyscraper will be called Nakheel Tower and as a bonus, there will also be built world’s first inner city harbor.

The entire construction area will be of 270 hectares, and when the Nakheel Tower and Harbor will be finished, it will provide enough space for 55,00 inhabitants, workplaces for 45,000 people, and for millions of tourists every year. Although it will be one kilometer-high, the skyscraper will only feature 200 floors, but this could change as the developers don’t want to tell us more about the actual height as rivals could build taller towers.









Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Nakheel Harbour & Tower Photos

Nakheel Harbour & Tower Photos, The future worlds tallest building / skyscraper photos. When this tower is completed Dubai will have the worlds first 1km high tower.








Sunday, October 26, 2008

Nakheel Harbour Tower aka Al Burj/Tall Tower photos

Nakheel Harbour Tower aka Al Burj/Tall Tower photos, photo update of the construction site.




Also:

Nakheel tower overcomes design issues.

Structural design challenges associated with building the Nakheel Tower has been overcome, according to WSP Middle East director of engineering Stephen Taylor.

Nakheel appointed WSP Group as structural engineer for its Nakheel Tower project earlier this month.

The tower, which will be more than 1km in height, will form the centrepiece of the US $38.12 billion (AED140 billion) Nakheel Harbour and Tower development.


"All I can say is that the tower is well into the design and most of the challenges have been solved," Taylor told Construction Week.

He refused to comment as consultants working on the tower have had to sign confidentiality agreements concerning the project details.

The Nakheel Tower is set to "race for the skies" with Saudi Arabia-based Kingdom Holding, which announced plans for a tower standing in excess of 1km immediately after the Nakheel Tower launch.

WSP has also played a programme management role supporting the development of the masterplan and infrastructure works in Meraas Development's $95 billion Jumeirah Gardens project, the first master-planned urban regeneration development in Dubai.

The firm was one of many hired by Meraas for the project. "We've made sure that the master plan, with the 30 plus consultants that we have had working on it, is one that we are confident with," Meraas CEO Sina Al Kazim said.

Friday, October 24, 2008

foundation works for the tallest tower in the world



The Dubai Nakheel Tall Tower is part of the Nakheel Harbour and Tower project and involves the construction of a new town on a 270 hectare site in the centre of Dubai. At a height of more than 1 km, when completed the Nakheel Tall Tower, the project’s central structure, will be the tallest building in the world.

In early 2008, Solétanche Bachy constructed three test barrettes and then, from April to June 2008, installed a 130 m diameter diaphragm wall including the capping beam. Last August, we commenced the construction of 392 barrettes to form the foundations of the Tall Tower. Additionally, Solétanche Bachy will be responsible for the construction of the pumping system, earthworks, a draining foundation raft and a concrete blinding layer. Foundation works are due to be completed by January 2010.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Engineers appointed for world's tallest tower

TALLEST TOWER: WSP Group has been appointed structural engineers for Nakheel's ambitious project.Consultancy firm WSP Group has been appointed structural engineer for Nakheel’s project to build the world’s tallest tower in Dubai, the company announced on Wednesday.

UK-based WSP said it was already working on plans for the more than one-kilometre high structure, which Nakheel unveiled last week as part of the multi-billion dollar Nakheel Harbour and Tower development.

WSP revealed it was also playing a major role in Meraas Development’s $95 billion Jumeira Gardens scheme, Dubai’s first master planned urban regeneration development, also launched last week.

The company said it was an integral part of the Meraas’s program management team supporting the development of the master plan and infrastructure works for the scheme, to be delivered over many years.

Chris Cole, WSP Group chief executive officer, said he expected the firm’s business operations in the Middle East to grow significantly in the next few years.

"Success in winning projects of the calibre of the Nakheel Tower and Jumeira Gardens is a strong endorsement of our strategy to increase our global business and provide our employees with the opportunity to work on major landmark projects around the world.

"We expect to announce our appointment to further high-profile schemes across the Middle East in the very near future,” he said.

Work on-site is already underway for a third high-profile Dubai project, the Dubai World Trade Center District, for which WSP is acting as design consultant.

It is providing structural, mechanical and electrical engineering input, in addition to environmental, infrastructure and transportation guidance for the $1.36 billion first phase of the project.

It follows WSP’s recent appointment to provide a similar range of services on the Dubai Exhibition City development at the Dubai World Central development in Jebel Ali.

In addition, WSP was appointed earlier this year to develop the Green Building Code for Dubai, supporting Dubai’s commitment to introduce strong environmental performance to the design and development of its urban space.

WSP is already working on projects across the region covering Abu Dhabi, Oman, Bahrain and Kuwait.

It has increased staff numbers in the Middle East to around 1,000 after experiencing significant growth.

Nakheel Harbour & Tower Photo update

Nakheel Harbour & Tower Photo update, here is some photos taken of the constructon site today.






Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Nakheel Harbour & Tower Renders #1

The tower was designed by Woods Bagot architects and it will be built by Nakheel, the same developer which has built those fancy state-of-the-art man-made islands in Dubai. The skyscraper will be called Nakheel Tower and as a bonus, there will also be built world’s first inner city harbor.

The entire construction area will be of 270 hectares, and when the Nakheel Tower and Harbor will be finished, it will provide enough space for 55,00 inhabitants, workplaces for 45,000 people, and for millions of tourists every year. Although it will be one kilometer-high, the skyscraper will only feature 200 floors, but this could change as the developers don’t want to tell us more about the actual height as rivals could build taller towers.