Sunday, February 3, 2008

Al Burj piling work has started

The piling test used will be the same as the Pentominium, and the foundations of Al Burj will be 148.65 -151.55m deep. You will notice the rebar cages are square instead of circular. This is because they are going to build slurrywalls around the foundation.




Saturday, February 2, 2008

Dubai's real estate ambitions soar higher

DUBAI - Even as this west Asian metropolis awaits the completion of the Burj Dubai, the world’s tallest building, towards the end of this year, work on its rival, also in Dubai, has started. French firm Solantache Bachy has started work on the building, tentatively named Al Burj or “Tall Tower”, being developed by the Dubai government-owned real estate giant Nakheel, according to local media reports.

When completed, the Al Burj will be over a kilometre tall and will compete with Emaar Properties’ Burj Dubai, which is unofficially the tallest manmade structure in the world as of now. Though Emaar has kept the Burj Dubai’s final height a closely guarded secret, it is expected to be 900 metres tall when completed.

Although the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat officially recognizes the height of a building only when it is completed, the Burj Dubai, being built at a cost of $4.2 billion, surpassed the CN Tower in Toronto, Canada, as the world’s largest free-standing structure in September last year. A spokesman for Nakheel told Construction Week magazine that Solantache Bachy has started testing work on the site of the Al Burj.

Previous reports suggested that Nakheel would officially unveil the project by announcing the award of the contract in March, but another Nakheel official told the Arabian Business website that a more realistic date would be towards the end of the first half of this year. Initial designs show the Al Burj as having all of 228 floors with a four-level basement and one service sub-level. According to Construction Week, the total built up area will be 1.49 million square metres, with 492,000 square metres of usable space. The development will house offices, apartments and hotels.

The highest habitable floor will be at 850 metres, which will be topped by a 200-metre central spire with a three-level function area and three service floors.Though the super-tall structure was originally proposed to be built in the Dubai Waterfront area, the location has now been moved to between Jumeirah Lake Towers and Ibn Battuta Mall on Sheikh Zayed Road, an area marked by a large number of skyscrapers.

Meanwhile, head of Nakheel’s building division Robeert Lee told local media in an interview that the Al Burj would be a combination of offices and residential apartments.

Friday, February 1, 2008

Nakheel tight-lipped on Burj Dubai rival

TALLEST TOWER: An initial artist's impression of Nakheel's Al Burj.Dubai-owned developer Nakheel on Wednesday remained tight-lipped about details of its rival to the Burj Dubai, refusing to reveal the building’s final height, when it will be finished or even its name. Work has now begun on the site of the building, commonly called Al Burj or the Tall Tower, intensifying speculation over whether Nakheel is planning to take the Burj Dubai's crown as the tallest building in the world.

According to initial designs that put Al Burj at over a kilometre high, the building would easily overtake Emaar Properties' Burj Dubai as the world's tallest. The Burj Dubai is expected to be around 900 metres upon completion at the end of this year, although the final height remains a closely guarded secret. A spokesperson for Nakheel said the company was still finalising details for the structure and was unable to reveal its height or when it would be completed. "They're [the details of the project] not yet available," the spokesperson told ArabianBusiness.com. On the name of the building, the spokesperson said Al Burj was a "working title".

Previous reports have stated the project will be officially unveiled in March, but the spokesperson said that date was unrealistic and a launch would more likely take place "sometime toward the end of the first half of this year".

The Al Burj project has been under development for some time, first announced back in 2006. The tower was initially planned to form part of the Dubai Waterfront development, but the location was moved to between Jumeirah Lake Towers and Ibn Battuta Mall on Sheikh Zayed Road. Magazine Construction Week on Tuesday revealed French company Soletanche Bachy was tipped to win the piling and foundations contract for Al Burj, citing sources close to the project.

RELATED: Work begins on Nakheel's Al Burj

Initial designs for the tower indicate there will be 228 floors, a four level basement and one service sub-level. The total built up area will be 1.49 million square metres, with 492,000 square metres of usable space. The development will house offices, apartments and hotels. The top habitable floor will be at 850 metres, topped by a 200-metre central spire with a three level function area and three service floors.

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Work begins on Nakheel's Al Burj

From arabianbusiness.com

French company Soletanche Bachy is tipped to win the piling and foundations contract for what is expected to become the tallest building in the world, Nakheel’s Al Burj, sources close to the project told Construction Week on Tuesday.

With initial designs putting Al Burj, or the Tall Tower, at over a kilometre high, the building will easily overtake Emaar Properties' Burj Dubai as the world's tallest.

The Burj Dubai is expected to be around 900 metres upon completion at the end of this year, although the final height remains a closely guarded secret.

A spokesperson for Nakheel denied an official award had been made, but confirmed the French company had begun some work on the project.

The spokesperson said testing work had been done on site and an official launch was planned in March.

A source at Soletanche Bachy’s Dubai office confirmed the Tall Tower was among the projects it was working on.

It is common practice in the region for companies to start work on projects prior to actually winning the contract.

Al Burj was initially planned to form part of the Dubai Waterfront development, but the location was moved to between Jumeirah Lake Towers and Ibn Battuta Mall on Sheikh Zayed Road.

RELATED: World record Al Burj looking for new home

Initial designs for the tower indicate there will be 228 floors, a four level basement and one service sub-level.

The total built up area will be 1.49 million square metres, with 492,000 square metres of usable space. The development will house offices, apartments and hotels.

The top habitable floor will be at 850 metres, topped by a 200-metre central spire with a three level function area and three service floors.

Among the consultants working on the project are the UK’s WSP, US-based LERA, Australia’s Van Der Meer Consulting (VDM) and Olive Group, while foundation-engineering company Fugro Middle East has just completed soil investigations on the site.

Soletanche Bachy was recently awarded a foundations contract for the Norman Foster-designed Russia Tower in Moscow with the STT Group. At 612 metres high it will be the tallest building in Europe.

The company also worked on the foundations for the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and constructed the 2.4-kilometre long canal on the Palm Jumeirah in Dubai.

Al Burj location on a diagram map

Here is the Al Burj location on a diagram map, you will notice the new location if further away from the sea then the previous location.. I feel this is a smart move on their part if you believe in global warming and future sea level rise.