See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/342108179

Tall Buildings in Dubai—Converting Architecture into Reality

Article in Urban Studies and Public Administration · June 2020

DOI: 10.22158/uspa.v3n2p99

CITATIONS READS

0 1,978

1 author:

Arch. Ahmed Hammad

Victoria University Melbourne
7 PUBLICATIONS 4 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE

All content following this page was uploaded by Arch. Ahmed Hammad on 27 June 2020.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 Tall Buildings in Dubai - Converting Architecture into Reality
Arch. Ahmed R. Hammad
1
Dubai Properties, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Abstract
In just over two decades, Dubai has transformed from a desert served by a single port to a flourishing
metropolis. Dubai alone is the home to 20% of the world's tallest 50 buildings. This transformation
brings new challenges to the city during construction and post completion. The surrounding areas will
be affected by these skyscrapers from transportation, traffic constraints, parking, power and water
consumption and other factors.
The cost of building a skyscraper remains the major obstacle with the need to source out new materials
other than steel and concrete. Also, moving people around efficiently in super tall buildings is another
challenge for engineers keeping in mind the unique designs that architects are looking after. Once all
design aspects are concluded and approved by different stakeholders, it will move on to the next phase
which is construction, that is called: Reality.
Construction realization is the focus of this paper. It will discuss the actual facts and surprises which
will be encountered during the transformation of the design into shop drawings and tangible concrete.
A physical case study from a busy district in the city of Dubai is the main focus of this study along with
the core challenges and obstacles faced the team during the execution phase. Also, this review will
debate couple of design elements that were considered as a design feature then developed to be a real
construction challenge.
Originality/ value: the paper will focus on a case study of a high-end skyscrapers designed and built in
the city of Dubai in a dense area and the challenges faced by the team during construction. These
challenges are beneficial to understand since they will help architects and designers to take into
consideration during their studies.

Keywords
Architectural elements, Construction challenges, Design considerations, Dubai municipality, mixed-use
skyscrapers, Tall buildings.

1. Introduction
Dubai is located on the Eastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, in the south west corner of the Arabian
Gulf. Before the oil discovery in Dubai in 1966, the city was fully dependent on trading and its main
industry was pearling. The discovery of oil changed everything though, Dubai's reserves were
insignificant compared with other emirates, the ruler of Dubai, was determined to turn the city into a
trading hub. The first major “free zone” was launched in 1985, and this was a key boost in the economy
1
since foreign companies could operate with almost no taxes or customs. With the accelerated wealth in
the city after the year 1998, the government put into effect a plan to turn the city into the world's top
tourist destination. The city became well known for its rich culture, diversity, and popularity. With
thriving business community, luxurious hotels, sophisticated infrastructure, Dubai managed to be a
very attractive city to tourists and businessmen receiving millions of leisure and business visitors each
year [1]. Today its economy is diversified to trade, manufacturing, leisure and entertainment. By
introducing free trade policies this has distinguished it from the other emirates within the UAE, making
it a special economic area similar to Singapore and Hong Kong [2]. Today the city of Dubai is
considered a wealthy city and most modern anywhere, boasting the highest skyline in the Middle East
including the tallest tower in the world (Burj Khalifa) and two of the tallest hotels in the world. It
attracts a booming tourist business, drawn in part by major sporting events including horse races, boat
races, tennis matches, and air shows. It is also considered as a major shopping destination and an
international city. Dubai has emphasized on the creation of a world class city comprising skyscrapers,
shopping malls, hotels, leisure and entertainment which will evolve around the city’s vision to be an
attraction and a tourist destination. The city has expanded within a decade to an enormous scale in
order to cope up with the real-estate boom which took place between 2002 and 2009, however, due to
this growth and expansion, many fundamental infrastructure networks were running behind, especially
the transportation system. Many large developments were left out without basic transportation network
only depending on private cars and taxis. The government of Dubai has realized this issue and started
addressing it by creating several projects such as Dubai metro, Dubai Tram and other roads and bridges
around those developments [3].

2. Background
The term 'skyscraper' was first used in 1885 to describe the 55-meter high Home Insurance Building in
Chicago [4]. The history of skyscrapers and tall buildings in Dubai began with the construction of
Dubai World Trade Centre in 1979 comprising of 39 floors and 149m tall, which was considered as the
first high-rise building in the city. At the time of its completion, it also stood as the tallest building in
the Middle East until the completion of the Burj Al Arab 20 years later [4].
Dubai World Trade Center Tower, is a symbol of prosperity (Figure 1) and it represents the start of a
new era in the past decades and was a turning point for Dubai, a city that, back then, did not have any
significant high-rise buildings. The Dubai world center means a point of no return in the way of the
small fishing settlement that dreamed of being a macro-metropolis [5] (Figure 2).

2
Published by SCHOLINK INC.
 Figure 1- Dubai in 1973

Figure 2- Dubai in 1992

20 years later, another flagship tower was constructed which is Burj Al Arab (Figure 3) a luxury hotel

stands at 391m high.

Figure 3- Burj Al Arab luxury hotel

Following the year 1999, and the construction of Burj Al Arab, the city realized its strength, fortune and

ability to accept the challenge of constructing towers and skyscrapers all over the city. As of 2015, the

skyline of Dubai is ranked sixth in the world with 48 buildings rising at least 100m in height and

3
Published by SCHOLINK INC.
ranked the 4th globally in terms of skyscrapers with 95 towers reaching 200m or greater in height by

the 2017 [4].

Figure 4 - Dubai Skyline of Burj Khalifa downtown

3. Analysis
The study focuses on the analysis of an existing area in the city of Dubai which is populated with
towers and Highrise buildings. From year 2005 onwards, Dubai has been the land of tall buildings
boom. The city is now the home to the world's tallest building – Burj Khalifa (Figure 4). As of 2019,
approximately 49 new skyscrapers are being built in the city [4]

Table-1 reflects the latest statistics covering tall buildings for 150m+

Table 1. Tall Buildings Facts [4]

150m+ Buildings 190 Completed – 51 Underconstrciton

300m+ Buildings 22 Completed – 13 Under Constrciton

Most Common Function Residnetial (52%)

Most Common Material Concrete (94%)

Also, table-2 shows the top highest building built in the city of Dubai

Table 2. Tall Buildings Facts [4]

Building Completion Date Height in meter

Burj Khalifa 2010 828

Marina 101 2017 425

Princess Tower 2012 413

23 Marina 2012 392

Elite Residence 2012 380

The Address Boulivard 2017 370

Almas Tower 2008 360

Gevora Hotel 2017 356

4
Published by SCHOLINK INC.
These buildings and skyscrapers are distributed along the city of Dubai, however, majority of them are
located in three areas namely Dubai Marina, Jumeirah Lake Towers (JLT) and Jumeirah Beach
Residence (JBR) where the construction took place between the year 2004 and 2017. More than 100
buildings were constructed in that area which is considered a construction phenomenon by itself. The
construction methodology and techniques which were used to complete these buildings are considered
top-notch and a civil engineering achievement. Majority of the towers are between 250-300m with few
between 300m-400m.

3.1 Dubai Marina

Dubai Marina (Figure 5) is built along a 3 km stretch of an artificial canal; it has a population of 45,395.
The ultimate plan for this development is to accommodate more than 120,000 people in residential
towers and villas. Dubai Marina was inspired by the Concord Pacific Place development along False
Creek in Vancouver, BC, Canada [6]

Figure 5 - Dubai Marina

3.2 Jumeirah Lake Towers

The other major development with multiple towers is Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT) (Figure 6) consists
of 80 towers being constructed along the edges of three artificial lakes. The total area covered by the
lakes, waterways and landscaping is approx.730,000 m2. The towers range between 35 floors to 45,
except for the centerpiece which is 66 floors [5].

Figure 6 - Jumeirah Lake Towers

5
Published by SCHOLINK INC.
3.3 Jumeirah Beach Residence
Another great development in the same area is the Jumeirah Beach Residence known as (JBR) (Figure
7). A tourist destination for visitors and tourists who are visiting Dubai. This development is considered
the largest single-phase residential development in the world and contains 40 towers. JBR was
launched in 2002 and completed in 2007. The walk at the JBR is a 1.7km strip of multiple restaurants
and shopping.

Figure 7 - Jumeirah Beach Residence

Figure 8 - Jumeirah Beach Residence

The above three examples of a magnificent developments where the developers have challenged the
nature of sand dunes and the heat of the gulf. Nevertheless, such developments have overloaded the
infrastructure with massive requirements of power, water and other facilities. Also, the number of
people living in such developments will definitely have an impact on the public realm of the streets in
addition to the need to provide sufficient car parking and enough roads and bridges to encounter the
peak hours [6].

4. Municipalities, Authorities and Design guidelines

Dubai municipality is officially the main authority that is supposed to govern all urban development
related aspects of the city. However, many authorities, such as JAFZA (Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority),
DTMFZA (Dubai Technology and Media Free Zone Authority), TECOM (Dubai Technology,

6
Published by SCHOLINK INC.
Electronic Commerce and Media) and others, that are mainly the regulatory authorities of free zones,
are also major references within the regulatory framework.
Free Zones in Dubai are economic zones that have special legal and regulatory frameworks. They often
offer tax-free conditions and other benefits for expatriate investors. Each zone is operated and managed
by a free zone authority that has a set of prerogatives, such as offering business licenses, and setting the
regulations at different scales. In Dubai each Free Zone specializes in one or more business industry,
related to industry, business, media [7].
These free zones set the design and master plan guidelines for each area governed by that free zone.
They were found during the construction boom in order to facilitate and support developers with the
design revisions and approvals. They have their own regulations, authorities and administrative bodies
that escape administrative control. Projects inside free zones follow the planning regulations specific to
that zone, and do not have to seek approval from the municipality or other institutional authorities. In
other words, most of the massive developments constructed after the year 2000 were not part of Dubai
municipality review or urban planning umbrella. Having said that, this has helped the city to grow
rapidly in less than 20 years by providing lean regulations and immediate approvals to developers. On
the other hand, the downside of this vast construction, is the need for the municipality to develop
proper and sufficient road network and public transportation to connect with the city infrastructure
since each development functions as a unique stand-alone city which requires to be connected with the
city infrastructure [8].

5. The Case Study

The case study (Figures 9 and 10) in this paper focuses on one of the skyscrapers built in Jumeirah
Beach residence (JBR) district in the city of Dubai. The tower is located in a very busy area between
two Hotel buildings accessed by one-way road (Figure 11).

Figure 9 – One JBR Project

Figure 10 – One JBR Project

7
Published by SCHOLINK INC.
Development Highlights:

Table 3. Developments Highlights

Type Luxury and exclusive residential development

Location One of the last few waterfront locations with attractive

views on JBR

Units & Mix

164 units; mix of 2, 3, 4 and 5 bedroom apartments

Main Target Market

Who are looking for a primary or secondary residence

Facilities Swimming pools (some units have private pools), function

rooms, kids play area, driver’s room, semi private lifts

Site location:

Figure 11 – Project location

Figure 12 – Project positioning

The location of the project site is a challenge by itself yet unique and distinguished. The plot area is
8
Published by SCHOLINK INC.
16,828 m2 with full sea view and private beach access (Figure 12). The project comprises of 49 floors
with 1 basement and a total built up area of 74,413m2.

5.1 Project description and design discussion

The project has been designed in an exclusive technique in order to maximize the sea views. The core
is facing the street allowing enough elevators to provide exclusivity to residence and guests. A huge
steel structure has been added to the street façade to cover the core and to give the project a unique
design. The rear façade facing the sea is a full curtain wall of aluminum cladding and wide glazing with
3m cantilevered balconies capitalizing on the fabulous sea view. Penthouses have been introduced at
the higher levels with exclusive lifts and dedicated car parking. The building has been elevated above
the ground to provide a drop off area with a large glass atrium covered with a 12m cantilever of steel
structure which is part of the façade design. From a discussion point of view, and to support the
originality of this paper, the design did not consider many construction aspects which might be
challenging from constructability aspect and this will encounter additional cost and time to the
development.

5.2 Project Challenges

During the design stage, architects focus on geometry, function and other design aspects leaving the
construction challenges to the site team. In other words, some design elements may look appealing on
drawings but yet very challenging and costly to build. Furthermore, designers should take in to account
the project location and surrounding restrictions in their design criteria which may have major impact
during construction phase.
Below is a list of major challenges faced by the team during the construction phase which were not
considered during design phase:

5.2.1 Site Analysis

The first step into such development is understanding the site location (Figure 13) and context,
entrances and egresses, day light orientation and views. The site is located in a very busy area with high
volume of cars since it is tourist attraction. Also, on both sides of the plot falls 2 hotels served by
one-way road (Figure 14). This has made the delivery of construction material very difficult due to
restricted vehicle size allowance as well as the availability of laydown and storage area. On the other
hand, working hours were limited as well to avoid disturbance of hotels on both sides.

9
Published by SCHOLINK INC.
 Figure 13 – Location

Figure 14 – Project Entry

5.2.2 Infrastructure and Utility Requirements

The second challenge encountered was the availability of infrastructure services demands. This plot is
considered the last undeveloped plot in the area with an original classification of Ground floor +1
allocated for a club house.

Figure 15 – Surrounding Roads

10
Published by SCHOLINK INC.
So, this means that the services tapped to the plot limit will not cover the full demand required for a
skyscraper. Several design workshops took place with authorities and service providers in order to
secure services demands (Figure 15). This required additional investment in building new electrical
substation and larger chilled water pipes to secure the required demands.

5.2.3 Vertical Transportation

The project is designed as B+G+P+47+R with 164 high-end apartments. The developer requirements
were to provide exclusivity and luxury in the project. A comprehensive vertical transportation study
was carried out to fulfill the design brief requirements. The recommendation was to provide 11 lifts as
follows: 8 lifts, 1 service lift and 2 express and exclusive lifts all the way to the penthouses at level 46.
The production program was a crucial element in the project where it was essential to operate the first 2
lifts within one year of the construction to be used for labor and material movement. Any delay in this
delivery will have major impact on the finishes schedule due to delay in shifting of materials. The
challenge here was to conclude all design requirements of the elevator to allow early order of the lifts.
Several design workshops were carried out at the early stage of the project in order to finalize the lift
details including the cabin designs and finishes, lift buttons, final internal dimension and of course the
commercial proposal. As clearly shown in Figure 16, the core and elevators consumed the majority of
the core.

Figure 16 – Lift cores

5.2.4 Fire and Life Safety

This is one of the most vital fundamentals in designing any skyscraper. With the involvement of
specialized fire, life and safety specialists, the project was studied carefully from all aspect covering the
curtain wall detailing, fire stoppers on each floor, special details between the apartments, fire escape
route, fire pumps were installed at the basement and at the service floors (level 13 and 31) to cover the
complete building. The design had to run multiple simulations to be compliant with the civil defense
authority requirements. This is a big challenge for designers where buildings have to be fully compliant
with the international codes. Also, the execution of such detailing has to be fully inspected at site by
attested engineers.

11
Published by SCHOLINK INC.
5.2.5 Views and lifestyle
Another challenge for the architect in such projects is to fully maximize the views especially in such
iconic location yet feasible. The plot has a full sea view where the design was based on a single loaded
corridor, all the services and main core was viewing the street and the apartments have full sea view.
The challenge here was structural complexity. Figure 17 highlights the main views overlooking the sea.

Figure 17 – Views analysis

5.2.6 Site Mobilization and Storage areas

This is the first challenge faced by the contractor when taking over the site. As shown in Figure 18, the
plot was so limited where the basement is built on the full land this means the plot is completely
occupied. On the other hand, the plot has one access on the road and surrounded from both sides with
developments. The solution was to divide the project into zones where the contractor can utilize the
first part as a storage area and laydown area. Figures 18 and 19 highlights zones 3 and 4 c which were
kept on hold to be used as project access. Such challenge usually is not considered during the design
and is captured at site.

Figure 18 – Logistics Plan

12
Published by SCHOLINK INC.
 Figure 19 – Logistics Plan

5.2.7 Façade cladding

The front façade which is street facing was cladded with pre-cast panels as shown in Figure 20. The
challenge started from the loading and off-loading the huge panels where the truck has a limited time to
double park at the road in front of the plot as shown in Figure 21, then the pre-cast panels were stored
temporarily at the podium until the panels are fixed within 12 hours to avoid overloading the podium
slab. The decision to clad the building with such heavy material was to avoid future maintenance cost
since the pre-cast panel requires minimum maintenance. On the other hand, the heavy wind load which
will affect the tower at higher levels i.e. more than 100m high will require steady material such as
aluminum cladding or pre-cast panels.

Figures 20 & 21 – Precast Panels

13
Published by SCHOLINK INC.
5.2.8 Steel fins at the main façade
The building has an impressive steel fins covering the street façade. The structure has been introduced
as an architectural feature also to cover the concrete solid walls behind which served as the core of the
building. During the execution phase, the builder had to study and revise the method statement several
times to be able to install the metal fins on the façade. Figures 22 and 23 shows the complexity of
integrating the steel fins with the pre-cast façade cladding and the huge operations required for this
installation.

Figure 22 – scaffolding to support the canopy Figure 23 – Fins steel structure

5.2.9 Entrance main canopy

Another complication was the installation of the main entrance canopy which was interconnected with
the fins installed earlier on the façade as Figures 24 and 25. The canopy formed the ceiling of the
entrance lobby. This connection has created a construction complication at site since the full steel
structure has to be completed at the same time before removing the scaffolding supporting the canopy
and starting the entrance lobby works. In the opinion of the author, this could have been designed in a
less complication form by introducing a free-standing canopy on columns and not a cantilever type.

Figure 24 –Canopy installation Figure 25 – Canopy steel structure

14
Published by SCHOLINK INC.
5.2.10 Staggered Balconies design
At the back side of the building, an astonishing view towards the sea is facing the skyscraper which the
design has successfully managed to fully capitalize on this view by opening the building from the rear
façade and introducing a full curtain wall with generous 3m cantilever balconies. The balconies were
staggered and not aligned in the same vertical direction as shown in Figure 25. The design intent was to
have a vibrant façade and to avoid a boring office look and feel. This un-unity in the balcony locations
have introduced a major challenge during construction where the builder was unable to unitize the
construction method through mast climbers or normal cradles to execute the works. The solution was to
erect scaffolding and formworks for each set of balconies all the way to the last balcony in the building
as reflected in Figure 27. This had time impact throughout the construction duration and has caused
unnecessary construction challenge.

Figure 26 –Balcony design Figure 27 – Scaffolding for the balconies

From the author’s point of view, the designer could have introduced a simpler design solution which
can represent the design intent in several areas that could have had negative cost and time impact.
Finally, much more challenges and difficulties were encountered during the execution of this project
which were thought of by the team to make sure the project is moving on time and budget. Multiple
discussions and workshops took place in order to come up with the most possible solutions. The project
started to take shape as the construction is progressing as shown in Figures 28 and 29, yet, many issues
to be resolved until the completion and handover.

6. Conclusion
The literate review discussed in details some examples of factual challenges were faced during
transforming the design drawings into shop drawings then to reality. Contractors and builders need to
wear the designer hat in order to understand certain details. Also, the architect needs to visit the site
regularly to make sure his details are well understood and executed.
15
Published by SCHOLINK INC.
 7. Recommendation
Skyscrapers design is a challenging task to the architect from all aspects. The designer must integrate
all engineering disciplines into the design to confirm the outcome is a livable, functional, feasible and
on top of that great architecture. Utilities demand, location and access are major factors that should be
taken into account during the design process. Once the project moves to execution phase, different type
of challenges will be encountered by the team. The surrounding of a skyscraper plays a main role in
defining the challenges and risks. Designers need to understand the location and site during the design
stage. Also, it is recommended to conduct several discussions with contractors to integrate their
comments in the design. Some design and architectural elements introduced in the design may have
great cost or time impact during execution. Such elements may require extensive detailing or even
redesign to come across unnecessary complication.

Acknowledgement
This paper is fully supported by Prof. Dr. Arch. Rizeq N. S. Hammad, Jordan University, Amman,
Jordan. His support, reviews and encouragement are countless. Also, special thanks to Abdulrahman
Alhashimi and Vishal Metha for the support during executing this interesting project.

References
[1] Dubai tourism authority
[2] Importing urban giants: Re-imaging shanghai and Dubai with skyscrapers, International Journal of
Architectural Research 7(2):22-42 · July 2013
[3] Jacobs, Harrison, Business Insider, A Walk Through Dubai, Dec 2018
[4] Binder, George, The “International” Skyscraper: Observations
[5] Xixerone, Asia, Dubai, Middle East, Feb 2015
[6] CIB World Building Congress 2007
[7] Oula AOUN, Urban Megaprojects-based Approach in Urban Planning: From Isolated Objects to
Shaping the City, The Case of Dubai
[8] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dubai_Marina
[9] Oula AOUN, Urban Megaprojects-based Approach in Urban Planning:, From Isolated Objects to
Shaping the City, The Case of Dubai
[10] Eldemery Ibrahim, High-rise Buildings, Needs & Impact, CIB, World Building Congress 2007

16
Published by SCHOLINK INC.

View publication stats