CONSTRUCTION work on Burjside Boulevard Tower, Damac’s first serviced apartment project, is on track for structural completion this year, according to the Dubai-based luxury property developer.
Located opposite the Dubai Mall, the 168.4-m-high tower comprises a basement level, a five-level podium, one upper level dedicated to leisure facilities, 39 typical residential floors offering 351 apartments and three mechanical floors.
Work on the tower, which will offer a total built-up area of 686,242 sq m, currently stands at level 14 with the structure targeted to be topped out by the end of this year. Sun Engineering is the main contractor on the project under a contract worth Dh200 million ($54.5 million) awarded last year.
Once completed in 2013, the luxury serviced apartment building will offer panoramic views of Business Bay and Burj Dubai, the world’s tallest skyscraper.
Each residential level will have a choice of nine one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, all with their own internal gourmet kitchens, complete with European stainless steel appliances.
“We have given meticulous attention to detail, from the décor to the superior quality linen and top-of-the-range appliances, to create a sense of opulence and luxury living,” says John McNamara, senior vice-president – projects for Damac Properties.
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Burjside Boulevard ... an artist’s impression. |
The basement and podium will offer parking space for 398 cars with some retail space on the ground level.
The leisure facilities level will house a health club fully equipped with a gymnasium, spa and sauna rooms. A temperature-controlled swimming pool will be the centrepiece of the leisure deck, with a fine cuisine restaurant and lounge overlooking the pool.
Given the project’s strategic location in the downtown area adjacent to the Dubai Mall, Damac says it has focused on ensuring that the building stands out amongst the other striking ones in the vicinity and on maintaining high construction standards. Also, being serviced apartments, the project will offer services usually found in hotels.
Damac has recently awarded the mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) subcontract to Reliance Electro Mechanical Company, while the packages for the installation of lifts and cladding work are under negotiation. The contract for the sanitary ware is yet to be floated.
The building sits on a pile raft foundation. Sun Engineering is targeting a five-day cycle for the residential floors. Jump form is used for construction the core and table forms with post-tensioning for the slabs, allowing work on the core to get ahead and the formwork to be struck sooner to reduce the floor cycle and amount of formwork used, McNamara says.
“Currently 500 people are working on site while at the peak of construction (in two months’ time) we expect the number to be around 2,000,” he says. “We will be pressing ahead with the frame at site, putting in place the key appointments, addressing the interior design for the apartments and common areas and working with our contractor to ensure a successful project.
“Occupation will be phased to allow the operation to get up and running just as with any five- star hotels.”
With the Burjside Boulevard Tower comprising serviced apartments, layout and fit-out, together with the FFE (fixtures, furnishings and equipment) delivery and installation required special attention to detail, as demanded by hotel projects, he adds.
Key building services are controlled by a building management system (BMS) in line with Damac’s aim of reducing running costs, where possible.
Commenting on the project’s challenges, McNamara says: “During the design phase of the project, we were concerned about the slenderness of the structure particularly in terms of the comfort factor. To this end, extensive wind tunnel testing was completed in Australia with Windtech to ensure the design of the building was optimised, eventually the structural design was modified without the use of viscous damping.
“The biggest challenge, however, was to reduce the podium construction cycle from 28 days to eight days in order to allow more time on the interiors and this was achieved through additional resources, nightshifts and efficient formwork turnaround.”
The project incorporates a number of eco-efficient features. “Damac is focused on sustainable development and we are continually working to improve our green credentials by incorporating innovative energy-saving solutions from the design to the construction phases. Burjside Boulevard has been designed to maximise natural daylighting, and we will use energy-saving LED lights, wherever possible. Energy and water conservation is also given top priority in all of our buildings.
“We are looking at condensate recovery for the landscape irrigation, motion detectors for lighting where possible, car-park lighting control to reduce energy usage, solar-rated glazing to reduce the cooling load and various water fixtures are being considered to reduce water consumption,” McNamara says.
The project has been designed by award-winning German architects Koschany & Zimmer. Some of the other key players include ZAS PSE Engineering Establishment – consultant; Sun Engineering – main contractor; Emirates Beton – concrete supplier; E Builder – software provider, Stormek – piling contractor; Attieh Steel – steel supplier; Sika – waterproofing; and Windtech – wind tunnel testing.
Damac
Damac Properties, part of Damac Holdings, currently has more than 12,000 units under construction across the Middle East.
With a view to injecting confidence in its projects, the company last year adopted a strategy to focus on construction, completion and delivery of projects, which has seen the completion in 2010 of Emirates Gardens, a low-rise residential development at Jumeirah Village, and near completion of eight other projects, which will be handed over in the next 12 months.
Damac also completed its signature 84-storey Ocean Heights luxury residential tower at Dubai Marina, two office towers at Business Bay – Business Tower and XL Tower – along with Smart Heights in Tecom. The latter three towers will be handed over this year.
Other projects to be delivered this year include the stunning, executive residence Park Towers located in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), Lago Vista, a three-tower residential development at IMPZ, and Tuscan Residence, a low-rise residential development in Jumeirah Village.
The Park Towers are about 95 per cent complete and will be handed over before the end of the year. Panoramic lifts are being installed and tested, while landscaping works are ongoing. Tiling, ceiling and joinery works are complete until level 30.
Established in Dubai in 2002 as a private residential, leisure and commercial developer in the region, Damac has expanded into North Africa, Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
Commenting on the UAE’s construction sector, Niall Mc Loughlin, senior vice-president, Damac Properties, says: “2010 was a particularly challenging year, as the industry moved to adjust to the new post economic crisis environment. Property prices had been extremely volatile leading up to the crisis, and the volatility continued in the subsequent months after the crash. We believe real estate prices in the UAE are now stabilising, which will bring more certainty to the sector this year. 2010 was a year of consolidation, and large-scale developers, including Damac, focused on construction and delivery, with the aim of delivering units to customers. The restructure of Dubai World’s debt was also a significant milestone in Dubai’s economic recovery, with the creditor’s agreement restoring investor confidence.
“Developers with a diversified regional property portfolio, like Damac, have tended to recover more quickly than those with a concentration of assets in the UAE. Developers with a large regional footprint benefitted from gains in the property markets of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon, where property prices were solid in 2010. To some extent, gains in other countries offset weaker property values in the UAE.”
“Dubai’s property market has undergone a significant transformation in the past two years, and property developers and investors have had to adapt to the changed environment. The days of flipping properties for a quick profit are over, and investors need to realign their strategies with the view that property is a mid to long-term investment.”
Damac expects the UAE property market to revive this year. “A report by Credit Suisse found that the real estate market is stabilising and should begin to gain traction on the back of improving domestic, economic and financial conditions.
“There is still a lot of cash on the sidelines and investors will now be weighing up their options about where to invest. Damac Properties believes that real estate will be one of the best-performing sectors.
“The construction sector in Dubai has earned a reputation globally for delivering ambitious projects to market. The benchmark for construction in Dubai is so high that architects and engineers are continually trying to push the envelope,” says Mc Loughlin.
Commenting on what the year holds in store for the construction sector, he says: “2011 will be dominated by major infrastructure projects in Dubai and the UAE, with the tenders out for contracts to build the first Gulf rail network.
“Construction in the property sector will likely be affected in terms of higher materials prices, due demand from the major infrastructure projects in the region. Qatar will also contribute to a possible increase in the prices of steel and copper and other building materials, as it begins its record infrastructure build for the football World Cup in 2022.”
Damac, meanwhile, continues to focus on completing and delivering projects. “We will remain focused on our commitments to customers and to delivering projects on time.
We are financially sound and believe that, with our continued emphasis on providing top-class luxury developments, we will continue to attract that segment of the market that is looking to make a long-term investment in property in the region,” he concludes.
