WORK is due for completion next month (November) on a stunning glass-clad building that is set to be a distinctive landmark in Bahrain’s Diplomatic area facing the King Hamad Causeway.

The Diplomat Commercial Office Tower, being developed by the National Hotels Company (NHC), consists of two 30-storey office towers, joined together by a central core comprising a lift shaft, washrooms and plant/utility rooms. The twin-tower block rises above two basement levels and a five-level podium that offers 700 parking spaces.

The 75,000-sq-m project boasts a striking curved façade, which is a combination of Alucobond composite insulated aluminium panels and curtain-walling. The curtain-walling comprises a CW5 Schuco system with high-performance glazing, installed in a series of segments each measuring 1.4 m wide. Work on the curtain-walling was completed three months ago, with the fabrication having been undertaken by Aluminium Services.

Malaysia’s Chase Perdana Berhad was selected the design-and-build contractor for this project following an international design competition.

Construction work on the twin-tower office building and car-park was launched in November 2007. Currently, finishing work is under way on the complex, including marble works, installation of doors and finishing and commissioning of mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) services.

Commenting on the highlights of the project, Bob McClean, who is supervising the project on behalf of Ismail Khonji Associates, the client’s supervising consultant, said: “The structure has been designed to fit into the footprint of the plot. Hence, the podium has an irregular elliptical shape with two lozenge-shaped wings rising above it.” 

The gross lettable area of the office space is just over 31,000 sq m, with approximately 1,000 sq m of leasable area on each floor of the tower, divided equally between the two wings of the building.  The building will be handed over to the tenants on a shell-and-core basis to be fitted out to their requirements.

The Diplomat Commercial Office Tower ... set for completion in November.

Chase Perdana Berhad has engaged Mohamed Salahuddin Engineering Consultant Bureau (MSCEB) as its architectural and engineering consultant and Davis Langdon as its quantity surveyor.

Work on the Diplomat Commercial Office Tower was launched following the completion of NHC’s two major projects, namely the Diplomat Furnished Apartments and the Diplomat Ladies and Gents Spa and Health Club facilities. In addition a total of BD800,000 ($2.1 million) was spent on upgrading the façade of the Diplomat to match the design style of the new developments.