DMCC, a flagship free zone and Dubai government's authority on commodities trade and enterprise, has announced that the façade of Uptown Tower has been fully installed, thus marking a major construction milestone for Dubai’s latest megaproject.

The 340-m-tall property, which is the first of two supertall towers at DMCC’s Uptown Dubai District, is set for handover in Q4 of 2022.

Announcing the key construction milestone, DMCC said a total of 8,542 glass panels had been successfully installed at the skyscraper.

Work on the project began in August 2020 and then following the completion of structural elements earlier this year, it steadily progressed to the façade stage. At peak installation, the team had installed an entire floor of the building every two days, equating to 70 panels per day.

Utilising an integrated design and manufacturing approach, the process of conceptualising and installing Uptown Tower’s façade was completed by using innovative technologies such as 3D modelling and digital tracking systems, said DMCC.

With over 17 million man-hours working on the project, the installation of the Uptown Tower façade system was completed with no lost time due to injury, it added.

Designed by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, Uptown Tower’s design replicates the brilliance of diamonds through its faceted glass façade that illuminates the interior spaces with natural light while filtering out harsh glare.

It is set to be a LEED Gold certified building and will be home to the state-of-the-art DMCC headquarters.

It will also feature a 188-key five-star luxury hotel – ‘SO/ Uptown Dubai’ – exclusive restaurants, extensive conference facilities, Grade A offices and 229 signature SO/ branded residences.