Work has just been completed on a residential landmark in Jeddah, which boasts luxurious penthouses.

The SR110 million ($29.3 million) Corniche Gardens, located at the intersection of Corniche Road and Sari Road, was completed last month.

The two-tower project of 17 floors occupies an 8,000 sq m site and offers a built-up area of 50,000 sq m. Nestled between the two towers is a two-level recreation centre which overlooks the sea. It has a roof garden, swimming pool, squash court, gymnasium and health club. It also features a function hall to seat 200 people. A single basement level will accommodate a car-park for 127 vehicles while 45 car-parking slots are available on the ground floor.

The reinforced concrete complex, built using columns and slabs and cast-in-situ concrete, sits on a pile foundation.

Work on the project started in June 2000 with the foundation work - which encountered initial problems with excessive amounts of ground water - completed by the end of that year. Work on the superstructure started in February 2001.

The structure boasts a high standard of finishes with marble used for cladding the walls and the floor of the main entrance areas. In addition, marble has also been used as flooring throughout the complex.

The building features double structural glazing while internally most of the walls are finished in emulsion paint.

Some 5,500 tonnes of steel, 20,000 tonnes of cement, 26,000 sq m of marble, 6,000 sq m of glazing units, 500,000 bricks, 14 km of pipes, 20 km of cables have gone into the construction of this landmark which saw some 500 workers on site at the peak of construction.

The consultant on the project was Zaki Farsi Engineering while the contractor was Al Redwan Engineering & Contracting Company.

Tahliya Shopping Centre

Another project completed by Al Redwan Engineering in Jeddah earlier this year was the SR54 million Tahliya Shopping Centre. The project occupies a 20,000 sq m site and offers a built-up area of 39,800 sq m with a single-level basement and three upper floors.

The client is Shaikh Khalid Bin Nasir Al Shitri.

Work on the project was launched in November 1999 with the foundation stone laid the following month. The project sits on an isolated foundation and comprises a structural frame of precast concrete columns, beams and hollow-core slabs. Externally, the building has been clad with white cement precast panels with decorative features. It also features double frameless glazing.

The corridors are emulsion painted and all floors are covered by ceramic, while ceilings feature gypsum or aluminium tiles. All the shops are finished with a concrete screed floor to enable the tenant to use a finish of his choice.

Around 20,000 cu m of earthworks was involved in preparing the site for the project, which consumed 3,000 tonnes of steel, 17,000 tonnes of cement, 3,000 sq m of granite, 120,000 bricks and 7,000 sq m of glazing units. In addition, 10 km of pipes and 20 km of cables run through the complex, which had 400 workers on site at the peak of construction.

Al Ahsa Hospital

Among the major projects completed by Al Redwan Engineering & Contracting Company last year was the Al Ahsa Hospital.

Under a contract worth SR120 million, Redwan was responsible for the construction of the medical facility for Al Ahsa Medical Services.

The project occupies a 50,000 sq m site in Al Ahsa. The five-storey-plus-basement complex, offering a built-up area of 32,000 sq m, has a capacity of 200 beds in the first phase, which will be boosted by 270 beds in the second phase. It includes four major and two minor operation theatres and 36 clinics, covering 14 medical specialities. These include obstetric and gynaecology, orthopedics, ENT, internal medicine, cardiovascular, dentistry, dermatology and venereal diseases, psychiatry, general surgery, neurology, urology, and speech therapy.

The building, constructed on a pile foundation, is composed of cast-in-place concrete columns and hollowcore slabs and is externally clad with precast panels.

Work on the foundations started in January 1999 and the contractor successfully tackled the challenge of a high groundwater table. The foundation stone of the hospital was laid by Crown Prince Abdallah bin Abdulaziz, deputy of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.

Internally, the walls are finished with a special anti-microbial paint while the floors are covered with vinyl sheets. The walls and floors of the main hall are clad with marble while some VIP rooms are covered with carpet tiles.

The project was handed over to the client last May. The hospital has been designed in accordance with the highest medical and engineering standards. The multinational firm Netcare is responsible for the operation of the hospital.

Statistics: Steel: 3,000 tonnes; cement: 15,000 tonnes; marble: 2,000 sq m; glazing units: 6,000 sq m; bricks: 90,000; pipes: 30 km; cables: 27 km; earthworks moved: 40,000 cu m; workers on site: 700.