The Heritage Tower in Chicago, US

Germany-based Professor Torsten Calvi Fassadentechnik, a technical consulting firm specialised in the design of curtain walls, structural glass walls, skylights and architectural cladding, has announced its intentions of expanding its base in the Arabian Gulf.

'In the past, it has been our policy to select large projects only within our established markets in North America, the Far East and Australia. However, we recognise that in the Middle East there is an increasing demand for sophisticated facade designs, particularly from owners and architects who wish to construct prestigious high-rise towers,'  says Eugen Remenyi, a senior partner of the firm.

'Last year alone, we have received numerous inquiries from the Gulf states, and have decided to assign teams to manage and coordinate our services in the region,' he adds.

The company anticipates most requirements will be for customised wall systems on a project-by-project basis. 'Clients are likely to be aluminium cladding fabricators who need to develop designs for high-performance facades, such as fully-unitised curtain walls, double-skin curtain walls, or point-fixed structural glazing,' Remenyi says.

'These days, high-performance curtain walls are no longer the 'stick systems' that are assembled at site, but are composed of panels pre-fabricated in a factory. This construction method makes it possible to maintain high standards of quality control. However, even a mid-size project may require thousands of sheets of drawings and calculations, which makes it necessary to draw every component in advance,' he says.

Explains Remenyi: 'Aluminium fabricators often tell me that they are overwhelmed by the volume of design and engineering work, especially when a project runs on a tight schedule, and seeks to conform to international standards. Our European consultants have considerable experience in developing design solutions under such situations. Moreover, as all the time-intensive drawing work is undertaken in our established office in the Far East, our fees remain reasonable.

'As in other markets, we are prepared to provide services to developers and building owners that will help them to create exterior wall schemes and details that can be constructed in reality, and achieve an appropriate balance between cost and performance. Also, in a part of the world where temperatures are extremely high, we know that computer simulations of a wall's thermal properties will be of interest to building owners.'