An incredibly tight ‘topping out’ deadline of just 75 weeks was met by Al Hamad Construction and Development on the prestigious Bahrain Financial Harbour (BFH) project using Dokaflex formwork systems from Doka.

“Al Hamed was determined to improve on the already tight schedule with faster floor cycles, and we have managed to beat the 90-day deadline thanks to the Dokaflex system,” says a spokesman for the contractor.
Forming Phase 1 of the BFH, the twin 53-storey towers are linked by a nine-storey-plus basement mall, housing the Bahrain Stock Exchange, commercial offices and brokerage firms.

Formwork solution
Al Hamad opted for Doka formwork systems following its experience gained on projects in Dubai. Fast delivery times from Doka’s nearby Damman depot across the causeway in Saudi Arabia, was also an important advantage according to branch manager, Mohammed Abdul Raheem. “We were able to make deliveries within 24 to 48 hours,” he adds.
During initial construction for the ground floors of the two towers, Al Hamad divided each area into two sections providing a 10 m high entrance area and two mezzanine levels. The contractor then opted to use a mix of Doka d2 and Aluxo support systems for the full 10 m height supporting Dokaflex tables.
The aluminium-framed Aluxo system has been designed to support flat floor slabs at heights above 4 m up to a maximum of 10 m. Its lightweight makes it easy and fast to erect. The system features a 40 kN bearing capacity for each leg.
Constructed in hot dip galvanised steel, the Doka d2 system features three basic frames, 0.9 m, 1.2 m and 1.80 m, allowing table formwork to be assembled to a wide variety of units and layouts offering significant flexibility for the contractor.
Construction includes 2,400 mm by 400-mm-thick drop beams supported by Doka’s d2 support system and corrugated sheet slabs.
As construction continued above the towers’ ground floors, the contractor continued to use the Dokaflex slab system with increasing success.
“We initially took eight to 10 days to complete a floor cycle, but as our operators gained experience using the system, we were able to reduce this to five days on most levels,” he says.
He adds: “Dokaflex is considered to be a fast and versatile floor formwork system for floors of any shape, cast-in-place beams, slab overhangs and semi-finished floor elements.”
By the ninth floor, both towers feature a 35 sq m footprint. This reduces to 1,700 sq m by the 53rd floor to provide an aesthetically enhanced curved glass wall on one side of each tower - landward facing on the east tower and seaward facing on the west tower.
Opposite the curved wall of each tower, the design features a V-shaped balcony slab from the 27th floor to the top to provide an additional decorative finish for the glass cladding.
Protruding just 1.2 m on the 27th floor, the first three slabs were constructed as a cantilever using the Dokaflex system from the main floor slab.
From the 30th floor and increasing by 0.12 m increments on each floor, the Dokaflex system was supported by d2 on the slab below.
In addition to the above systems, Doka’s Frami and Frameco formwork systems were used for column construction to a floor height of 4.2 m in both towers and the Financial Mall, together with the Top50 system for staircases and some shafts.
The Top50 system has been designed for large area formwork and is a combination of timber formwork beam, bonded plywood and steel waling allowing panels to be made of any size.
Throughout construction, Al Hamad used a mix of 65 kN/sq m, 60 kN/sq m or 55 kN/sq m strength concrete, all mixed with microsilica to offer enhanced strength according to the height of the pours, as specified.
Al Hamad has used the tested Dokaflex systems for the Bahrain International Insurance Centre (BIIC) project as well, where each floor has been divided into four separate elements over a typical 1,300 sq m floor area, in order to achieve the optimum fastest floor cycle of seven days per floor.
Throughout construction of the basement retaining walls, Al Hamad has used Doka’s Frameco formwork system and for the entire tower the company has used the specified 50 kN/sq m strength concrete to ensure a high quality finish, strength and casting,” he concludes.”