Doka automatic climbing systems from Austria-based Doka Formwork Technology are ensuring efficient in-situ pouring operations and streamlined construction progress at the King Abdul Aziz Endowment mega project in Makkah in Saudi Arabia.

“Construction work of this colossal residential and hotel complex situated opposite the Holy Mosque in Makkah which started in 2002, comprises several dozen lift shafts of various types and is characterized by the huge challenges it presents in terms of the floor-slab formwork,” says Heinrich Ecker, spokesperson for Doka Formwork Technology.
“With final completion of the whole complex scheduled for 2008, the forming tasks which are exceedingly complex are making some very tough demands regarding operations-planning and logistics. This project encompasses seven high-rises, the tallest of which is the Zamzam Tower at 521 m, that has 36 lift shafts alone. At a height of around 100 m, a 35,000 sq m podium connects the towers, all of which are over 200 m tall with each having some 15,000 sq m of floor-space,” he adds.
The formwork concept devised in collaboration with Saudi Arabian construction firm SBG de-links the various forming operations for the lift shafts and floor slabs from one another, permitting a high degree of flexibility in the execution of these in-situ concreting works.
The Doka automatic climbing system, with its SKE 50 and SKE 100 automatic climbers, provides a crane-independent mode of working that can readily adapt to all other forming preparations and workflows such as box-outs and reinforcements. In this way, the cores are climbing between two and four storeys ahead of the floor slabs, permitting highly streamlined workflows. The fact that the climbing scaffolds are anchored to the concrete at all times also means a high degree of operational safety.
The floor slabs are being formed with whichever Doka system is most efficient for the task with the versatile, sturdy d2 load-bearing towers being used for supporting higher floor-slabs and Dokaflex tables used in conjunction with Dokaflex 1-2-4 on the typical storeys ensuring rapid progress in these areas.
At peak times in this mega-site, a 20,000 strong workforce is usually in action with 31 tower cranes and 450 Doka automatic climbers to ensure efficient forming operations on the shaft cores of the seven towers.