Nakheel Tower

Recent reports from Dubai have suggested that the credit crunch is beginning to make its impact felt in the Emirate’s construction sector.

But that isn’t stopping two of the largest developers in the region pushing ahead with rival plans to create the world’s tallest building. Construction of Emaar’s Burj Dubai is well advanced, with completion expected in late 2009.

The final height of the tower has been a closely guarded secret, but a leak from the project team has suggested it will be 808 metres.
Now Nakheel has announced plans for a taller tower as part of its next mega-project: The Nakheel Harbour & Tower. The development, described by Nakheel as “the capital of Dubai,” is a 270 hectare masterplan, with a one-kilometre-high tower as its centrepiece.   

The tower, designed by Woods Bagot, will be a mixed-use building containing commercial offices, three sections of residential quarters and hotel accommodation with a two-storey observation deck at the top.
Its design has been influenced by the geometric patterns of traditional Islamic architecture.

The latest engineering principles will protect the tower against the strong winds that affect buildings of this height. The structure is actually four towers encircling an internal void, linked at intervals by ‘sky bridges’, allowing air to pass freely through vertical gills in the building.
Wind tunnel testing has shown this design to reduce the windload by three-fold.  The sky bridges, located approximately 25 storeys apart, will define the different sections of the mixed-use building.

According to Mark Mitcheson-Low, Managing Director for Woods Bagot Middle East, the design will allow large floorplates at high levels, as the building does not have to taper to counter the wind effect: “The design is an example of the human ability to overcome the forces of nature and harness them to create a monument dedicated to past, present and future generations of the Gulf.”

www.nakheelharbour.com