Building the Burj

No mean feat that. With all the expectations (not only local but global) how is work going on the building of the tallest structure in the world?

The Burj Dubai currently stands at around 640 metres

Calling the Burj Dubai only ‘iconic’ is an understatement. The world’s tallest building is perhaps better described as an expression of the entire Emirati sentiment to the rest of the world

– “We’ve made it!”

If you’ve visited the official website, you are enveloped in its awe. The Burj is going to need a capacity of 10,000 tonnes of melting ice to cool it everyday. The observatory deck at 422 metres above ground is going to be the highest observatory point in the world. It will have 200 metres of spectacular dancing fountains. It will house one of the first Armani Hotels in the world. So many superlatives in only one monument.

Uwe Hinrichs, Project Manager, Arabtec

Delivering promises is hard work. That is where Uwe Hinrichs comes in. He is Project Manager with Arabtec, the main local contractor for Burj Dubai. He says, “Construction anywhere has loads of challenges. These have been multiplied when it comes to the Burj Dubai. To put it simply, we’re building three high rise towers on top of each other. The constraint with us is that although we’re building such a high tower we’ve got to work on the same ground space. And as we go up, the space required to finish each floor is decreasing.”

Adrian Smith, Consulting Design Partner, Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, designed the tower keeping in mind the harmonious structure of the Hymenocallis flower and Islamic architecture. The shape of the tower is a unique spiral stepping pattern which keeps the width of the building changing at all times hence confusing the wind and keeping down its force. Careful planning has been considered not only in the design of the building but also in its day to day construction. Hinrichs says, “The planning of our daily activities are much more studied and detailed because of all the restrictions regarding space, height and weather as winds are much stronger at those heights than on ground level.” At the construction site, getting up to the higher floors takes them close to 30 minutes and the same on the way back down. Once complete, OTIS speed elevators promise to take visitors/residents to their desired floors at dizzying speeds of 64 kilometres per hour.

According to Hinrichs, the biggest challenge he faces everyday is getting things organised so that all the people/material required on the floor in question are assembled together to be able to start and finish work as per schedule. “You cannot imagine how difficult it is to organise and coordinate people. Because the space restrictions are getting worse the higher we get, we have to prepare much more. If you want to install the loading deck, which is a device outside the building on which you can land something to be moved inside, the less space there is, the less possibility you have to fix it properly. As the space inside needs to be the same as that outside considering the weight of the slabs that are being used in the construction. To adhere to strict standards of getting the job done perfectly, we need to prepare, discuss and coordinate. That means really working with all parties simultaneously. All the coordinating leads to tensions as everyone has an opinion on how things should be done. And then each one ends up thinking they have been dealt with unjustly and they think they are suffering, but actually we all are.”

“There are about 45 nations literally working together on this project,” he continues. “When so many people from so many different nations come together, (we have about 20 to 25 different ethnic groups on the site who have grown up in completely different environments, cultures, religions, have different educations and languages), there’s bound to be tension.” But, he says, it is the common, hard working construction worker who is converting this dream project into a reality. “The construction staff is the real hero.”

Now that concreting works have been completed, how is the tower progressing?

“Our biggest concern has always been safety. We are completely focussed on it. All International Safety Federation measures are being implemented as well as the guidelines set by UAE. Extensive wind tunnel testing has been carried out which enables the building to resist high wind loads while minimising vibrations. We recently conducted a 30-day intensive fire fighting course and the response from the work force was excellent. A fire delays work and to re do work costs money. With all the hyper activity in the market, we’ll be happy if we get our ordered material in the same week. Going through all of that is not an option. And most importantly, lives cannot be replaced. It’s great to see all the regulations being put forward by the Dubai Municipality. It’s how responsible people think.”

During the planning stage of the construction, a major consideration was made for fire safety and evacuation speed. Calculations were made with the assumption of 35,000 people being present in the building at the time of evacuation (although less than half are expected to be in the building at one time). All the stairs are surrounded by concrete and a 5,500 kilogramme capacity elevator has been made for fire fighters and building service work. As it is impossible for people to come down the stairs of 160 floors at one time, there are pressurised air-conditioned refuge areas every 25 floors where in case of an emergency people can rest on their way down.

Personally, Hinrichs remains unfazed by all the hype surrounding the tallest building in the world. He’s been there done that. “At times, when I hear myself saying ‘loading deck on floor 135’, I do think that here is a loading deck on the 135th floor, a level where a loading deck has never been anywhere in the world. But that’s about it. All of us on site in fact, we’ve been there for three and a half years already. So the novelty has worn off. For us it’s all about plodding on and finishing things on time.”