Dubai Creek Harbour Vertical Transportation & Façade Access Consultancy

Vertical Transportation and Façade Access Consultancy for The Address Dubai Creek Harbour

Client: KEO International Consultants

Date: September 2016 - 2023

The Address Harbour Point is an iconic twin high-rise tower and connecting podium located in the Dubai Creek Harbour development on the reclaimed island site, off the E44 highway to Ras Al Khor, Dubai. The site is being developed as a residential, retail, commercial and hospitality destination.

The Address Harbour Point comprises of twin towers:

Tower 1 - 58 storeys incorporating a 5* hotel under The Address brand with 223 keys and residential apartments above – 265 units of 1, 2, 3 and 4 bedrooms.

Tower 2 - 69 storeys incorporating residential serviced apartments under The Address brand with 529 units of 1-, 2-, 3- and 4-bedroom units.

There are two underground parking basements with ground, mezzanine and podium 1-3 levels between the hotel and residential floors.

TÜV SÜD Lift Consultancy - International (previously known as TÜV SÜD Dunbar Boardman) was contracted to provide the consultancy service from design through to factory testing of the building maintenance units (BMUs), final test and commissioning to handover on site for both the vertical transportation and façade access (BMU) disciplines. We worked with KONE Middle East and Malt Technics respectively, for the developer EMAAR with engineers and architects KEOIC, project managers Mirage with ASGC as the main contractor.

Challenge

Vertical Transportation

Due to the building's aesthetic, we had to provide a non-standard solution, such as a side machine room configuration, because of challenges in providing a machine room.

Façade Access

The building's extreme height presented challenges due to its sloped roof and parabolically shaped external façade with projecting balconies. Additionally, the roof was smaller than the building's widest section.

For façade access we offered two options:

Climbing track BMU on the roof edge
Placed the BMU at the centre of the building and ensured it has a long enough jib reach to cover both the upper and lower edges.

Of the two options, the static BMU was chosen for its simplicity and less intrusive nature. We included rope access to help reduce the cleaning cycle. However, we had to resolve several challenges. The BMU was too long to fit inside while parked, and the 9m-tall vertical mast could not lower below the parking screen due to its height. To address this, a pit was initially added to lower the parking height, but it was inside the lift shaft. After considerable effort, we managed to resolve these design challenges.

SOLUTION AND APPROACH

Vertical Transportation

The vertical transportation work involved 26 elevators providing passenger, service and fire access orientations:

Tower 1 = 15 units – MRL type for the low-rise and MR type for the high-rise, ranging from 1275kg/17-person to 2000kg/26-person capacities running at speeds of 1.6 – 5.0m/s. Travel heights range from 9.95m to 17.60m (MRL) and 71.35 to 212.20 (MR). The main challenge associated with this project was the need to provide side location machine rooms for the high-speed service lifts due to the structural design.

Tower 2/promenade = 11 units – MRL type for the low-rise and MR type for the high-rise, ranging from 1275kg/17-person to 2000kg/26-person capacities running at speeds of 1.0, 1.6 – 6.0m/s. Travel heights range from 21.25m (MRL) and 246.35 to 254.25 (MR).

All elevators were designed in accordance with EN81 suite of codes.

Façade Access / BMU

Two main BMU systems were provided for façade access and maintenance. The main challenges associated with this project were the sloping building crown design, curved facades and protruding balconies with recessed fenestration. In our final design, we focused on statically mounted BMUs as noted below, with the later addition of abseil anchors and monorails with fall arrest harness line applications to assist with the cleaning cycle.

Tower 1 = 1 x fully powered BMU system with 4-stage telescopic jib and 3-stage hydraulic telescopic mast to give a jib reach of 31.5m and to clear a height of 16.42m from the roof level.

Tower 2 = 1 x fully powered BMU system with 4-stage telescopic jib and 3-stage hydraulic telescopic mast to give a jib reach of 30.0m and to clear a height of 16.42m from the roof level.

Both machines were provided with offset, counterbalanced cradle units and glass replacement equipment for 350kg material weight. The machines have a full range of movement allowing access to the four building faces with “soft rope” cradle restraint provided to allow lateral movement and descent.

Abseil eye bolts and monorails are provided with fall arrest harness line access to the inclined crown perimeter.

A 30m working height mobile elevating work platform (MEWP) was provided along with manual cleaning equipment for podium and low-level maintenance access.

All façade access equipment was designed in accordance with EN1808:2015 and associated codes.

The site was completed from our side in mid-2023.

Vijith Nambiar, Regional Director - International, TÜV SÜD Lift Consultancy:

"We are proud to have supported our client through the competitive tender process, successfully meeting their budget requirements while delivering innovation, aesthetics, and functionality."

Find out more about our lift consultancy services and our façade access system design services.