ABU DHABI – Aldar, Abu Dhabi’s leading property development, management and investment company, with the ensuing completion of the iconic HQ building, the quantum of commercial space it will be releasing to the market would double to 190,000 
square metres.

HQ Al Raha Beach

Tenants are expected to be in occupation HQ, located near the Abu Dhabi International Airport, after the summer. Advanced negotiations are being concluded on a substantial proportion of the 23-floor building, Aldar said in a Press release here on Monday.

HQ is the first of many other planned developments at Al Dana, the Central Business District of Al Raha Beach. A key part of the Abu Dhabi 2030 Plan, Al Raha Beach is perfectly located for accessing the traditional Central Business District on Island as well as future locations such as the Capital District, the 
release claimed.   Aldar is offering a range of integrated tenant services and there will be a comprehensive range of facilities that include a gym, numerous food and beverage outlets, convenience stores and restaurants, the company said.

Aldar itself will relocate its main office into HQ. Advanced Technology Investment Company (ATIC), a specialist investment company created by the Government of Abu Dhabi to focus on the advanced technology sector, has announced that it will move its head office to the ‘HQ Building’ created by Aldar.

ATIC has leased 6840 square meters of space in the HQ building in Al Raha Beach. Al Mamoura development is another project of Aldar, and comprises two state of the art commercial buildings in the Al Muroor district of Abu Dhabi. Building A offers an expansive 46,000 square meters of space while Al Mamoura B offers approximately 23,000 square meters   of lettable offices.  Trust Tower, another project of Aldar, will offer 72,000 square meters of flexible office space 59-levels, at the heart of Abu Dhabi upon its scheduled completion at the beginning of 2012. Construction is proceeding on schedule, with the building’s roof to be completed during summer 2010.

ramavarman@khaleejtimes.com

Aldar Properties reported its third consecutive quarterly loss as the biggest real-estate developer in Abu Dhabi suffered from lower sales.

Second-quarter loss was AED475.3m ($129.4m), according to Bloomberg calculations based on half-yearly data provided by the company on Thursday. The average estimate of seven analysts was for a loss of AED210m for the quarter, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The company said first-half loss was AED789.5m after a profit of AED1.14bn a year earlier.

“The decrease was principally due to lower property sales recognised,” Aldar said in an e-mailed statement. “The second half of this financial year is expected to be different due to the revenue generated from the delivery of Aldar’s projects at Al Raha Beach and Al Gurm.”

Property prices in Abu Dhabi have declined by more than 30 percent from their peak in mid 2008 even as a housing shortage in the capital persists, according to Jones Lang LaSalle estimates published in February.

Aldar’s first-half revenue more than halved to AED427m from AED1bn a year earlier, while sales valued at AED695m made in the first half will be included in future income, the company said.

“We expect revenue and earnings to remain muted due to lack of land sales and large-scale unit deliveries,” most of which are scheduled for the second half, Deutsche Bank’s analyst Nabil Ahmed wrote in a note to clients on July 7. The investment bank expects the company’s recurring revenues from rentals and hotels “to ramp up.”

Aldar, which is building thousands of homes, offices and hotels in the United Arab Emirates’ capital, plans to build 272 apartments and 75 villas and townhouses in the emirate’s capital, all of which have been presold to an unidentified buyer, Chief Executive Officer John Bullough said on April 20. The following day, the company said it won a 730 million-dirham order from Abu Dhabi’s government to build infrastructure for a project in Al Ain city.

Sorouh Real Estate Co., Abu Dhabi’s second-biggest property developer by market value, this week reported a 79 percent decline in second-quarter profit after land sales evaporated.

Aldar shares rose 0.4 percent to close at AED2.46 in Abu Dhabi trading today before the earnings were released. The shares slumped 51 percent this year, giving the company a market value of AED6.3bn. (Bloomberg)

A new Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry study has shown that more than US$ 714.8 billion of construction projects are currently at the design stage or under construction in the UAE, to make the Emirate the most active market in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region.

The second most active construction market in the region, with US$ 283.8 billion worth of projects, is Saudi Arabia followed by Kuwait with US$ 184.4 billion of projects. Qatar has construction projects being planned or underway to the value of US$ 92.6 billion with Oman (US$ 48.3 billion) and Bahrain (US$ 44.1 billion) also figuring.

A spokesperson from the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry said, “Following a challenging period in 2009 and this year, construction developers in the UAE are expecting a more promising 2011 and beyond.”

The study showed that in recent months contractors have entered new markets, switching focus from private to public sector schemes and forming new alliances in an effort to win work in an increasingly competitive environment.

The spokesperson said, “This trend is expected to continue in the short term with the UAE government’s drive to stimulate the economy by spending heavily on infrastructure projects, particularly in Abu Dhabi.”

The study showed that five of the ten largest construction and infrastructure projects by value in the GCC region are planned or already under construction in Abu Dhabi.

The five are the US$ 40 billion development of the Capital District situated between Abu Dhabi International airport and Mohammed bin Zayed City, the US$ 37 billion Yas Island development, the US$ 27.5 billion development of Sadiyat Island, the US$ 22 billion creation of the Masdar sustainable city, the US$ 15 billion development of Al Raha Beach and the US$ 12 billion Road Transport Authority project to construct 500 km of roads.

The UAE also plans to expand its rail network and invest in hospitals, schools and museums.

The spokesperson said, “Prices of construction materials have been falling since the beginning of 2009 on the back of the negative economic climate and the reduced cost of both materials and labour now favour developers as cost savings can be found.”

Through an extended contract, Mott MacDonald will provide detailed designs for the 12 bridge structures carrying the central tree lined boulevard and light rail that will service the development’s offices, residential units, hotels, schools, hospitals and public recreation facilities over the grand canal.

Al Raha Beach Development.

This contract will see Mott MacDonald’s professionals act as independent verifiers for the designs of the boulevard bridge steelwork (by Cimolai S.p.A); as well as design concrete deck slabs for each bridge and an A-Frame to support one of the boulevard bridges and an adjacent bridge structure; and provide independent foundation design review.

Michael Barron, Mott MacDonald’s project director said, “The complex structure of the boulevard bridges requires analysis and design services which can only be provided by highly skilled engineers.”

Michael added, “This role continues Mott MacDonald’s successful involvement in the Al Raha Beach development for Aldar Properties PJSC which last year also saw the design of the 6 avenue bridges, a comprehensive review of the public realm design and this successful track record demonstrates the world class skills and local knowledge we bring to all of our projects.”

Beautiful and spacious 1 bedroom apartment in Al Neseem Residences (Block B) offering water view , view of the swimming pool as well as tennis courts. Very impressive finishing and quality of apartment and whole development. Al Bandar is one of the most sought after residential buildings in Raha Beach and Abu Dhabi. Spinneys will be opening at the development by end of Summer.

Source:  www.youtube.com

This building is the last hurrah of the golden age of Middle Eastern extravagance and its accompanying chest-beating displays of technical prowess.

We’ve had the world’s tallest building in Dubai, enormous Sidra-tree-shaped structures in Qatar and just two weeks ago the Capital Gate tower in Abu Dhabi made it into the Guinness book of records as the world’s slantiest building, inclining by a vertiginous 18Þ. Now there’s developer Aldar’s new HQ, also in Abu Dhabi. It looks like an enormous discus balanced precariously on its side, and the sheer scale of the thing means it’s visible from miles around.

As well as stacks of pre-crash cash, these designs all have some sort of rationale behind them. The Sidra tree is a national symbol, so that was good enough for the Qataris, and everybody wants to get into the record books. But why spend about £1bn on something that looks like two dinner plates clamped together? It’s certainly prompted plenty of speculation – some say it is representative of the setting sun, others say it resembles the moon, a potent symbol in Islam.

But like those other projects there is a rationale, at least in the client’s mind, for this extravagant design. The building is located at the Al Dana end of Al Raha beach, Aldar’s 11km long waterfront development just outside Abu Dhabi. Al Dana is the premier part of the scheme so a landmark was needed to signify its status. Patrick Bell, head of preconstruction for Aldar on Al Raha beach, says: “Al Dana is the pearl and that is how the clam shape came about. The pearl has very strong heritage here. It also had to be functional grade A office space and not a brash white elephant.”

If it succeeds in those latter two objectives, few people will spend time worrying about how a pearl can be substantially larger than the shell that contains it. The question is, though, has Aldar achieved those aims, and if so, how did it do it?

The building certainly succeeds in the landmark stakes. Not only is there nothing like it anywhere on the planet, but it is also huge. The 23-storey structure has a 124m diameter – this being a more appropriate measure of size for a building of this shape than width or height. It stands head and shoulders above everything else on Al Raha Beach and is made even more visible by the dead flat, featureless desert surrounding it.

But it is 36m wide at the mid point and narrows to just 24m as the building tapers towards the edges. This makes for a striking landmark, but does it also make for a totally impractical building? After all, Capital Gate, its leaning neighbour down the road, might have impressed the Guinness judges but so much structure is needed to hold it up that there isn’t much room for anything else inside.

This isn’t true of the pearl. It only looks slender because of that enormous diameter – in fact, the building has 2,700m2 of floorspace compared with a typical tall building’s 1,000m2. The floorplates in the middle of the building are huge, open-plan, uncluttered spaces. The choice of a steel diagrid for the perimeter structure means that hardly any internal structure is needed, apart from two cores. Even the smaller floorplates at the top and bottom manage to be generous: the crucial dimension between the outer edge of the core and the building perimeter is still big enough for workstations. At Capital Gate, the most compromised spaces are only suitable for cardboard boxes.

So the building works on a practical level, but how does it stand up? Surprisingly, considering concrete is the default material in the Middle East, one of the first decisions was what to build it from. The shape meant the building had a 25m cantilever at each end, which would have needed large transfer structures, and those would have been difficult to realise in concrete. Also, concrete would have required a forest of internal columns, and that would have wasted space and spoiled the internal layouts. Finally, concrete would have needed lots of expensive temporary works during construction.

For Stephen Lumb, associate director of Arup, who was responsible for the structural engineering, a steel diagrid was the best solution. “The beauty of the diagrid is that it pushes all the structure out to the perimeter, it integrates with the facade and gives you a great, open-plan office space inside,” he beams. “Cost-wise there was nothing in it, but speed-wise and in terms of the quality of space it was a no-brainer.”

It was also good news for Peter Taylor, the project leader for the Aldar Laing O’Rourke joint venture that was responsible for construction. “With steel, the complexity is in the computer; with concrete it’s out on site,” he says.

Lumb says the geometry of each of the curved sides of the building was derived from “an intersection of a cylinder and the surface of a spindle torus”. “It’s a concept a lot of people have struggled with,” notes Taylor dryly. “It’s a doughnut where there isn’t a hole – you’ve put too much yeast in so it’s gone,” responds Lumb by way of explanation. “It looks simple in elevation but it’s a really complex shape.” “I don’t think you could have done all this without the computer,” adds Taylor.

Taylor did have one practical suggestion to make. As Laing O’Rourke is in a joint venture with Aldar, the contractor was on board right at the beginning and able to influence the design. A key issue was that gap between the perimeter and the edge of the core. The original design meant this was only wide enough for a corridor rather than valuable office space. “We said, why not make the building a metre wider on each side,” says Taylor. “The architect didn’t like this but our response was, is anyone other than the architect going to notice?”

Aldar embraced the idea, with the result that each facade was moved away from the cores by 1.5m, making the building 3m wider and adding 20% to the gross floor area. The only real changes to the design were to make the cladding that circles the edge of the building wider, and introduce a “destination control” lift system that directs each worker to a specific lift after they have indicated the floor they require. This accommodates the extra occupiers without adding to the 12 lifts planned.

Although the diagrid takes the loads at the perimeter, the bulbous nature of the building presented another issue. Because the building curves in every direction it wants to belly outwards under its own weight. According to Lumb, these horizontal forces are almost as significant as the vertical ones. The solution was to tie the two disc-shaped facades together to stop this, but that wasn’t possible for the narrow ends because the cores were in the way. Instead, a truss was placed under the floors that transferred the loads to a perimeter edge beam linked to the other end of the building, cancelling the forces out. “There’s a lot happening in terms of tensile forces in the floorplates that is very different from a conventional building,” Lumb says. This structural strategy means there are only eight columns in the whole building.

The diagrid is constructed from large pieces of steel. At the lower levels, the I-sections weigh 634kg a metre. These join at prefabricated nodes – the diagrid is so large that each bay extends over four storeys. The steel sections change direction every second floor to generate the faceted curve of the building. Because the building curves in two planes the diagrid steelwork also twists by 3Þ every four levels to accommodate it.

Steel may be easier to handle on site but Laing O’Rourke still needed to work out how to construct the building. “We only had two tower cranes and were working on the structure and working on the ground, so we had to bring in a crawler crane to handle the large sections.”

All the steelwork was bolted together to eliminate onsite welding – cherrypickers were used for the bolting operation. Smaller steel sections were used in areas that couldn’t be accessed by the crawler crane so the tower cranes could cope with the weight. Taylor is proud of the fact that the tower cranes were used to 99% of their capacity.

The construction of the other elements was logical. Once four levels of steel had been built, the floors were installed, and as the structure rose, four levels below that the cladding was installed. Finally four levels below the cladding, work started on the M&E. “Even though it sounds really simple there are so many projects here where they build the whole structure then think about the next stage,” says Taylor. The cladding panels were assembled on site, as this made transportation simpler, and positioned from inside the building. Prefabricated toilet pods were used to save time and money; Laing O’Rourke had already used these on its Atlantis hotel scheme in Dubai.

The building was scheduled for completion at the end of 2009, but the downturn took the pressure off, and Aldar also changed the internal layouts. The first floor was originally going to be offices but is now a prayer room at one end and retail at the other. Aldar will occupy the top of the building with the rest let out. The developer says it is concluding negotiations on letting a “significant proportion” of the building and that the leasing of the HQ is “on track”. Tenants will start their fit-out this month with the idea they will start occupying the building this summer. Enjoy this one while it lasts – it could be a long time before we see anything as extraordinary in the Middle East again.

British construction firm Laing O’Rourke, which worked on the Atlantis Hotel in Dubai, is to shut its Middle East operations, it was reported at the weekend.

A source within Laing O’Rourke told the Building.co.uk trade website that Laing O’Rourke was cutting its global workforce from 35,753 to around 20,000.

The firm is the UK’s third largest contractor and began its operations in the Middle East in 2006.

“It’s been a nightmare for my family and hundreds of former colleagues who are out of work. The firm can’t employ more than 4,500 workers and 900 professional staff in the Middle East now, which is down from about 16,000 and 5,000 during the boom – a fall of about three-quarters,” the source told the website.

The closure also affects the firm’s south Asian operations and follows the end of a joint venture in India with Indian firm DLF.

Last year, Aldar Laing O’Rourke, a joint venture between the Abu Dhabi property developer and the UK construction company, told Arabian Business it was cutting 320 jobs.

However, it was confirmed that Laing O’Rourke will maintain its relationship with Aldar, with whom it is working on the AED54bn ($14.7bn) Al Raha beach project.

The firm’s turnover in the region in 2009 doubled to £829m ($225m), the report added.