Mace provides project management on world's furthest leaning manmade tower
Media
25/06/2010
Capital Gate Hotel in Abu Dhabi has been certified as the world's furthest leaning manmade tower by Guinness World Records.
ADNEC Chairman Shaikh Sultan Bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan commented: "Capital Gate is a landmark development for Abu Dhabi and with this recognition, the tower takes its place among the world's great buildings. It is a signature building which speaks of the foresight of the emirate."
Mace in the Middle East is providing project management services on the tower that leans 18 degrees westwards (more than four times that of the world famous Leaning Tower of Pisa).
As a result of its unique posture, the tower has been constructed on top of a dense mesh of reinforced steel, which sits above 490 piles, drilled 30 metres underground to accommodate the gravitational, wind and seismic pressures caused by the lean of the building. This diagrid technology has been used on only a few high-profile international buildings including the Hearst Tower in New York City, London's Swiss Re building (the Gherkin) and the CCTV headquarters tower in Beijing. The system requires less structural steel than a conventional steel frame which reduces costs as well as benefiting the environment. The diagrid is formed by creating triangular structures with diagonal support beams.
The iconic tower is believed to have the strongest core in the world and the exterior of the 160-metre, 35-storey tower was completed in January of this year.
