BUILDING CONSTRUCTION

ASSIGNMENT-01

SUBMITTED BY:
ANSHU GUPTA

(2/11)

8TH SEMESTER
 The Capital Gate, Abu Dhabi

INTRODUCTION

Capital Gate, owned and developed in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates,
by ADNEC (Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company), is certified as the ‘World’s Furthest
Leaning Manmade Tower,’ by Guinness World Records.

Capital Gate was built to lean 18 degrees westwards – more than four times that of the
world famous Leaning Tower of Pisa – and earned the Guinness recognition after rigorous
evaluation by the Awards Committee after the exterior of the 160-metre (524.9 ft), 35-
storey tower was completed.

Capital Gate houses the 5-star Hyatt Capital Gate hotel as well as approximately 20,000sqm
of premium office space.

CAPITAL GATE was designed by international architecture firm RMJM and is adjacent to
the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre within ADNEC’s Capital Centre. The structure
somehow connects the viewer to the country’s glorious past and its development over the
years.

The concept of the structure was inspired from the wind-swept dunes and the splash of the
waves of the Persian Gulf. The overhung balcony was visualized as the small crawling
creatures up the splashing wave or the dunes.
KEY CONSTRUCTION FACTS

Height 160m / 35 storeys

Incline 18 degrees

Direction Westward (East to West)

Overhang of the tower from the base33m

The Cardinal façade is 51% more efficient than standard typical façade in restricting solar

heat to the building. This reduces the energy consumption by HVAC system by 15%.

Foundation piles490

Depth of piles 20m-30m

Structural steel in Capital Gate 13,200 tonnes

Diagrid systems 1– External 1 – Internal

Diagrid nodes702 external – 120 internal

Triangular glass panes on facade 12,500

Diamond shaped sections on facade 720

Total built up area 53,100 sqm

Total office area 14,396 sqm

Total Hotel area 25,050sqm

STRUCTURE

Structural systems of tall buildings can be divided into two broad categories: interior
structures and exterior structures. This classification is based on the distribution of the
components of the primary lateral load-resisting system over the building. A system is
categorized as an interior structure when the major part of the lateral load resisting system
is located within the interior of the building. Likewise, if the major part of the lateral load-
resisting system is located at the building perimeter, a system is categorized as an exterior
structure.
STRUCTURE OF CAPITAL GATE

The Capital Gate floor plates are stacked vertically up to the 12th storey after which, they
are staggered over each other by between 300mm to 1400mm giving rise to the tower’s
dramatic lean.

CORE

The Capital Gate tower features other innovative construction techniques including the
world’s first known use of a ‘pre-cambered’ core, which contains more than 15,000 cubic
metres of concrete reinforced with 10,000 tons of steel.

This core is a vertical tube, an ellipse in cross section, inside the building. At the base, it sits
towards the side of the building that leans out. As the tower climbs around it, the floors
gradually stack further and further across the core, half way up, in the centre of the floor.
This means that as well as supporting the vertical load of the building — as conventional
concrete cores in symmetrical towers do — it also has to support the sideways load of the
leaning tower, constantly trying to topple the building’s upper floors over. Not only that, but
the floors twist around the core as well as leaning outwards, meaning that the loads on the
final core were extremely complex.

The core, deliberately built slightly off centre, has straightened as the building has risen,
compressing the concrete and giving it strength, and moving into (vertical) position as the
weight of the floors has been added. 146 tendents stand vertical in the core and run 5
floors overlapping each other to give extra strength. Each tendent is strengthened 44 times
that in the Golden Gate bridge.
SHELL

CAPITAL GATE’s shell comprises a super-strong exo-skeleton called the diagrid that carries
all the weight of the floors while also providing an unobstructed floor plate precluding the
need for pillars or internal beams.

720 cruciforms were custom designed to impart the desired curve to the structure. 26000
triangular panes were designed using triangle as the basic geometrical element to cover the
facade.

Other high-profile buildings that use diagrid technology include New York’s Hearst Tower,
the Swiss Re building (‘The Gherkin’) in London and Beijing’s CCTV tower.

EXTERIOR SHELL INTERIOR SHELL

CAPITAL GATE also has an internal diagrid that has been used to create a tapered, 60m high
atrium/light well. To compensate the load distribution because of this hole, Six giant plates
are installed beneath this atrium that transfer the load to the core of the building.

All 8,250 steel diagrid members are different thicknesses, length and orientation
Basic load distribution in diagrid structures is as follows:
 FOUNDATION

 Foundation depth: 20-30m

 Foundation cross section: 90 x 60m

Capital Gate, is being constructed on top of a 2 metre deep concrete base filled with an
incredibly dense mesh of reinforced steel. This base sits above an intensive distribution of
490 piles which have been drilled 20-30 metres underground to accommodate the
gravitational, wind and seismic pressures caused by the lean of the building.
To support the lean of the structure, half of the piles are 20m deep while other half i.e. not
under the core are 30m deep to avoid the uprooting of the building because of the tilt.

Load distribution and functioning of the pile and raft system of foundation.

Section of the Capital Gate; showing single basement with raft as a base.
Method used for the construction of the basement of the structure:

Around 6000 cubic metre of sand was dug out for the foundation and piles were dug in
with a very little space in between them.

Composite piles are driven in place during the process

After this raft is cast on site above the piles which also act as the pile cap for piles.

Foundation work was delayed for about 5 months because of the close proximity to the
two sewer lines.

Graphic showing pile foundation

GLAZING

CAPITAL GATE’s double-glazed façade achieves greater energy efficiency with waste air
being pre-cooled between the inner and outer façades, before being expelled.

The Capital Gate tower’s façade glass is of low emissivity and is the first time it has been
used in the UAE. It keeps the building’s interior cool and eliminates glare, while
maintaining transparency.

The distinctive stainless steel ‘splash’ that descends from the 19th floor, is a design element
and a shading device that eliminates over 30 percent of the sun’s heat before it reaches
the Capital Gate building. The splash also twists around the building towards the south to
shield the tower as much as possible from direct sunlight.
SPLASH

OVERHANG
CAPITAL GATE’s 19th storey outdoor swimming pool has an unrivalled panoramic view.
A cantilevered tea lounge overhangs the tower’s exterior, 80m above the ground.
Structurally: 22 steel struts are provided under the double storey suspended pool and
restaurant, to fulfil the client’s needs in just 6 months time, without compromising with the
sleek structural outlook.

Interior: Each room is different as is each pane of façade glass and every interior angle.