Wasl Tower Selected as SEAoNY SEE Award Finalist

 Wasl Tower is a SEAoNY SEE Awards finalist in the New Buildings category!

Inspired by the asymmetrical contrapposto—or counterpose—commonly used in classical sculpture, the ultra-luxury, mixed-use, Wasl Tower rises 1,000 feet on Sheikh Zayed Road in the heart of Dubai. Highly sustainable, it boasts the world’s tallest ceramic façade, which in tandem with the lighting control system achieves a 40% reduction in lighting energy, reducing cooling loads and energy consumption.

The diverse program across 64 stories includes offices, a 5-star, 259-key Mandarin Oriental Downtown, Dubai, 229 residences, and such amenities as sports facilities, spa, retail, rooftop pools, and restaurants. An adjacent 11-level parking structure houses ballrooms and a rooftop infinity pool, connecting to the tower at two levels by three, 75-foot-long pedestrian bridges.

Beginning with the original structural design for the tower, our structural engineers stepped in to complete a critical value engineering and design review, followed by the development of an innovative, material-efficient, and highly buildable structural design—that saved $55 million and transformed the construction approach.

The final structural solution for the tower features a strong, central, reinforced concrete core (with high-performance concrete) supplemented by composite outriggers connected to six composite perimeter columns, creating a hybrid system made of high strength concrete and steel. Support for the tower’s dynamic, sinuous form was achieved through sloping columns and the gradual elongation of cantilevers strategically placed at the corners of post-tensioned slabs.

Already award-winning, Wasl Tower recently earned recognition as a Best Tall Building from the Council on Vertical Urbanism.

Congratulations to developer Wasl LLC Asset Management Group, contractor Arabtec Construction LLC, architect UNS, lead engineer Werner Sobek, DeSimone Principal Ahmed Osman, PE, and Senior Associate Aditya Kanodia, PE!

Photo: Deed Studio