Skyscrapers of the future

The top three floors of index are given over to penthouse apartments, commanding the best views the building has to offer.

A short distance from the Burj Dubai there is a new sky scraper that stands out from the crowd and promises to offer more than just a scenic view. 

Index is the first of a new era of ‘intelligent buildings’ that are destined to be the skyscrapers of the future, boasts a circular from Union Properties. 

The concept behind a multi-purpose tower such as Index, it continues, “ensures that the building is utilised 24/7; that it is never vacant, increasing security and energy efficiency.”

Designed by Foster & Partners, the mixed-use building comprises 65,000 square metres of residential space, 50,000m square metres for offices, and a transfer floor on the 30th storey. 

When completed, it will tower at 326m above sea level, “give or take a few centimetres,” jokes Irenaeus Vincent, senior project manager at Confluence, the project management company in charge of Index.  

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Started in December 2006, work is on track to meet the completion deadline of mid 2009.  “There was a problem with materials and labour supply the year before last,” says Vincent, “but those constraints haven’t delayed the job very seriously, or had any negative impact.” He admits the project has had issues, but “that’s always going to be there on a project of this size,” he adds.  “A lot of them have gone away on their own, and last year we didn’t have any problems.” 

Part of Dubai International Financial Centre, Index stands on a plot of 20,000 m2, and will have a total built up area of 335,000 m2, including retail space and underground parking for 2500 cars. 

Built on an east-west orientation to reduce solar gain, the building’s core mass absorbs the heat of the sun, thereby decreasing loads on mechanical ventilation. External shading on the south side of the building offers extra protection to offices, which feature floor-to-floor windows of nearly 5m in height. Balcony spaces in the residential section serve to shield apartments from the full effect of the sun.  

The 40 storeys of residential apartments are supported by 25 floors of unique column-free office space, an engineering feat which presented some challenges, says Vincent.

“The apartments are traditional, with columns and walls all over the place, so to transfer the load was quite a task.”  Two walls which cut across the building on a north-south elevation carry the structural load of the residential section.  “When we got to the transfer floor,” explains Vincent, “we jacked up six huge structural trusses as temporary formwork to cast the beams.”