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As the princess tower gears up to become the tallest residential building in the world, Construction Week looks at the progress on the 420m-high development and discovers what makes building a tall tower different from any other project.
There’s no place like Dubai Marina to find a room with a view. With The Palm Jumeirah on one side and the city’s bright lights on the other, it’s no wonder that UAE developers are making their mark in the scenic location by constructing super-tall residential buildings.
In fact, building the tallest has almost become a competition in the area with 23 Marina and the Elite Residence Towers reaching new heights and set to stand at 90- and 91-storeys respectively upon completion. But, it is the Marina’s Princess Tower that is set to reign as the tallest residential building in the world upon its expected completion date of July 8, 2011.
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The project was first announced by Tameer Holding Investments in November 2006 and, three months later, Arabian Construction Company (ACC) was awarded the main construction contract. Work began immediately and the development, which will stand at 100 stories, has now reached the 58th floor.
The Princess Tower consists of approximately 580 apartments. It has gymnasiums and swimming pools on levels five and six, and has six floors of parking below ground and four above.
There will also be some retail outlets facing Al Sufouh road and the side street running back to the marina. In addition, there will be a recreational area at level 97 for owners of the building and guests to enjoy the surrounding sights.
“Already the floor at level 57 is spectacular. It overlooks The Palm and the rest of the marina,” says ACC project manager Bill Parker.
The tower is currently progressing five to six days ahead of the planned schedule but, according to Parker, the development hasn’t always been a smooth process.
“With the financial crisis we had a slow down period but, together with the client, we have managed the process so that the project has continued to develop steadily through the period, albeit a little slower,” he explains.
“We have a typical floor cycle of around six to seven days, but during the slowdown period we were completing a floor every two weeks. This was to help assist the client in managing its finances. In the last month, however, we have resumed
full production, so we are now working towards completion.”
However, there is more to building a skyscraper than simply constructing a few additional floors.
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