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This project follows on from Rotary Humm’s successful involvement with the Atlantis on Palm Jumeirah and the new Ibis hotel, also in Al Barsha. Contracts manager David Gamble tells MEP Middle East that the contract, which is currently in its very early stages, is valued at US$54.5 million.
“We have worked with API for over two years now on a variety of residential and hotel projects, so it is a well-established client of ours. I would say our continued relationship is due to our widely-held reputation for on-time delivery and focus on overall quality, which are critical focus areas in these difficult times,” asserts Gamble.
The project comprises three basement levels, six podium levels and a furnished-apartment tower of 41 floors, plus a residential and office tower, both also 41 floors. “Our scope of work on this project is a total MEP package, including fire protection and a building management system. It also includes all associated services such as CCTV, security and access control,” explains Gamble.
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Cooling load
The total designed cooling load for the project is 5 000 TR, provided by six water-cooled centrifugal chillers located on the Basement 1 level, with corresponding cooling towers at roof level. A particular innovation of the project in terms of sustainability is that a grey-water recycling system will be used for the cooling towers. Three chillers are dedicated to the hotel, and three to the office and residential component.
“Other ‘green’ building measures include the use of energy-efficient lamps throughout the project, either CFLs or LEDs, while all equipment selection is based on as long a service life as possible and with minimal maintenance requirements,” says Gamble. The air-conditioning system employed on the project comprises a series of 20 fresh air handling units and more than 2 000 fan coil units. The total designed electric load is 17000 kW via 19 No. 1100 kVA transformers, with 2 No. 1500 kVA emergency generators and a UPS for essential services back-up.
“We do try and stay with reliable, well-proven suppliers,” comments senior construction manager Joseph Karle. “We recently went to investigate a potential new supplier who claimed to have stock, only to discover that the stockholding is not in this country. Even in the current times, although the demand has diminished, suppliers are reducing their stock levels as well in order to help reduce overheads. This means one has to be very careful in selecting potential suppliers, and need to confirm that their existing stock levels are adequate,” says Karle.
A particular feature of Rotary Humm’s approach to the project is the extensive use of off-site fabrication. “The main challenge of this project for us is a very constrained site, as it has a limited footprint,” says Gamble. Indeed, part of Sheikh Zayed Road is so close to the edge of the project that health and safety regulations require the use of suspended netting to prevent any rubble or objects falling onto the highway.
“We have obviated this problem by careful staging of deliveries based on just-in-time theory, predicated on the idea of keeping the site as free and as open as possible. In addition, special attention is paid to general site cleanliness, which also aids overall site movement and logistics. In terms of off-site fabrication, we are manufacturing as much equipment as possible off-site in handleable sizes.
FABRICATION
“Due to the tight footprint, it is difficult to get 20 m or even 12 m sections in, so we are restricted to 6 m to 8 m sections. At present these are being manufactured in the workshops of various ducting manufacturers, although we are considering establishing our own fabrication operation at some point in the future,” reveals Gamble. He adds that the main advantage of off-site fabrication is “quality control in a dedicated manufacturing environment.” All the hotel and apartment bathrooms, numbering 1 400 in total, will also be fabricated off-site.
An API spokesperson says the company seeks to align itself “with world-class players such as Rotary Humm, which is capable of meeting the challenge of providing and developing user-friendly technologies that are not only innovative and environment-friendly, but which also embrace the ‘green’ building principles of resource optimisation and energy efficiency.”
The Rotary Group was established in 1954 in Northern Ireland, with a specific focus on mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering and contracting. It recently merged with the Hastie Group of Australia, a leading MEP contractor specialising in building services and refrigeration.
“The combined strength of these two organisations, with their global resources, makes them one of the foremost international electro-mechanical organisations in the world today,” notes Rotary Humm operational manager Ernie Purvis. Rotary Humm is the group’s operating company in Dubai, established in 1999.
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