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The structure shell of the Burj Dubai is already the tallest building on the planet. On 8th November 2007, the in-situ concreting works on the structure core were successfully completed at a height of 601 metres above the foundations. Doka Group Executive Director Josef Kurzmann congratulated the management of the contracting JV of Samsung-Besix-Arabtech on completing the structure core inside the original timetable, and thanked them for a great partnership-oriented working relationship.
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The 601 m structure shell of the Burj Dubai is the tallest building in the world. The in-situ pouring operations, carried out with the Doka climbing formwork system SKE 100, have finished on schedule and the reinforced concrete core is now to have an up to 200 m tall steel construction built on top of it.
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Construction of the Burj Dubai – the world’s tallest building – has involved an unusually high proportion of wall-forming operations for a skyscraper. Its statically required honeycombed structural design, with many airframe-like stiffening reinforcements, necessitated the forming of 430,000 m² of wall. This meant that twice as large an area of walls had to be formed as of floor-slabs. The Doka climbing formwork system for the wing-walled structure core worked with clockwork precision, enabling a typical storey to be finished every three days.
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For the Burj Dubai project, Doka embarked on a 2 ½ year expedition leading ever upward to a final height of over 600 m. Never before in the history of formwork technology has climbing formwork been deployed over such a long period, at such a great height and under such extreme conditions. Successful completion of the in-situ concreting works on the structure core has brought Doka not only a world record but also some valuable experience of extreme situations. The architectural design, too, made some exceptionally tough demands of the formwork system. The Y-shaped, wing-walled structure core of the Burj Dubai tapers upwards, undergoing no fewer than 32 changes in layout as it does so. As early as when planning its “forming machine”, Doka had to make allowance for each of these adaptations, right down to the last detail. Separation points in the platform system enabled the formwork solution to be modified safely and reliably every time the layout changed, with only minimal impact upon the cycle time. In order for the storeys to be poured in a 3-day cycle, the system also had to be highly efficient and easy to operate. Durability was another watchword here – after all, the “forming machine” was going to have to function smoothly for several years. The sheer robustness of the Doka components astounded even experts, and meant that during all of 180 casting sections, only a single change of form-facing was needed. Says Samsung’s Project Director Kyung-Jun Kim: “As the in-situ concrete core was being built ahead of the floor-slabs, construction progress on the whole building was entirely dependent on the self-climbing Doka formwork solution. The Doka climbing formwork system functioned with machine-like precision, allowing us to complete the in-situ concrete core within the original timetable.”
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On this prestige project, workplace safety was also a paramount concern, of course – especially in the slab-forming operations on the storeys following behind the core. To safeguard the site crew carrying out these operations at such dizzying heights, Doka supplied its self-climbing protection-screen system Xclimb 60. This completely closes off both the storey under construction and the 3 typical storeys below it, in each case with a room-high enclosure. Says Health & Safety Manager Mohamed Moizuddin: “During the 2 ½ year shell construction phase, we didn’t have a single serious accident. As the Burj Dubai’s groundplan was designed to resemble a desert flower, it has more than twice as many outside edges as a conventional skyscraper. All of these had to be completely safeguarded, of course. Without the Doka protection screen, the risk for the crew working on the slab-forming operations would have been incalculable.” The climatic conditions encountered at the site were also extreme: The desert climate right next to the open sea causes great temperature fluctuations between day and night. These often lead to violent sandstorms with wind speeds of over 100 km/h. Conditions such as these challenged both men and materials to the limits. However, the Doka climbing formwork system was designed to cope with wind speeds of up to 200 km/h. Doka Executive Director Josef Kurzmann sums it up like this: “With this project, Doka has proved that if you use the right formwork solution, you can successfully tackle even the very biggest and toughest challenges. Our know-how, and the additional experience we gained on the Burj Dubai, make us the ideal formwork partner for the most spectacular projects on the planet.”
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On 8th November, the 601 m tall reinforced concrete core of the Burj Dubai was successfully completed using Doka Formwork Technology.
Doka Executive Director Josef Kurzmann (waving, yellow helmet) joined with the site crew in celebrating the last climbing step at this record height.
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| Doka Executive Director Josef Kurzmann (left), Doka Project Manager Martin Hörlesberger (right) and the General Manager of Doka Gulf, Geir Jensen (far right) congratulated the formwork team on successfully completing the structure core in the original timetable. |
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| From left: Doka Project Manager Martin Hörlesberger, Samsung Chief Engineer Wall Area Martin Kang, Samsung Construction Manager Tower Sang Ku Kang, Besix Deputy Project Director Ivan Bruyninckx, Arabtec Commercial Manager Martin Pinder, Doka Executive Director Josef Kurzmann, General Manager Doka Gulf Geir Jensen. |
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| The Doka protection-screen system Xclimb 60 safeguarded the slab-forming operations on four consecutive typical storeys at a time. Not one serious accident occurred during the entire 2 ½ year shell construction period. |
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| At eye level with an aeroplane: Never before in the history of formwork technology has climbing been carried out so high, so long and under such extreme conditions. |
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