The Capital Plaza Development – a multifunctional complex of buildings comprising five high-rise towers – is Abu Dhabi’s first-ever construction project to be built using Doka automatic climbing technology.

To carry out the works on the structure cores, main contractors Arabian Construction Company are relying on the high-performing Doka automatic climbing formwork SKE 50 and benefiting from fast, safe and efficient forming operations.

The dedicated support given to the site crew by an experienced Doka field service technician is another crucial factor helping work on the project to run so smoothly, said an official spokesman.

The construction boom unleashed by Abu Dhabi’s headlong economic growth shows no signs of slowing. Investment activity is focused on premium hotel, office and residential developments in prime locations.

With more than 250,000 m² of useable floor-space and construction costs of over 170 million euros, the Capital Plaza Development is one of the biggest construction projects presently underway in Abu Dhabi.

Upon completion, scheduled for 2009, the complex will comprise a 260-room luxury hotel, 25,000 m² of high-quality office space and 425 luxury apartments. 21 penthouses and six sumptuous loft apartments are also planned.

Situated along The Corniche, Abu Dhabi’s magnificent coastal boulevard, the project entails the construction of five high-rise towers of between 146 m and 157 m in height. The individual buildings are interconnected by a seven-storey podium structure beneath which are four underground parking floors with more than 1200 parking spaces.

185 Doka automatic climbing formwork SKE 50 brackets, and more than 2000 m² of Top 50 large-area formwork elements, have been fielded for the works on the five in-situ concrete cores, which range up to 157 m in height.

Arabian Construction Company is raising these five structure cores in parallel with one another. Because the climbing scaffolds are firmly anchored in the concrete at all times, and are “climbed” independently of the crane by powerful hydraulic cylinders, the Doka automatic climbing formwork SKE 50 ensures the very maximum in workplace safety, in every phase of the formwork operations.

The main working platforms and the follow-up platforms are also safeguarded by a two-metre high enclosure made of sturdy trapezoidal sheet. This ensures that forming operations can continue smoothly even in very windy conditions.

The automatic climbers can be raised in large gangs by only one hydraulic unit, enabling work to progress swiftly and efficiently. To permit optimum working cycles, a concrete placing boom on each structure core is raised from one casting section to the next by two automatic climbers, in tandem with the wall formwork.

The generously sized main working platforms, and the 75 cm roll-back distance for the timber-beam formwork, leave plenty of handling space for cleaning the form-ply and applying release-agent. – TradeArabia News Service