Arabian Construction Company (ACC) is celebrating its role in garnering a major award for its Abu Dhabi tower - Burj Mohammed Bin Rashid - which has been voted the sixth best new skyscraper in the world.

The UAE-based construction firm was the main contractor for the tower, which collected its prestigious accolade in the Emporis Skyscraper Awards 2014.

This is the fourth tower constructed by ACC that has won Emporis awards in the last seven years. The first recognition came in 2007 for its Rose Tower at Dubai which was ranked seventh; then in 2009 for Almas Tower, Dubai (8th) and finally in 2011 for the Etihad Towers at Abu Dhabi (3rd).

Standing at 382m, the 92-storeyed Burj Mohammed Bin Rashid has been named the tallest building in Abu Dhabi and the 27th tallest building in the world, said a statement from ACC.

Designed by Foster and Partners and developed by Aldar Properties, the tower got completed last year, said the main contractor.

According to ACC, the development was both one of the largest construction projects in the world and one of the most technically challenging it had been involved in.

"Everyone at ACC who worked on the Burj Mohammed is proud to see it internationally recognised as the world-class structure that it is," stated Mohamad A Sadik, the project director at ACC.

"The design elements - such as the world’s tallest scenic lift, the world's highest swimming pool and the slanted roof - all contributed to the complexity of the build and required innovative construction methods to ensure we could deliver the architect's vision safely and to the highest standards," he added.

Among the other specific challenges faced by the Burj Mohammed Bin Rashid, which forms part of the 700,000 sq m mixed-use Abu Dhabi World Trade Centre complex, were the logistics of transporting over 3,000 workers and materials to the buildings’ top level floors, said the contractor.

The tower’s 474 apartments and penthouses are serviced by a structural scenic lift from the basement to level 85, the technicalities of its installation meaning that ACC had to find innovative structural and concrete works methods.

The BMU (building maintenance unit) which is used to clean the outside of the roof from levels 88+ had to be specially designed and tested to ensure absolute safety for the people who will work in it to clean the roof. The system was specifically developed for the tower and is the first of its kind in the world, it stated.

Sadik pointed out that the roof alone on the Burj Mohammed Bin Rashid was one of the most complicated ever attempted.

"A big challenge was to ensure the BMU, which is used by workers to clean the 1700 sq m of glass on the outside of the roof, as well as replace glass safely - was safe and functional. This was no easy task considering the BMU has to traverse the roof at a 50 degree angle and weighs more than 15 tons," he explained.

"The result was a fully functioning prototype system which is a groundbreaking piece of equipment," he added.

The Emporis Skyscraper Award is the world's most renowned prize for high-rise architecture and has been issued on an international basis annually since 2000.

The primary judging criteria are excellence in aesthetic and functional design. Also the buildings must have a minimum height of 100m and should have been completed during the previous calendar year.

The final decision is taken by a jury of architecture experts who select a winner each year.-TradeArabia News Service