Index tower-advanced buiLding technology

Ajman university of science and technology Department of architectural engineering Advanced building construction technology

Muna fahed Abou Fayad 201310898 Dalal M. Al Hourani 201210747 Bashair Bashir 201210402

INDEX TOWER

Dubai, UAE

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Name: Index tower Type: Mixed-use building Building Function: residential / office Structural Material: Concrete Location: Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), Dubai, UAE Area: (site) 20,000 m² Height: 326 m Status: Completed Architect: Foster and partners Developer: Union Properties Proposed: 2003 Completion: 2005-2011 Judged as the best tall building in the Middle East and Africa by CTBUH

Brief about the Project The Index is an 80 storey multi-purpose tower with state-of-the-art offices designed for multinational corporations and luxury apartments for those who expect exceptional living.

Minimalism can refer to the extreme simplicity of a work of art. The Index building is simplicity personified.

Index is the creation of the reputed awardwinning architects Foster & Partners, a leading firm of architects in the United Kingdom whose dedication to the art and science of minimalist design has resulted in yet another iconic creation.

Facilities 

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Sixteen elevators located at the east and west end of the building dedicated to office access.

Four high speed passengers’ lift exclusive for the residential apartments only.

Sky lobby with recreational facilities including swimming pool, and a health club facility on a membership basis.

High-end F&B outlets located at the Sky lobby and the podium levels of the building.

Six basement floor parking areas with separate entrances for residences and offices.

520 luxury apartments with 25 floors of office space.

At the tower’s base, a landscaped podium creates pedestrian routes through the site and incorporates a range of places to eat, shop and socialise.

Facilities

Concept 

It is designed to minimise adverse climatic effects on the building. It is orientated so that the East and West cores shelter the floor plates from the intense heat of the sun in this region. sun shades are used on the South facade to minimise the effect of solar gain.

Environmental Consideration 

Located on a prominent corner site within the Dubai International Finance Centre, the 326 metre-high tower with an efficient design that reduces the need for mechanical cooling systems and artificial lighting., developed by Union Properties, is unusually offset against the urban grid, oriented east to west to maximise views of the desert and coastline. This orientation also reduces solar gain, as the building’s core mass absorbs heat and reduces its reliance on mechanical ventilation. A system of sunshades shelters the interiors on the exposed south elevation.

Site Context 

The perimeter of the site is marked by a colonnaded sequence of shops, and the space created between the tower and glazed façade defines a semi-private garden, a shaded grove and seating where office workers and residents can relax. The landscape of the podium draws on local species of date palms, which thrive in the desert climate and require less irrigation. Forging links with the wider master plan, the retail podium also has a lower level connection to a large internal mall, which is accessible throughout the Finance Centre.

Site Context (Podium)

Site Plan

Elevations

Side elevation

Front elevation

Design 

The building is a 326 metre-high, mixed-use development located in the heart of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). It is effectively one building on top of another, wherein lie two varying but integrated structural systems. The first 25 floors comprise high quality commercial space featuring three separate 26 metre clear span bays with no columns. Sitting above this is a 16 metre-deep composite steel and concrete transfer structure, that also supports a separate 48-storey luxury residential building. A double height sky lobby separates the offices and apartments and includes recreational facilities such as the swimming pool and gym. A further minor transfer structure on level 72 is also home to the first private substation at this height in Dubai.

48 floors(luxury residential building)

Double height lobby

25 floors( offices)

Main Section

Construction 

The floors are supported by four Aframe concrete ‘fins’ that taper as they rise.

This provides flexible, column-free office accommodation, which can be arranged to provide a headquarters for an international corporation or subdivided to support multiple tenancies.

Plans

Podium plan

Office plan

Residential plan

Structure 

A series of major ‘fins’ carry the weight of the entire 85story tower and resist all wind loads – their tapering form is a direct response to the need for increased area and breadth at the building base. In the upper half of the tower, residential floors economically use conventional concrete flat slabs by introducing intermediate columns between the fins. At the mid-height lobby level, these columns stop and transfer their loads out to the fins, leaving the office floors below to span an incredible 85 feet (27 m) column free between the fins.

A frame

fins

Façade 

The south side is covered in shadeproviding overhangs that run the entire length of the façade, blocking any direct sunlight. The shallow profile and columnless interior allows the office spaces to still receive natural light throughout.

Materials   

Concrete (frame) Glass Metal sheets (fins)

Ceiling 

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Accommodation can be delivered in Shell & Core or CAT A condition with suspended ceiling, lighting and raised floor) The ceilings rise at the windows

Flooring Carpet

Oak coffee of wood

Walnut bloom of wood

Ceramic

Cooling system 

The Index is one of the first towers in the region to intelligently embrace its climatic surrounding environment within its fundamental design principles. The tower's environmental strategy significantly lowers the requirement for central air conditioning within the building and therefore substantially reduces the energy costs for its tenants. During the height of the summer, without air conditioning, the tower's internal temperatures will not surpass 28 degrees Celsius.

Central air conditioners circulate cool air through a system of supply and return ducts. Supply ducts and registers (i.e., openings in the walls or ceilings covered by grills) carry cooled air from the air conditioner to the tower. This cooled air becomes warmer as it circulates through the tower; then it flows back to the central air conditioner through return ducts and registers.

In recognition of the skilled design and construction, The Index was awarded the 2011 Best Tall Building Middle East & Africa Award by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat – an impressive accolade in a city such as Dubai where skyscrapers dominate the horizon.

CONCLUSION