Burj Al Arab Project Analysis - Case Study Example

Heading: Burj Al Arab Project Analysis Your name: Course name: Professors’ name: Date Executive summary This project analysis demonstrates the processes, events, phases and challenges that faced the constructors of the world tallest hotel built offshore in the Dubai. The Construction of the Burj AL Arab was a major engineering triumph of the 21st century. The rationale for the construction of the hotel was to ensure that Dubai is sustainable even after the depletion of the oil wells which are the major contributors of the country’s economy. The hotel targets foreign investment through tourism and sporting events like tennis. Several luxurious and expensive accommodations allow thousands of visitors to experience Dubai like never before. The project commenced in 1995 and completed in the eve of the new millennium in 1999. The project was mainly made up of two major phases where the value Engineering and constructability was the first phase, the actual construction was the second phase. Brief introduction to the project The project Burj Al Arab in Dubai commenced in 1995 and was completed in the year 1999 before the new millennium. Burj Al Arab is the tallest hotel in the modern world and its construction was envisioned by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid al Maktoum and his assistant and close advisor Sultan Bin Sulayem. The rationale for the construction of the Hotel was motivated by the need to make Dubai the world most exclusive tourist destination and a centre of tourist attraction. The Burj Al Arab was thus constructed to attract the richest people in the world to the Arabian Gulf Coast and also accommodate world sportsmen like Roger Federer to play their favourite tennis game at the top of the tower in the middle of the ocean. The reason to make Dubai a tourist attraction centre was because of the prediction that the oil levels would drop and became depleted by 2016 (Riewoldt 2006 p. 150). The Crown prince Sheikh Mohammed made the decision in order to improve Dubai’s future status after the oil is depleted. Burj Al Arab was constructed about 270 metres offshore and the shape of the Hotel is distinct and recognizable just like the Eiffel towers of Paris and Egyptian Pyramids. It is a natural distinction piece of architecture only unique to Dubai and thus a lasting sailor’s symbol that shows the nature of Dubai for the past 50 years. The five year project was aimed at constructing the tallest luxurious hotel, 321 metres tall and with an exclusive gravity defying projection towards the sea portion of the hotel which emulates dining in the sky in the middle of the sea. The Chief architect, Tom Wrights produced the ingenious architectural design which was welcomed by Sheikh Mohammed and thus leading to the design of the 21st century icon. The scope of the project was divided into two major phases where the value Engineering and constructability was the first phase, the actual construction was the second phase. A project stakeholder analysis There were a number of stakeholders of the Burj Al Arab hotel, the owner of the project who specifically envisioned the construction of the hotel was by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid al Maktoum and his assistant and close advisor Sultan Bin Sulayem. A group of architects from Britain were chosen to design and ensure the implementation of the project. The Chief architect was Tom Wright, Project architect was Simion Crispe. Mike McNicholas was the Island Engineer who proposed the designing of the block shapes which would dissipate water waves. Anthony McCarter was the major structural Engineer; Malcom Murphy was the Chief constructor. Volker Bulgereit was the Aerodynamist Engineer responsible for the creation of the wind resistant building. The interior designer was Khuan Chew who made the interior design elegant and breathtaking. The customers of the hotel like superior business people and other international rich guest and sportsmen like Roger Federer were the major target for hotel. The beneficiaries of the project are the people of Dubai and the Entire United Arab Emirates (Al Abbar Group 2004). A brief description of how the project was managed Since the hotel was to be a 21st Icon, the pressure was on from day one because the Sheikh directed that the hotel be constructed offshore and designed to emulate a sailor’s dhow in the middle of the ocean as a natural image of Dubai like the Eiffel towers of Paris. The design was proposed by Chief architect Tom wrights after a careful research of a design icon that could stand out and unique to Dubai. There were two main phases of the project, value Engineering and constructability was the first phase and the second phase was the actual construction itself. Since the Construction was to be done offshore, it presented numerous challenges that mainly dealt with fighting against the forces of nature. Water waves, Gulf storms, fast winds and earthquake were the major source of concern for the project managers. The fact that the project was to be done in offshore escalated the risks associated with the project (Binder 2006 p.21). The key strategy from the start of the project was to involve different engineers dealing with different issues in order to ensure a smooth progress of the project. The excavation process began in early 1995 with the drainage of water and a rock placement to create an artificial Island as the foundation for the building. The major test of engineering competence emerged in later 1995 when a strong water waves struck the Gulf forcing the constructors to halt their activities despite the limited time frame. The project remained in schedule but several modifications were done to the main architectural proposal that specifically aimed at mitigating the risk of earthquakes, fast wilds and wild Gulf storms. The structural Engineer Anthony McCarter was forced to create a stable structure as well as maintaining the elegance and the aesthetic show of the hotel. Because of the dangers of high speed winds, Volker Bulgereit Aerodynamics Engineer came up with an ingenious plan by constructing a tuned mass damper along the main frame of the building which then dissipated the effects of the fast moving winds by damping the oscillation caused by the wind (Atkins 2004). The Structural Engineer McCarter and his team were tasked with the creation of a hotel side projection emulating dining in the sea by designing and implementing a gravity defying projection at the side of the hotel. The other major concern of the hotel was the interior design which Khuan Chew was tasked to perform exceptional work to please a royalty. Her first attempt however faced a setback when the Sheikh Mohammed failed to approve her white colour of the interior design. This forced her to work extra hours to accomplish the task which resulted in a magnificent and elegant design coupled with a feeling of dining in the sea with sharks. Fountain of fires and water welcomes guests to the hotel (Al Abbar Group 2004). Because of the Sheikh’s demand of many electrical appliances in the building, Electrical engineer Rob Ruse was mandated the task of dealing with any electrical fault that could result in a hotel building because of harmonic distortion cased by electrical cables which was experienced in Las Vegas in 1980s. A careful planning and time saving strategy that was evident in Burj Al Arab simultaneous construction of the interior and the exterior was successful because of the strategic benefits of the plan. The Chief architect, Tom Wrights who monitored the construction of the Hotel ensured that the initial plan of a sailor’s dhow was not thwarted by major modifications from structural engineers because of security purposes. Tom pushed engineering limit to the edge and thus preserving the Sheikh’s vision of constructing the tallest and unparalleled Arabian tower Burj Al Arab. The major tools used in the construction process were steel, sand, harmonic dampers, deep steel base embedded on the bedrock with a height twice the hotel to support the massive weight amounting to a quarter of a million tons. The foundation of the hotel was constructed on top of sand that could resist the skin effect and liquefaction which could easily submerge the building. The hollow designed blocks were constructed on the shores of the artificial Island to mitigate the effects of massive water waves hitting the artificial highland (McBride 2004, p.116). A critical analysis of the project outcome The vision of Sheikh Mohammed coupled by the ingenious architectural prowess of Tom Wright and his team ensured that Burj Al Arab met its predicted distinct design within the time frame of 5 years. The structural engineers helped with the electrical engineers and the aerodynamics engineers ensured that the building was safe and could stand the worst effects of volatile Gulf weather and natural phenomena like earthquake. The electrical engineer Robe Ruse designed a massive filter that mirrored and cancelled harmonic distortion that could result from massive live cables in the building. The unimaginable interior design done by Khuan Chew brings out Sheikh’s true royalty and elegance more than it has ever been done. Team work and constant constructive adjustments to ensure the safety and successful completion of the project were the key contributions of the success that strategically positioned Dubai as a 21st century iconic city (Al-Abed 2004, p.19). In conclusion, the project achieved its objective and brought forth a 21st century tallest hotel ever build by man offshore. The power of strategic and successful project management process was well demonstrated by the success of the Burj Al Arab. As a manager, I have acquired substantial project management skills from this project. The major aspect of this project that really thrills me is the safety strategic approach of the natural disasters as well as internal electrical faults that could affect the building. This is what I learn as a manager and I will closely consider such aspects in future. As evident in this case, beauty was not compromised for safety; I will however consider safety as opposed to beauty in future because of the unparalleled importance of safety. References Al Abbar Group 2004, “Custom Projects: Burj Al Arab(Chicago Beach Hotel)”. Retrieved May 10, 2011 from www. Alabbargroup.com. Al-Abed, I &Vine, P 2004, United Arab Emirates yearbook 2005, Trident Press Ltd , London. pp.18-27. Atkins 2004, “Design and Engineering Solutions”. Retrieved May 10, 2011 from www.wsatkins.com. Binder, G 2006, Tall buildings of Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Images Publishing, New York. pp. 20-27. McBride, E 2004, ”Burj Al Arab” Architecture, Washington, Aug, 2000, issue. 8, pp. 116, 12 pgs. Riewoldt, O 2006, New hotel design, Laurence King Publishing, New York. PP. 149-160. Appendix Factsheet Involved in the project: Architecture: WS Atkins & Partners Overseas, Dubai www.wsatkins.com Lighting design, interior: Maurice Brill, London www.mbld.co.uk/ Lighting design, exterior: Jonathan Speirs and Associates Ltd., Edinburgh www.lightarch.com/ Interior design: KCA International, London www.kca-int.com Technical data  Height 321 m  Floors (above ground) 60  Year (of completion) 1999  Lifts 18  Web-site of the hotel: www.jumeirahinternational.com/baa/inde Read More