Aldar HQ to be the first occupied building on Al Raha Beach

When finished in 2009, the award-winning facility will be the first occupied building within the Ultimate Waterfront City, Al Raha Beach.

To date the key milestones achieved on this project include the completion of excavation, piling, basement works and finishes, and the reinforced concrete lift cores.

30% of the steel structure that will give the structure its spherical shape has been constructed.

This steel frame will rise up 23 storeys and is connected to two large concrete cores to transfer the loads of the exterior weight to the central concrete cores.

Overall, 93% of the design is finalised and around 35% of the construction is complete.

This status has been achieved with over 2.5 million safety hours reached.

Commenting on the progress of the Aldar Headquarters, Ronald Stephen Barrott, CEO, Aldar Properties stated:

"The Aldar headquarter building is progressing on schedule; the evidence of its progress is clear as the steel framing to create the spherical structure is now beginning to take shape. The Aldar team looks forward to moving into its new home, and to witnessing the successful progress of the other landmark buildings on the Al Dana precinct on Al Raha Beach."

Prominently located in Al Dana precinct, the commercial and financial hub of Al Raha Beach, the Aldar headquarters will be a landmark within Al Raha Beach development.

Designed by the world-renowned architects, MZ & Partners, the building has recently received world-wide attention, having been proclaimed the "Best Futuristic Design" by The Building Exchange (BEX) Conference held in Valencia, Spain.

In adherence to the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating system guidelines, the building will feature extensive use of recyclable materials, prefabricated elements, and an automated vacuum waste system to ensure minimum waste creation.

Standing at approximately 110 metres in height, the building requires 5,700 tonnes of steel, 25,000 cubic metres of concrete, has an area of glass of 25,000 cubic metres, and has a volume of excavated sand of 90,000 cubic metres.

Michael Cox, Project Director, Aldar Properties, added: "The Aldar Headquarters is coming along at an excellent rate. We are pleased with the efficiency on this site in addition to realising completion on all of our key milestones to the present time. With our next focus being this spherical structure, we are again pleased that this has commenced on schedule, and we look forward to seeing this steel structure complete in its due time."