Dubai’s latest apartment complex is now close to completion, promising its occupants a royal experience within its respendent limestone façade that is influenced by ancient Arabia and the exotic Mediterranean.

01 April 2010

THE Limestone House project located within the Dubai International Financial City (DIFC) is nearing its final stages of completion including the commissioning and de snagging.

Standing 14 storeys tall, the property epitomises luxury and elegance behind its limestone façade. Located in a commanding position within the DIFC, adjacent to the Gate Precinct within the Gate Boulevard district and at a close proximity to the Dubai Metro system, the project features 323 luxury apartments.
Lush gardens juxtaposed with a traditional stone façade give the project a ‘desert oasis’ feel, according to a spokesman for Union Properties (UP), the owner and developer.
“A full-height atrium, sunken garden, spa, restaurants, bars and retail shops connect our signature luxury apartment building to The Ritz-Carlton, a five-star property with 341 rooms and 124 executive serviced apartments,” he says.
A striking feature of the project is a 10-storey waterfall cascading down the building directly into the courtyard, along with several shaded terrace areas, creating a relaxing ambiance.

Limestone House
Built around a street-styled courtyard, which creates a sense of exclusive access for individual apartments, Limestone House is serviced by its own elevators, with apartments located on 14 floors of the building. Each floor has 12 apartments distributed over eight cores.
The apartments include 89 one-bedroom, 110 two-bedroom, 111 three-bedroom and 13 four-bedroom units.
“All apartments have been finished to the highest standards on a par with any penthouse décor. A central atrium courtyard provides access to eight cores areas having two elevators each,” he says.
The amenities comprise complete concierge facilities to health and wellness offerings, including an indoor lap pool, a state-of-the-art fitness centre, Jacuzzi plus separate changing facilities for men and women, with steam rooms in each. In addition, a tranquil, private terrace with a sunken garden provides a natural environment in which to relax.
To ensure the utmost privacy and personalized entry for the residents, the development will provide exclusive lift access that serves a limited number of apartments with secured parking entry and access control to operate the designated elevator to the resident’s home.
Three basement levels are dedicated for parking with 574 car slots for residents and visitors. There is an option for valet parking service.
Retail space located on the ground and podium levels of the building is provided to complement the development and will include a mix of luxury shops and exclusive food and beverage outlets.
Commenting on the project, the spokesperson says: “The vision of the project is to provide exclusive luxury apartments for a select few discerning buyers by constructing a highly prominent complex focusing on opulence, style and traditional luxury.
“Featuring an exceptional blend of architectural décor influenced by ancient Arabia and the exotic Mediterranean, this unique residence has been designed to the time-honoured specifications of the master stonemason, with window length, breadth and height determined by the traditional dimensions of masonry blocks. The development is a glorious representation of highly distinguished, luxurious living for the elite few, through the inclusion of exquisite marble and timber finishes.

“Great care has been taken to ensure the space within each home exudes classic style and functionality. Exquisite craftsmanship can be seen from the timber flooring to the mosaic tiles in the bathroom and the fully-fitted, elegant yet practical kitchen designed with an exacting eye for detail.”
Limestone House has been designed by the reputed architects Gensler, an award-winning firm based in London.
The building sits on a raft foundation on piles and its superstructure comprises a concrete frame. The flooring is a combination of stone, carpet and timber while the exterior facades feature Valange stone from France.
Foundation works on the project were launched in June 2006 while work on the superstructure started in January 2007. Commenting on challenges faced during construction, the spokesman says: “Construction progressed smoothly with no major challenges faced except that the large building was to be constructed on a congested site footprint.”

Hotel & serviced apartments
The Ritz-Carlton, DIFC, features 341 guestrooms and suites including two Ritz-Carlton Suites, 124 serviced apartments ranging in size from 125 to 350 sq m and comprising one- to four-bedroom, furnished luxury units.
Dining and entertainment options include Blue Rain, a signature Thai fine-dining restaurant, Can Can, a French brasserie, the Centre Cut steakhouse, the Lobby Lounge and Terrace and No 5 cigar bar located adjacent to the direct walkway to the financial centre.
The hotel encompasses a total of 2,000 sq m of meeting and conference space, including a 1,400 sq m grand ballroom that is divisible into four or eight meeting rooms and a business centre.
The top two floors of the hotel will be dedicated to guests of The Ritz-Carlton Club, and features an extra measure of privacy and amenities for guests.
Recreational amenities will include a health club and spa, as well as both indoor and outdoor swimming pools. Residents of the serviced apartments will be able to utilise all services offered by the hotel including housekeeping, catering, concierge, and in-room dining.

Electro-mechanical works
MEP (mechanical, electrical and plumbing) systems of the hotel and Limestone House project were designed by Hyder Consulting with Norman Disney and Young creating the lighting design base package. The project is standard in all design matters and material. Each unserviced apartment has full control over its integral power, lighting, air-conditioning and colour video access control system. Each apartment has full fire detection and fire suppression systems fed and monitored centrally around the building.
The Ritz-Carlton hotel utilises the same services as Limestone House with the exception of video access. The hotel guest rooms and suites boast luxury fittings and furnishings such as bathroom mirror TVs, WiFi portable telephone and remote audio-video accessory plates, allowing guests to hook up their laptops or MP3 players direct to the room TV from the comfort of a desk.
The swimming pool at roof level offers heating or cooling, allowing it to be used throughout the year.

Finishing & furnishing
The flooring of the one and two-bedroom apartments at the Limestone House features brushed Wenge timber, while the kitchens have black and white composite tiles. Bathrooms have glass ceramic tiles with timber vanity and natural stone tops and glass sliding doors.
The floors of the three and four-bedroom feature brushed Walnut timber, while kitchens have brown and cream composite tiles and bathrooms have glass ceramic tiles with timber vanity and natural stone tops and glass sliding doors.
The kitchens are all fitted with Beumatic stainless steel appliances
Public areas feature Valange stone and timber panelling for the wall finishes and a white marble stone floor finish.
The typical bathrooms of the hotel feature Lubna stone from Oman for the walls and floors. Other finishes for the hotel include Anegre timber panelling in the guestrooms, Port St Laurent marble (Morocco) for kitchen tops and surrounds and Statuario Bianco for shower benches.
The walls and floors of the hotel’s public areas are have with Valange stone and Marfel stone (Italian/Spanish), while other areas have wall panelling comprising Anegre/Sycamore wood (ballroom, pre-function and meeting rooms, various fabric panels (20 types) as well as wall-coverings (30 types). Crama Arbescato Corchia (Italy) has been used for the spa, gym walls and floors.
Reception tops are of Dark Enperador from Spain. Other highlights of the finishes include antique mirrors (Italy); crystal branch ceiling features including custom-made chandeliers (Czech Republic) in the main lobby, nickel silver lifts surrounds and doors (from Japan), custom-made and hand-tufted carpets (Ireland), silver-leaf on ceiling in selected areas (France) and hand-tufted rugs from Turkey.

The developer
Union Properties, one of the UAE’s leading property investment developers, was set up in 1987. Celebrating over 20 years of growth, innovation and attention to detail, UP is reputed for its professionalism and integrity throughout the UAE, serving public institutions, multinational corporations, the business community and the private sector. Today, it boasts an annual turnover of more than $800 million and projects under construction valued at $5.5 billion.
The company’s comprehensive range of services include properties investment and development, project management, interior design and fit-out, property management, facilities management and mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) contracting tailored to specific needs through its business associates and subsidiary companies.
Its subsidiary companies include Dubai Autodrome, Speedcar Series, F1-X, The Fitout, Edara, ServeU, Thermo, Gmamco and Emicool and associates comprise Regus, Marriott Executive Apartments and Courtyard by Marriott.
Its portfolio of more than 24 projects, includes iconic commercial, residential and leisure developments, ranging from high-rises to multi-use complexes, hotels and theme parks; such as The Tower, Green Community, Uptown Mirdiff, Net.community, Index, Limestone House and MotorCity.
“The success of UP is reflected in the company’s steady growth accomplished by the commitment and support of more than 17,000 employees in all fields. This success is built upon six basic principles forming the company's ethical code: quality, service, innovation, care, trust and diversity,” says the spokesman.
Its current projects include:
• MotorCity, a development based on a unique automobile and motor sport theme that includes residential, business, sports and leisure opportunities. It is ‘a city within a city’ with five project components – Business Park MotorCity, Dubai Autodrome, F1-X Dubai, Green Community MotorCity and Uptown MotorCity – spread over an area of 38 million sq ft along Emirates Road.
• Index, an 80-storey multi-purpose tower located in DIFC with state-of-the-art offices designed for multinational corporations and luxury apartments. Index is described as the first of a new era of ‘intelligent buildings’ that are destined to be the skyscrapers of the future.

Link for the Statistics for the complex:

Link for the Key players:

• White Wonder
• NDY delivers hi-spec MEP, lighting designs
• Aluma table forms fast-track project
• Apartments don folcra’s facades

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