Schindler wins Phase Two of Wahat Makkah
01 July 2014
SCHINDLER Olayan Elevator Company, the Saudi-based entity of the leading global mobility provider Schindler Group, has won the second phase of the huge Wahat Makkah in Saudi Arabia, following its success on Phase One of the project.
The contract was awarded by the Wahat Makkah Development Company for an additional 100 Schindler 3300AP elevators.
Wahat Makkah is a large and high-profile integrated development on the edge of Makkah. The complex, which will have a total of 2,200 apartments when complete, will have 214 Schindler 3300AP elevators in total. Special emphasis is being placed at Wahat Makkah on respecting local cultural and heritage elements while fully exploring contemporary design opportunities.
“The city should be called ‘Schindler City’ when completed, as Schindler is the sole supplier of vertical transportation in this high-profile project,” says Mamdouh Al Harbi Wahat, CEO of Makkah Development Company.
This contract follows key contracts secured by Schindler over the past year. In September, the company secured two major deals including one to supply a commercial high-rise and the other for a governmental low-rise development.
Schindler was chosen to supply mobility solutions for the Al Rajhi Bank headquarters tower in the capital Riyadh. This 42-storey, 205-m-high tower will use the latest Schindler Port technology. The installation will include 25 elevators, including 17 Schindler 7000 elevators with speeds of up to 5 m per second.
Describing the project, a spokesman for Schindler says: “The tower is conceived as four concrete piers shielding an uninterrupted, column-free central office space within. Reminiscent of the ancient monuments of the Middle East, the monolithic concrete piers achieve a unique monumentality, and respond to the harsh desert climate by creating an internalised oasis within the central space.”
In addition, visitors will also benefit from Schindler’s destination dispatch solution Port, which is expected to provide the tower with substantial benefits in terms of energy savings, access control and transit management.
In the low-rise government project will see Schindler supplying mobility solutions for the Al Muzdalifah Government Complex, a large-scale complex in the Muzdalifah area on the edge of Makkah.
The sprawling Muzdalifah complex covers a total area of two million sq m and will include both residential and office buildings. The complex, which will have a total of 3,200 office and housing units when completed, includes 100 Schindler 3300 elevators.
Earlier last year, Schindler was chosen to supply mobility solutions for the Tadawul Tower at the King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh. This 41-storey, 208-m-high skyscraper will be the new home of the Saudi Stock Exchange or Tadawul. The installation will feature 26 elevators, including 19 Schindler 7000 elevators with speeds of up to 6 m per second, as well as eight escalators.
“Visitors to the new Tadawul headquarters will benefit from Schindler’s latest innovation in transit management, Port Technology,” says the company spokesman.
The Tadawul Tower development has been designed by Japanese architectural firm Nikken Sekkei, a world leader in sustainable design. The architects have sought to incorporate several energy-saving technologies in their planning in order to be compliant with the latest Leed (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards, the green building rating system developed by the US Green Building Council.
Innovative features in the tower include a “sunlight scooper” introducing natural sunlight, photovoltaic panels to reduce energy consumption, solar shading to help reduce cooling, mirror ducts introducing natural light to basement levels and deep inside the building, and dry mist cooling of exterior space.
Schindler Olayan Elevator Company has its headquarters in Jeddah and main branches in Riyadh, Al Khobar, Jeddah, Makkah and Madinah, as well as several maintenance offices in cities throughout the kingdom.
Products from the Switzerland-based Schindler Group can be found in many prominent buildings throughout Saudi Arabia, including office buildings, hotels, airports, shopping centres/retail establishments and specialty buildings.
