Once the basement was completed, the remaining structure went on in typical floorwise manner.
Focus on functionality
MSCEB details the design theme and the construction work that went into the Arab Bank
01 October 2001
The architecture of the Arab Bank Headquarters is an interesting combination of modern and traditional Islamic elements, says Umesh Bangera, projects director at Bahrain-based Mohamed Salahuddin Consulting Engineering Bureau (MSCEB).
MSCEB was the design and supervision consultant for the project.
''The arches at the main and side entrances along with various engraved patterns in glass, granite and stone reflect traditional Islamic style whereas the building itself has an imposing modern appearance with rectangular double-glazed windows and a strip of curtain-walling,'' he says. ''The building has been designed primarily with functionality in mind. The layout of office spaces, core areas and staircase elements stand as proof to this basic principle.''
The building plot lacked the luxury of space, A N Balakrishnan, senior project engineer at MSCEB points out. Hence, it was necessary to incorporate a larger number of floors to accommodate all office spaces and two basements to accommodate various services and parking spaces, he adds.
Construction work on the project commenced in mid-February 1999 and building was practically completed by mid-November 2000.
Elaborating on the construction of the project, Balakrishnan says: ''The foundation consists of a combination of raft and pile foundations, with most of the load being taken by the raft foundation.
''The construction works started with the driving of contiguous piles all around the basement area.
''The necessity for two basement levels created unique problems. Besides requiring continuous dewatering during the construction of the basement, the double basement depth necessitated that additional bracing supports were provided to piles approximately at 3.5 m below ground level during the excavation process.
''The excavation was carried out in two phases. After the initial depth of 5 m, the piles were braced and the remaining excavation work was carried out. The bracings were eventually removed after the construction of basement concrete walls.
''The basement excavation depth was about 10 m below the existing ground level. The raft slab constructed was 1,700 mm deep.
''The concreting of the raft slab itself - consisting of about 2,200 cu m of concrete - required accurate planning. The concreting took 24 hours to complete. Immense planning also went into ensuring that heat of hydration did not detrimentally affect the concrete while the setting process was on.
''Once the basement was completed, the remaining structure went on in typical floorwise manner.''
''One interesting point to note is that the dewatering continued up to the construction of the fourth floor of the building to ensure that the foundation was sufficiently loaded to counteract the upward thrust of the water table,'' Bangera adds.
The building has office areas and core areas. The core areas have one of the emergency staircases, three passenger and one passengercumfreight elevators, toilet blocks and electromechanical services rooms.
The office areas have an open plan and have been constructed with demountable partitions and gypsum board/timber partitions.
''One of the highlights of the building is the extensive use of raised access floors on every level from the mezzanine floor upwards. This gives enormous flexibility for running services underneath and for changing service lines in the future,'' says Gautam Mundkur, manager- architecture and design at MSCEB.
The main contractor for the project was AlwardiZachariades which also provided the full electromechanical services and carried out the full interior works and aluminium/glass installation.
Balakrishnan continues: ''The facade of the building consists of extensive limestone cladding in designed panels. Most of the cladding material has come from Jordan complemented by Chasagne Mastic limestones from France. All limestone panels are 30 mm thick and dry cladded to the insulated wall. The cladding has been installed using stainless steel fixings manufactured by HAZ of the UK. Extensive design work has gone into establishing the adequacy of these stainless steel fixing elements.''
Great care was also taken in the selection of Jordanian stones, Mundkur points out. ''Shade variations have been kept to a minimum, which in itself was a major task. The French stones, on the other hand, exhibited more uniformity. All stone cladding subcontract works were carried out by Al Sakra Contracting from Jordan. Granites in Islamic patterns have been used for the flooring in the arcade areas, all elevator lobbies and the banking hall. The granite flooring was installed by the subcontractor, Italian Products. Interior decoration elements were carefully selected depending upon the functional usage of the particular floor.
''Extensive counters have been installed on the ground and mezzanine floor. The banking hall is adorned with special wall-lights and chandeliers. Stainless steel panels have been incorporated into counter fronts and back walls to enhance the decor of the area. The walls on the seventh floor have mainly wood panelling.''
M & E services
The building has four roof-mounted air-cooled chillers with a total capacity of 400 tonnes. Each floor has an air-handling unit (AHU) in the core area from which the air is fed to the floor. ''A roof-mounted fresh air unit delivers the necessary fresh air into the airconditioning system. Air is extracted through the toilets and kitchen. The building is kept at an overall positive pressure, to minimise the chances of untreated outside air entering it,'' Balakrishnan says.
The building is also equipped with a fire alarm system, sprinkler fire-protection system, security and access control, wet riser system, building management system and structured cabling for telephone and data.
The four elevators are manufactured by Otis. They have brush-finished stainless steel interiors and granite floorings. The lifts were supplied and installed by JA Zayani.
