Tower developers apply for world record status

RECORD BID: Developers behind Capital Gate in Abu Dhabi have made an application to the Guinness Book of Records.

Developers behind the Capital Gate project in Abu Dhabi have submitted a joint application to the Guinness Book of Records to recognise the tower as the “most inclined in the world”.

Capital Gate leans westward an astonishing 18 degrees; by comparison the Leaning Tower of Pisa leans less than 4 degrees. Because of its posture, the tower is being constructed on top of an incredibly dense mesh of reinforced steel.

The dense mesh sits above an intensive distribution of 490 piles which have been drilled 30 metres underground to accommodate the gravitational, wind and seismic pressures caused by the lean of the building.

The tower forms a major part of the Capital Centre development, a $2.2 billion business and residential micro city being constructed around the thriving Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre.

Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (ADNEC), which is developing the iconic building, and RMJM, project architects, have made the application for the world record.

Simon Horgan, CEO of ADNEC Group, said: “Capital Gate will be a building that the world will talk about, not because it has surpassed another building as the world’s tallest, but because of its aesthetic splendour and technical achievement.”

Besides being believed to be the 'world's most inclined' building, Capital Gate also features 728 unique custom-made diamond-shaped glazing panels.

Due to the structure's curving shape, each pane of glass is different and each will be fitted at a slightly different angle.

Capital Gate will accommodate the five-star Hyatt at Capital Centre hotel and office space.

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READERS' COMMENTS

Why isn't the focus on making life comfortable for the middle class?
Posted by Mayola Dsouza, Dubai on Saturday 1 November 2008 at 16:12 UAE time

This project is yet another example of what's wrong in this country. Who will benefit from living / working in such a building? Other than the owner who will proudly boast of having attained a world record? Why isn't the government doing more to create affordable housing for the lower and middle classes instead of coming up with rules that make it difficult for them to make ends meet? I am sure Dubai and the rest of the UAE would welcome positive publicity when they choose to make affordable housing available to those who desperately need it.

Lean times
Posted by Graham Plater, Munich, Germany on Tuesday 28 October 2008 at 20:14 UAE time

It had to happen - so now all we need is the world's longest building, flanking Sheikh Zayed Road from Emirates Towers all the way down to Abu Dhabi..... Where will the senseless Gulf race to get into the Guinness Book of Records for silly buildings eventually lead? Don't the region's decision-makers understand that they are well on the way to attracting more scorn than envy from the rest of the world, which is grappling with a crippling financial crisis the likes of which have yet to be seen? Are oblique buildings going to cheer us up by giving everyone a good laugh? I can understand that Dubai desperately needs to somehow keep itself in the headlines, but maybe someone should tell the decision makers that there is something immature about concentrating on this kind of thing and forgetting the basics. How about giving the welfare of the people they need to make it all happen a bit more attention instead? And some modest, affordable, decent places to live? Now that would bring some real admiration from the masses...

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