Project Description

Preparing for a projected 100 million visitors annually from only 65 million in 2012, the Dubai Mall – the world’s largest shopping mall based on total area – started its Fashion Avenue expansion. The 28,300 cubic meters expansion will add new personalized flagship stores of the world’s top brands. The massive expansion is an addition to the Dubai Mall’s existing total area of over 1.2 million square meters. The Dubai Mall is located in a newly-developed area called Downtown Dubai, a location which also includes the tallest building in the world – the Burj Khalifa.

STRUCTURAL, upon learning about the expansion plans, gave technical engineering presentations to the consultant even before the tender for the project was released. During the bid, five contractors submitted proposals and, because of its vast experience and expertise in commercial strengthening and repair, STRUCTURAL was awarded a contract to take part in this prestigious project by providing strengthening solutions.

Based on the design and engineering, it was observed that the core walls, columns, beams and some portion of the slab required strengthening due to new loading requirements. STRUCTURAL performs section enlargements using STRUCTURAL TECHNOLOGIES’ specialty ‘Form & Pump Technique’ and strengthens core walls and slabs using V-Wrap™ carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) sheets. In some locations where demolition is taking place, STRUCTURAL was also responsible for locking the PT tendons and repairing helix ramp beams.

One of the big hurdles on the project was the site’s inaccessibility during the design stage. STRUCTURAL TECHNOLOGIES’ design engineers had to make several changes due to site obstructions observed when the locations were eventually made accessible.

Despite the very tight deadline, STRUCTURAL completed the job on time while keeping quality and safety as top priorities.

Update: as the Mall’s expansion plans continue, STRUCTURAL has been retained to undertake additional strengthening works at this ever-growing prestigious project.