Capital Gate is ADNEC’s (Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Company) gravity-defying new tower in the United Arab Emirates capital. Its engineers created an 18-degree westward lean – four times the inclination of the Leaning Tower of Pisa – using complex diagrid structures that were aligned geometrically using Tekla BIM software.
World’s most inclined tower
Tekla software has been used to detail some of the world’s most iconic buildings. Its three-dimensional modeling functions allow for making gravity-defying architectural designs a reality. The 3D coordinates for each diagrid component of the Capital Gate tower were calculated using Tekla Structures, which ensured seamless integration and assembly of the frame and its supporting beams.
“Tekla solutions help craft even the most complicated designs, and Capital Gate is yet another example of Tekla’s ability to help Eversendai design and model iconic marvels,” said Managing Director of Tekla in the Middle East. Capital Gate is a 35-storey illustrious iconic tower of 525 feet, part of the Capital Centre development around the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre. It features a presidential-style luxury hotel and office spaces. Leaning towards one direction to an angle of about 18 degrees, the tower has been nominated for the consideration of Guinness Book of World Records as ‘the world’s most inclined building’.
13,000 tons of steel
The structure features a cantilevered internal atrium at 17th and 18th floors to accommodate the facilities of the projecting swimming pool and tea lounge. Diagrid technology has been adopted in the construction of the structure. Each diamond of the external cladding is supported by the steel diagrid panel. To maintain the required curved surface profile, every panel surface is slightly deviating with respect to the adjacent panel surfaces. External diagrid members are of rectangular hollow tubes whereas the internal diagrid members are of circular hollow pipes. External diagrid members provide secondary supports for the wave-shaped ‘Splash’ structure from 19th level down to the bottom, providing an attractive sun shade to the tower.
