One JBR Tower

Opened in 2020 after a five-year construction period, One JBR Tower in Dubai (UAE) is a gleaming residential development in the Dubai Marina district with a height of 239 metres and a built-up area of 74,000m² on 47 floors. A total of 163 residential units offer 2-, 3-, 4- and 5-room apartments as well as penthouses. One JBR is the only residential property in the area with direct beach access.

All flats have an unobstructed view of the Palm Jumeirah, the Ain Dubai and the Arabian Gulf. Therefore, the rear side of the building had to be a closed façade, which, with a total area of approx. 16,000 m2 , forms the largest single façade in the Middle East region. It was designed as a thermally insulated façade and clad with high-quality pigmented precast concrete panels ranging in size from 4.60 to 18.95 m² and weighing between 1.15 and 4.75 tonnes.

In order to determine the wind loads for the design of the outer shell of the building, the wind load of the building was investigated. From the results of the wind tunnel tests carried out, net wind loads of between -4.5 kPa (wind suction) and +5.0 kPa (wind pressure) were obtained for the façade, which still had to be subjected to a partial safety factor of 1.6 for the wind load.

The resulting impacts for the dimensioning of the fastening system of the façade elements were thus extremely high. Based on previous experience with comparably demanding projects, the façade construction company e.Construct Dubai asked the managing director of FAPINEX, Mr. Nazih Ghanem, for support in the planning and execution of the façade. In close cooperation between FAPINEX and Leviat's engineering team, specially dimensioned components were developed and manufactured that were outside the standard range and specially designed for the high wind load effects present in this project. Approx. 2,000 HALFEN Precast panel anchor FPA in combination with approx. 2,000 HALFEN Spacer bolts DS-13 and HALFEN Adjustable restraint anchors as well as approx. 3,500 HALFEN Dowel restraints HFV were used for the fastening of the approx. 1,000 concrete facade elements. The planning, production and delivery of the required components took place on time and the project was completed within the schedule and in the expected quality.