The Capital Gate by Abu Dhabi It is the most inclined building in the world: unlike what you can think, therefore, this primacy does not have the tower of Pisa. The Capital Gatein fact, is a 160 meters high skyscraper and tilted by 18 °over four times the Tuscan bell tower (which, 56 meters high, stops at about 4th). Completed in 2011, it is one of the highest buildings in the Emiratin city and entered the Guinness World Records like “FarThest Manmade Leaning Building”, parading the title to the pendant bell tower of the church of Suurhusenin Germany. With its 5.19 ° of slope, due to the failure of wooden foundations on a swampy soil, the latter is the most extreme case of accidental “crooke building”.
The structure of Abu Dhabi’s capital gate, the most inclined skyscraper in the world
Designed by the architecture studio RMJM and owned by the Adnec (Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company), the Capital Gate It is a 35 -storey skyscraper, for a total of over 53,000 square meters of surface, which houses offices and the five -star hotel Hyatt Capital Gate. If the height of 160 meters is not memorable in the skyline of the capital of the United Arab Emirates, the extreme inclination obtained thanks to an ingredient structural conception a staggered floors. Until the twelfth floor the levels are aligned, while from the thirteenth to the thirty -fifth there is a progressive slip ranging from 30 to 140 cm, generating 18th slope to the west. But how is it possible that such an inclined skyscraper remains standing in complete safety?
First of all, the capital gate stands on 490 poles of Foundation Fixtures in the ground up to 30 meters deep. On this solid base a Central nucleus pre-plunged In reinforced concrete, made with the “pre-crest” technique: that is, it was deliberately thrown out of the center, with an initial inclination opposite to the final one, so that, with the progressive addition of the plans and the increase in weight, it could gradually double until you reach the desired position. Inside the nucleus, 146 post-textic steel cables run, which pre-prepare the structure and guarantee stability.
The steel exoskeleton of the Capital Gate skyscraper
The powerful also contributes to counteracting the gravitational shot of the slope Essecheletter in steelthe so -called “Diagrid” structure: a shirt of diagonal beams, already used in iconic buildings such as the 30 St Mary Axe in London (the famous “Gherkin” by Norman Foster), which cages the building forming a self -supporting rigid shell on the facade. In the case of Abu Dhabi’s capital, however, this expedient finds one of his most extreme applications: two diagrids were in fact necessary for the inclination. The first, external, which gives rise to 720 different rhomboid sections closed by 12,500 triangular glass panelsdefines the silhouette of the tower; The second, internal, is instead connected to the central nucleus through eight structural elements. In this complex system, the external grid has the task of supporting the floors, while the internal one, connected to it, to transfer their loads to the central nucleus by eliminating the need to insert intermediate pillars.
The facade with Double glass with low emissivenessdesigned to maintain fresh interiors and eliminate reflections without compromising transparency, integrates different sustainable solutions: pre-water the exhaust air between the two “skins” of the building, reducing energy consumption, and works in synergy with the Havened structure in stainless steel overlapping it. Known as “The Splash”, this metal waterfall drops from the 19th floor, where the panoramic overhang swimming pool is located, then protrude horizontally and turn into a large shelter. In addition to characterizing the aesthetic of the skyscraper, it reduces the solar thermal gain by 30% and acts as a screen to shade the hotel entrance, contributing to passive cooling of the building.
