Department of Civil Engineering

Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Technology

Gandipet, Hyderabad -500 075, India
Mega Structures: Overview on Gate Captial
Description
 Capital Gate, is being constructed on top
 Capital Gate is a skyscraper in Abu Dhabi adjacent to of a 2m deep concrete base filled with
the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre designed with an incredibly dense mesh of reinforced
a striking lean is at 160 m (520 ft) and 35 stories – the steel. This base sits above an intensive
tallest buildings in the city and inclines 18° to the west. distribution of 490 piles which have
 In June 2010, Guinness World Records certified Capital been drilled 30 metres underground to
Gate as the "World’s furthest leaning man-made tower.“ accommodate the gravitational, wind
 The tower (also known as the Leaning Tower of Abu and seismic pressures caused by the
Dhabi) is the focal point of the Capital Center/Abu lean of the building.
Dhabi National Exhibition Centre master. Project Timeline
September 2007 – Enabling works commence
Capital Tower Construction
November 2007 – Pile driving starts
 The diagrid technology formed by creating triangular April 2008 – Core wall construction starts
structures with diagonal support beams has been used February 2009 – Façade commences
to absorb and channel wind and seismic forces. May 2009 – Reaches 100 m in height
Fig 1: Section through Gate Capital Fig 2: During Construction
 The system requires less structural steel than a June 2009 – Incline starts to take shape
October 2009 – Attains final height of 160 m
conventional steel frame, reducing costs and benefiting
December 2009 – Completion of exterior core
the environment.
January 2010 – First phase of splash complete
The total weight of Capital Gate’s steel is estimated to February 2010 – Interior fit-out commences
be around 21,500 tons which compares favorably to the April 2010 – Commencement of atrium roof
110,000 tons used to build Beijing’s Bird’s Nest, the 2011 – Expected completion of construction
50,000 tons estimated for the CCTV tower in Beijing and Instructions to students:
the 36,910 tons of steel used in Malaysia’s Petronas You can present any topic of your interest
Towers in Kuala Lumpur. as a poster of any dimensions.
 Capital Gate’s ‘diagrid’ is subdivided into 722 elements Best poster (technically/reporting style/
and approximately 8,500 structural steel beams for the students explanation) will be awarded a
entire building. Each ‘diagrid’ element weighs certificate, memento and cash prize.
approximately 15 tons and sports a painted finish.
Fig 3: Gate Capital of Abu Dhabi ALL THE BEST
Sourav Ganguly III/IV (24)
Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Technology, Hyderabad