Zamil Steel advances development of Le Villaggio in Qatar
Thursday, 14th October 2004
Believed to be the Widest Clear-Span Building Ever in the PEB Industry.
Retail, Sports and Entertainment Centre a Showcase for Innovative Construction Industry Solutions
Zamil Steel, a global leader in the manufacture of pre-engineered steel buildings (PEB), is making steady progress in its project to supply and erect the 100,000 square meter steel building for Qatar's latest landmark retail, sports and entertainment centre. The 'Le Villaggio' development is evolving into a showcase for innovative construction industry solutions through the unique features and engineering design of Zamil Steel's pre-engineered buildings solutions offering.
Since commencing work in January 2004, Amana Steel Building Contracting Company, Zamil Steel's exclusive certified builder in Qatar, has successfully erected 50% of the overall steel framework and has roofed the entire central hub of the building. The forecasted completion date for the QR 35.8 million (US$ 9.6 million) project is May 2005, in line with the building schedule and adherent to the plans for a soft opening in October 2005.
Once completed, the Le Villaggio development will feature a total built up area of 145,000 square meters and as Qatar's largest shopping centre, it will offer a comprehensive, yet focused mix of major retail outlets, services and entertainment activities. These will include bowling, a fun park, a roller coaster, ice rink, an eight-theatre cinema, fast food outlets and restaurant areas, a hotel and a hypermarket. These will all be set within and around an evocative coliseum. Each of the elements will be linked together by water features, such as an indoor canal and a lake.
The exterior design will reflect an Italian hill town in form, scale, materials and colour; while the interior plan is an organic curvilinear form which uses a street metaphor to unite and connect variously themed elements and districts, which will be joined together by a circuit of specially decorated street themes.
Instead of using in-situ concrete, pre-cast concrete or structural steel materials as the main structural system, which is normally associated with the construction challenges posed by such projects, Zamil Steel's solution combines a pre-engineered steel building (PEB) system with open web joists and decking panels. This revolutionizes the traditional PEB offering and provides increased versatility, flexibility and a more value-engineered system.
A major part of the solution involved erecting a huge 93 metre wide, 144 metre long, clear-span building which will house the ice rink. This is believed to be the widest ever clear span in the PEB industry. The erection of the main frames posed a significant challenge due to the exceptional size and weight. In order to accomplish the task safely and efficiently a total of four 100-ton cranes and two 50-ton cranes were needed to lift the pre-assembled bays. Additional 25 ton cranes and manlifts were required for the connections.
The 93 meter wide clear building span is made up of 14 bays. Pre-assembly work of alternate bays was completed on the ground in advance of the erection. The first complete bay was installed on day one of the erection process. The second day saw the erection of an additional two bays. The team completed two bays each day to erect the entire structure in just over a week.
The 93 meter clear-span building is complimented by a second, smaller 66 meter clear-span building which will house the entertainment centre, arcade and amusement park. This smaller span is 100 meters long. The erection process took only four days, following 10 days of pre-assembly work. Roofing has begun over both of the clear-span areas in preparation for internal construction.
Overall, more than 15,000 square meters of mezzanine steel beams, open web joists, Hambro composite joists and steel floor decking will be used in the project. Also included are some 1,600 linear meters of suspended steel supports, which will act as frames for the chilled water pipes as well as the façade of segment sheeting which will create a wall transition for the high structure lobby area between the various shop areas.
The three-domed structure will cover an approximate floor area of 100,000 square meters and will feature some 8,000 metric tons of steel plus 115,000 square meters of Zamil Steel's insulated sandwich panels (Tempcon ®). The spans of the domes will range from 27 to 38 meters in diameter and their shapes and heights will vary from 22 to 32 meters from the finished floor level of the building.
The erection team dedicated to this project includes 16 groups of erectors, lead men, a site engineer, foremen, a surveyor, and an erection coordinator. They report to an erection manager and coordinate site activities with the project manager from the developer, in order to handle work sequences and ensure timely material delivery to the correct sites.
