Another unique skyscraper project has been completed in the UAE and it features the longest cantilever in the world, designed by Japanese consultants.
At 67.5 metres, part of the structure forms a bridge between two towers of 59 and 68 storeys, known as One Za’abeel, and sits 100 metres above a six-lane highway. The cantilever has overtaken Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands’ observation deck measuring 66.5 metres for a new world record.
The cantilever, known as The Link, was lifted into place in 2020 in two parts and took a fortnight to complete.
The Link comprises three storeys of restaurants and bars with column-free interiors and at one end, a glass floor with views to the road below. Atop The Link is also an infinity pool.
Nikken Sekkei, 124 year-old Japanese planners, architects and engineers, was the lead consultant on the One Za’abeel build. The construction contractor was Alec Engineering and Contracting of Dubai which completed the project in just over three years.
There are 14 basement levels spit evenly across the two towers and retail/leisure facilities including gardens and a pool, in The Podium, a three-storey structure that links the towers at ground level.
The project met the Gold standard requirements of the LEED green building certification due to energy-saving technologies such as automated electrical, lighting, ventilations systems, and an energy-efficient glass façade system.
Another record-breaking cantilever is on the Busan Cinema Center in South Korea, which opened in 2012 and features a column-free roof of 85 metres, making it the world’s longest cantilever roof.
Image: Nikken Sekkei.
About the author
Desi Corbett
Desi is our weekly news journalist and the editor of Concrete in Australia magazine for 10 years. She has been heavily involved in all forms of engineering since 2013; part of a 30-year writing career across a range of subjects and media.