The Middle East is currently undergoing unprecedented development in the field of architecture. Reynaers has had a branch in Bahrain since 2004, and the company is therefore playing an increasingly significant role in the region. One of the highlights – in every sense of the word – is the involvement of Reynaers in the realisation of the Sport City Tower in Doha, Qatar. With its highest point 320 metres above the ground, this tower – also known as the Aspire Tower – is currently the tallest structure in the country.
 
The tower has a great diversity of functions, with a hotel on the lower seventeen floors, a health club with a protruding swimming pool, a conference centre, a Presidential Suite at a height of 150 metres above ground level, a sports museum at 184 metres with an observation deck, and a revolving restaurant at a height of 200 metres. The building was designed by the architect Hadi Sumaan in collaboration with Arup & Partners, Bureau Happold and MaP3. The main contractor is Midmac-Six Construct. The tower has forty thousand square metres of floor space and comprises a concrete core encased in a double skin façade designed and produced by Reynaers. For this project, the Reynaers Institute engineers carried out thorough research into the physical constructional properties of the façade of this building. The unusual streamlined form of the tower, combined with the extreme climate, demanded a careful analysis of the façade. This façade is made up of aluminium profiles, extruded in Saudi Arabia in accordance with Reynaers’ specifications, along with glass and rustproof wire mesh. Trials were carried out at the Reynaers Institute in order to test the waterproofing and windproofing of the façade, and to be able to calculate the effects of wind on the design. This façade also incorporates an advanced system of programmable artificial light.
 
DEADLINE
On top of the already considerable complexity of this project came the unrelenting schedule. At the end of 2006, the tower served as the symbol of the fifteenth Asian Games, which were held in Qatar. During the Games, a ten-metre tall Olympic flame burned at the top of the tower. This event meant that the tower had to be completed before a very strict deadline, a deadline that was met with time to spare. The structure was complete eleven days before the opening ceremony of the Games, and the flame could be lit, 287 metres above the ground, sheltered from the wind by the extension of the façade up to a height of 320 metres. The project was completed in May 2007 and the building was put into use. The Olympic flame has now made way for a laser, which can be seen for miles around.
The fact that the Aspire Tower was finished in time can justifiably be considered an achievement of Olympic proportions. Reynaers Aluminium was only contracted to create the façade in January 2006! By starting work at a rapid rate on the extrusion of the total of 350 tonnes of aluminium, we were able to supply the material to the Belgian firm JAP – who constructed the façade – from April onwards.
 
MATERIALS
The bases for the façade are the CW 50 and CW 86 façades, with a large number of specially designed profiles. All aluminium profiles feature a layer of silver metallic paint in order to match the rustproof mesh. “Reynaers has delivered a total solution in its double skin façade. We designed aluminium profiles that satisfy the demands of this architecture and this project. A special solution was developed for the water drainage, which was tested extensively and which satisfies our strict standard for airproofing, waterproofing and wind resistance,” according to Frank Goudman, exports director at Reynaers Aluminium. With a wave of construction that is likely to continue for several years, the Middle East represents an important growth market for Reynaers. The company has now brought new products onto the market there, such as the Eco System and CS 86-HI, and GP 51 sliding windows made entirely of glass in aluminium frames, with no vertical struts.