Monitoring Dubai's Iconic Towers

The instrumentation of buildings and structures during the construction phase is necessary to provide early warning through regular or continuous monitoring for any undue ground movements affecting it. Structural monitoring allows for timely preventive measures, saving the loss of property and life.

For existing buildings, it's crucial to monitor them regularly to ensure proper maintenance and safety. Encardio-rite is associated with the structural monitoring of various monuments and buildings, One Za'abeel being one of them.

Located in Dubai, One Za'abeel is one of the most iconic towers in the world. Let's discuss the project overview and Encardio's scope of work for the same.

One Za'abeel Project Overview
One Za’abeel is located at the heart of Dubai, between the old and new business districts, with overhead connectivity to the Za’abeel Park.

One Za'abeel is an engineering marvel and a mixed-use development project, comprised of two towers, connected by a sky bridge. Tower A and Tower B lie on either side of an elevated Government of Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) bridge that passes through the center of the plot.

Tower A stands at 305 m with 66 levels consisting of residential, commercial, and hotel areas while Tower B is a 240 m structure dedicated to residential apartments.

Both the towers stand on a common podium that has four levels. The connecting link bridge cantilevers 70 m beyond the tallest tower. The project also includes the construction of a couple of pedestrian bridges between the site—DWTC and Zaa’beel Park.

Further to this, One Za'abeel boasts 6-level basement car parking that required excavation to depths ranging from 23.8 to 25 m depth below ground level. Additionally, the basements are to be connected by two tunnels located below the existing elevated road, bisecting the two towers.

Encardio-rite Monitoring Solutions for One Za'abeel
Automatic online monitoring was proposed by us, considering the criticality of safety monitoring of the complete project. Several geotechnical and geodetic instruments installations were done at the bridge and piers. Automatic data loggers were used to monitoring the effects of the construction.

The monitoring work was divided into three sections

1. Bridge monitoring
2. Pier monitoring
3. Ground/Shoring wall monitoring

Encardio-rite Turnkey Services for One Za'abeel

Encardio-rite was given the sub-contract for the complete monitoring works of the iconic One Za'abeel that included:

1. Supply and Installation of geotechnical and geodetic instruments
2. Online monitoring of critical parameters and areas
3. Manual monitoring of geotechnical instruments
4. Automatic as well as manual Surveying
5. Daily & weekly reporting with evaluation & interpretations
6. Pre-construction condition monitoring of Al Saa’ da Bridge

Geotechnical Instruments used in the One Za'abeel Project

For excavation works and ground monitoring:

1. Inclinometers: To monitor lateral movement and deflection of soil between construction area, piers, and deformation of earthworks as well as shoring wall
2. Standpipe Piezometers: To monitor water level/drawdown during construction
3. Prism targets: To monitor the movement of the shoring wall

For monitoring the existing bridge and pier:

1. Strain Gauges: To monitor strains and stresses in via-duct
2. Prism targets: To monitor the displacement of the bridge and piers
3. Temperature sensors: To record temperature variation

Carrying out the installation of strain gauges in the existing bridge was pretty crucial, as the installation was done inside the bridge viaduct following the ‘confined space safety norms’.

Online monitoring using advanced automatic data loggers and data acquisition systems was done for the geotechnical sensors that were critical. The prism targets installed on piers were monitored using 3 automatic total stations and complex control boxes with 20 min monitoring frequency.

All the monitored data (automatic and manual) was available online through Encardio-rite's web-based data management system to the contractor, client as well as the consultant on their desktops. 

Monitoring reports were also presented for geotechnical and geodetic monitoring data on a daily and weekly basis. Monitoring reports included interpretations of variations observed in instrument data with respect to the construction progress in the respective area.