Toshiba VT Enhances Riyadh Project

DAMAC collaborates with Italian designer Fendi in Saudi Arabian capital.

DAMAC Properties is one of the premier developers of luxury high rises in the Middle East, with numerous projects in the U.A.E., Qatar, Oman and Saudi Arabia, among others. For a new project in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Dubai-based DAMAC teamed up with renowned Italian designer Fendi Casa to create DAMAC Exclusiva-Fendi Tower. This 30-story, 150-m-tall tower was conceived to be one of the Saudi capital’s most-exclusive addresses, bringing high-end apartments to a site on King Fahd Road facing Kingdom Tower in the heart of the city.^[1] A second, taller tower, the DAMAC Paramount Hotel, rose 37 stories on an adjacent site.^[2]

For the vertical-transportation (VT) system, DAMAC engaged frequent collaborator Toshiba Elevator Middle East (TELME), working through its Saudi Arabia distributor, M/s. Al-Futtaim Engineering & Technologies (AFET).

DAMAC Exclusiva offers opulent living arrangements, including apartment service facilities, fully equipped kitchens, special in-room beauty services and childcare, a kids’ club, private parking, expansive temperature-controlled swimming pools, ultra-luxurious health clubs for men and women and a breathtaking tower lobby with grand interiors. Residents are offered their choice of 100 private serviced one-, two- or three-bedroom suites or top-floor penthouses, with interiors designed by Fendi Casa. The hotel tower offers 215 guest rooms.^[2]

The VT contract, signed by Shamsul Haq, AFET Elevator Division general manager, called for a system that would cater to the traffic demand of the project based on specifications. TELME supplied and installed four sets of 1275-kg/17- person, 300-m/min units in one tower, and four sets of passenger elevators with a top speed of 360 m/min in the other. To cater to the back-end operations demands, TELME installed one service elevator in each tower with a 1350-kg/18-person capacity and travel speed of 150 m/min. The service elevators serve all the floors in the building and are designated fire lifts.

All elevators in this project are designed and manufactured based on EN 81-1 code with specific operations including power- failure, seismic and fire operation, and also meet ASME 17.1 code. All landing doors and entrance assembly units have a two-hour fire rating.

The high-speed permanent-magnet motors and controllers were supplied from the Toshiba factory in Tokyo-Fuchu, Japan.

Passenger elevators in both towers have a special etched-design hairline finish for the entrance doors and accessories. Cabin interior finishes were carried out by Fendi. These unique finishes were augmented with a special titanium metallic paint on the cabin doors and ceiling.

This project posed a tight delivery schedule and an equally challenging installation schedule, but with the coordination of the local AFET team and TELME, the project was successfully completed, and these towers were provided with elevators offering good riding comfort and gleaming interiors. Various challenges and critical meetings were managed by both AFET and TELME.

The VT systems are equipped with Toshiba’s Elevator Monitoring System (EMS) to oversee the status of all the elevators. This system provides real-time details of elevator position, direction of travel, emergency system, etc.

References
[1] www.skyscrapercenter.com/building/damac-esclusiva-luxury-serviced-apartments/15233
[2] www.skyscrapercenter.com/building/damac-paramount-hotel/16253