634
Global
Height rank

The Gate Residential Tower 1

Abu Dhabi
Height 238.0 m / 781 ft
Floors 66
Official Name
The current legal building name.

The Gate Residential Tower 1

Other Names
Other names the building has commonly been known as, including former names, common informal names, local names, etc.

The Gate District Towers

Name of Complex
A complex is a group of buildings which are designed and built as pieces of a greater development.

The Gate Shams Abu Dhabi

Type
CTBUH collects data on two major types of tall structures: 'Buildings' and 'Telecommunications / Observation Towers.' A 'Building' is a structure where at least 50% of the height is occupied by usable floor area. A 'Telecommunications / Observation Tower' is a structure where less than 50% of the structure's height is occupied by usable floor area. Only 'Buildings' are eligible for the CTBUH 'Tallest Buildings' lists.

Building

Status
Completed
Architecturally Topped Out
Structurally Topped Out
Under Construction
Proposed
On Hold
Never Completed
Vision
Competition Entry
Canceled
Proposed Renovation
Under Renovation
Renovated
Under Demolition
Demolished

Completed, 2013

Country
The CTBUH follows the United Nations's definition of Country, and thus uses the lists and codes established by that organization.

United Arab Emirates

City
The CTBUH follows the United Nations's definition of City, and thus uses the lists and codes established by that organization.

Abu Dhabi

Function
A single-function tall building is defined as one where 85% or more of its usable floor area is dedicated to a single usage. Thus a building with 90% office floor area would be said to be an "office" building, irrespective of other minor functions it may also contain.

A mixed-use tall building contains two or more functions (or uses), where each of the functions occupy a significant proportion of the tower's total space. Support areas such as car parks and mechanical plant space do not constitute mixed-use functions. Functions are denoted on CTBUH "Tallest Building" lists in descending order, e.g., "hotel/office" indicates hotel function above office function.

residential

Structural Material
Steel
Both the main vertical/lateral structural elements and the floor spanning systems are constructed from steel. Note that a building of steel construction with a floor system of concrete planks or concrete slab on top of steel beams is still considered a “steel” structure as the concrete elements are not acting as the primary structure.

Reinforced Concrete
Both the main vertical/lateral structural elements and the floor spanning systems are constructed from concrete which has been cast in place and utilizes steel reinforcement bars.

Precast Concrete
Both the main vertical/lateral structural elements and the floor spanning system are constructed from steel reinforced concrete which has been precast as individual components and assembled together on-site.

Mixed-Structure
Utilizes distinct systems (e.g. steel, concrete, timber), one on top of the other. For example, a steel/concrete indicates a steel structural system located on top of a concrete structural system, with the opposite true of concrete/steel.

Composite
A combination of materials (e.g. steel, concrete, timber) are used together in the main structural elements. Examples include buildings which utilize: steel columns with a floor system of reinforced concrete beams; a steel frame system with a concrete core; concrete-encased steel columns; concrete-filled steel tubes; etc. Where known, the CTBUH database breaks out the materials used in a composite building’s core, columns, and floor spanning separately.

concrete

Official Website

Aldar Properties

Height
Architectural
Height is measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance to the architectural top of the building, including spires, but not including antennae, signage, flag poles or other functional-technical equipment. This measurement is the most widely utilized and is employed to define the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) rankings of the "World's Tallest Buildings."

238.0 m / 781 ft

To Tip
Height is measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance to the highest point of the building, irrespective of material or function of the highest element (i.e., including antennae, flagpoles, signage and other functional-technical equipment).
238.0 m / 781 ft
Occupied
Height is measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance to the highest occupied floor within the building.
227.7 m / 747 ft
Floors Above Ground
The number of floors above ground should include the ground floor level and be the number of main floors above ground, including any significant mezzanine floors and major mechanical plant floors. Mechanical mezzanines should not be included if they have a significantly smaller floor area than the major floors below. Similarly, mechanical penthouses or plant rooms protruding above the general roof area should not be counted. Note: CTBUH floor counts may differ from published accounts, as it is common in some regions of the world for certain floor levels not to be included (e.g., the level 4, 14, 24, etc. in Hong Kong).

66

Floors Below Ground
The number of floors below ground should include all major floors located below the ground floor level.

3

# of Apartments
Number of Apartments refers to the total number of residential units (including both rental units and condominiums) contained within a particular building.

802

# of Parking Spaces
Number of Parking Spaces refers to the total number of car parking spaces contained within a particular building.

4713

# of Elevators
Number of Elevators refers to the total number of elevator cars (not shafts) contained within a particular building (including public, private and freight elevators).

6

Top Elevator Speed
Top Elevator Speed refers to the top speed capable of being achieved by an elevator within a particular building, measured in meters per second.

7 m/s

Rankings
#
634
Tallest in the World
#
95
Tallest in Middle East
#
68
Tallest in United Arab Emirates
#
12
Tallest in Abu Dhabi
#
122
Tallest Residential Building in the World
#
30
Tallest Residential Building in Middle East
#
29
Tallest Residential Building in United Arab Emirates
#
4
Tallest Residential Building in Abu Dhabi
#
286
Tallest Concrete Building in the World
#
74
Tallest Concrete Building in Middle East
#
60
Tallest Concrete Building in United Arab Emirates
#
12
Tallest Concrete Building in Abu Dhabi
Construction Schedule
2007

Proposed

2008

Construction Start

2013

Completed

Structural Engineer
Peer Review

The Peer Review Engineer traditionally comments on the information produced by another party, and to render second opinions, but not to initiate what the design looks like from the start.

Project Manager

The CTBUH lists a project manager when a specific firm has been commissioned to oversee this aspect of a tall building’s design/construction. When the project management efforts are handled by the developer, main contract, or architect, this field will be omitted.

Other Consultant

Other Consultant refers to other organizations which provided significant consultation services for a building project (e.g. wind consultants, environmental consultants, fire and life safety consultants, etc).

Façade

These are firms that consult on the design of a building's façade. May often be referred to as "Cladding," "Envelope," "Exterior Wall," or "Curtain Wall" Consultant, however, for consistency CTBUH uses the term "Façade Consultant" exclusively.

Lighting
Material Supplier

Material Supplier refers to organizations which supplied significant systems/materials for a building project (e.g. elevator suppliers, facade suppliers, etc).

Elevator
Owner
Aldar Properties
Developer
Sorouh Real Estate
Architect
Design

Usually involved in the front end design, with a "typical" condition being that of a leadership role through either Schematic Design or Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.

Arquitectonica
Architect of Record

Usually takes on the balance of the architectural effort not executed by the "Design Architect," typically responsible for the construction documents, conforming to local codes, etc. May often be referred to as "Executive," "Associate," or "Local" Architect, however, for consistency CTBUH uses the term "Architect of Record" exclusively.

Khatib & Alami
Structural Engineer
Design

The Design Engineer is usually involved in the front end design, typically taking the leadership role in the Schematic Design and Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.

Khatib & Alami
Peer Review

The Peer Review Engineer traditionally comments on the information produced by another party, and to render second opinions, but not to initiate what the design looks like from the start.

MEP Engineer
Design

The Design Engineer is usually involved in the front end design, typically taking the leadership role in the Schematic Design and Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.

Khatib & Alami
Project Manager

The CTBUH lists a project manager when a specific firm has been commissioned to oversee this aspect of a tall building’s design/construction. When the project management efforts are handled by the developer, main contract, or architect, this field will be omitted.

Main Contractor

The main contractor is the supervisory contractor of all construction work on a project, management of sub-contractors and vendors, etc. May be referred to as "Construction Manager," however, for consistency CTBUH uses the term "Main Contractor" exclusively.

Arabian Construction Company; Orascom; Eversendai Engineering Qatar
Other Consultant

Other Consultant refers to other organizations which provided significant consultation services for a building project (e.g. wind consultants, environmental consultants, fire and life safety consultants, etc).

Façade

These are firms that consult on the design of a building's façade. May often be referred to as "Cladding," "Envelope," "Exterior Wall," or "Curtain Wall" Consultant, however, for consistency CTBUH uses the term "Façade Consultant" exclusively.

Lighting
Material Supplier

Material Supplier refers to organizations which supplied significant systems/materials for a building project (e.g. elevator suppliers, facade suppliers, etc).

Elevator

CTBUH Awards & Distinctions

Best Tall Building Middle East & Africa 2013 Award of Excellence

2013 CTBUH Awards

CTBUH Initiatives

CTBUH, EMI Lead Emirates Tall-Building Study Trip

23 March 2014 - Event

CTBUH, EMI Lead Emirates Tall-Building Study Trip

23 March 2014 - Event

Videos

07 November 2013 | Abu Dhabi

Best Tall Building Featured Finalist: Gate Towers: Creating Urban Habitat in the Sky

The Gate Towers allude to a future in which tall buildings appear at such density that many of the amenities of urban habitat on the...

Research

14 November 2013

Case Study: Gate Towers, Abu Dhabi

Gurjit Singh & Hossam Eldin Elsouefi, Aldar Properties; Peter Brannan, Arquitectonica

The Gateway forms the entrance to one of the Middle East’s largest developments. The developer, Aldar, set forth a challenge: create an unmistakable introduction to...

About The Gate Residential Tower 1

The Gate Towers consist of a series of towers that act as pillars beneath a curving lintel. This renders the effect of a monumental portal that defines the threshold to the Shams Abu Dhabi district, a newly-created land mass formed as an extension of the Central Business District on exposed tidal sands within a fringe of mangroves at approximately five to seven meters above sea level. The area is gradually developing at a high density and growing in prominence.

From a development standpoint, the concept was derived from two maxims: First, to make a statement of intent which is visible from the main part of the city; second, to form a gateway to the remaining sites within the Shams Abu Dhabi precinct on Reem Island.

This mixed-use residential project has a total of 3,533 luxury residential apartments in three towers of 66 stories, connected at their top with a two-level sky-bridge structure, which contains 21 large luxury penthouses. This composition is adjoined by a 22-story, horseshoe-shaped building. The complex includes three swimming pools and four water features, with car parking in 3 subterranean, one grade and three podium levels. The podium includes two levels of retail shopping mall space.

The Capping Bridge across the towers is an extraordinary achievement, involving precise calculation and steel fabrication. The two 750 metric-ton spans between the towers were fabricated on the ground and vertically strand-jacked into position 238 meters up -- the heaviest and highest lifts ever attempted for a real estate project. The cantilevered portion on the East Tower (tower 5) was an act of precision using smaller truss modules installed by a traveling gantry above.

The Dubai rope-access company Megarme installed an innovative system of tension cables to provide an underside working platform for installing soffit panels and abseiling (rappelling) hooks. Tension cables were strung between two towers at three-meter centers, with periodic connections into the structure above, and nylon nets were stretched between them. This was the fastest way to achieve a platform 230 meters in the air.

The Arc (Tower 7) has a hanging garden feature, which brings small secluded pockets of landscape up to the residential levels of the building. There are 14 hanging gardens in total, each accessible from the adjacent corridor with its own irrigation system, fountains and stepped seats.

Environmental effects such as air quality, ozone depletion and global warming were addressed in the design and were a guiding factor in the selection and installation of the mechanical and electrical equipment, which featured bi-polar filters and pre-cooling on the fresh air handling units, which improved indoor air quality and movement while controlling the temperature throughout the building.

The cooling provisions for the building are provided by a centralized district cooling plant, which serves all the towers and podium, reducing energy consumption compared to conventional systems of chillers installed individually on each of the towers.

The tower lifts are gearless traction machines using Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor technology which reduces energy consumption by 50 percent, when compared with conventional rope-lifted machines.

CTBUH Awards & Distinctions

Best Tall Building Middle East & Africa 2013 Award of Excellence

2013 CTBUH Awards

07 November 2013 | Abu Dhabi

Best Tall Building Featured Finalist: Gate Towers: Creating Urban Habitat in the Sky

The Gate Towers allude to a future in which tall buildings appear at such density that many of the amenities of urban habitat on the...

07 November 2013 | Abu Dhabi

Interview: The Gate Towers

Gurjit Singh, Chief Development Officer of Aldar Properties, speaks about The Gate Towers in Abu Dhabi, a Finalist for Best Tall Building Middle East and...

27 March 2014

CTBUH, EMI Lead Emirates Tall-Building Study Trip

Georges Binder, Belgium Country Leader, recently joined with Executive Master Immobilier to conduct a study trip on tall buildings to the United Arab Emirates.

27 March 2014

CTBUH, EMI Lead Emirates Tall-Building Study Trip

Georges Binder, Belgium Country Leader, recently joined with Executive Master Immobilier to conduct a study trip on tall buildings to the United Arab Emirates.

9 March 2014

CTBUH Representative Presents at Vertical Cities Conference

Gurjit Singh, CTBUH Abu Dhabi City Representative, presented on Gate Towers and tall buildings trends at the Vertical Cities Conference.

15 December 2013

Gate Towers Chosen as Featured Building

The Gate Towers allude to a future in which tall buildings appear at such density that many of the amenities of urban habitat on the ground can and should be replicated at height.