Bahrain World Trade Centre: “Building the Super Tower”

Estream Coursework Gordon Best

For this piece of coursework, I chose to study the Bahrain World Trade Centre, or BWTC. It was a pioneering and innovative project by South African architect Shaun Killa. Situated in downtown Manama, Bahrain, it stands at 787ft, or 50 stories, and acts as a trading and commercial centre for Bahrain.

In an area of such high focus on fossil fuels, it was decided that a building with features more akin to a renewable energy project should be designed. Mr Killa, a world renowned designer, and also a keen sailor came up with the concept of a sail shaped building, which would direct the high winds of Bahrain into a central division between the two structures, enabling a wind turbine to turn this concentrated wind into clean, efficient electricity for the building. Such a vision had never come to fruition before, but with the correct team and the correct design, he believed it could become a reality.

In this essay I shall discuss the challenges which needed to be overcome in order to create such an iconic structure, I will explore how effective management and careful design helped to solve these problems, and finally I shall look into if the vision which Shaun Killa had of a clean and sustainable building design can last, and how this can be done.

Challenges Facing the Design Team

Throughout the program, there is a recurring theme of the design team having to overcome significant doubt and challenges. These made me appreciate the massive level of background knowledge needed and the necessity to improvise and innovate new solutions in a project to fully overcome any problems.

When Shaun Killa submitted his design, he knew it would be a totally unique and innovative idea, but he was met by reluctance from the engineering community to attempt such a risky design, struggling to find willing engineers. The idea of putting a wind turbine on a building had never been attempted before, never mind on a raised bridge high above the Bahrain urban area with fast winds to consider. The risk of blade failure and then most likely falling down upon those beneath the structure was a terrifying notion.

Nevertheless, he persisted and eventually found a team of Danish bridge and turbine engineers who had run simulations for Killa’s design. They felt that with the correct turbine size, such a massive risk could pay off. The difficulty the team had next was sourcing the turbine blade. Most large turbine companies make turbines to the blade size of 80m or more, and smaller companies make a diameter much less than the required 30m for the Danish design to work. This was due to the low cost effectiveness of such a size and order of only 3 turbines. They found a solution to this by using a slightly older design with alterations and added safety features.

Once the correct turbine had been found, the challenges facing the team were still substantial. The bridges between the two structures had to be able to support the blade dead load of 11 tons, as well

as the resonance from the dynamic loading caused by the blade rotating. To resolve this, the bridge was made more rigid to attempt to reduce resonance levels coming from the blade. This reduced the chance of high resonance collapse, and also increased the stability of the blade to prevent it deflecting and striking the bridge in high winds. In addition to the increased stability, the blades were made into a v shape pointing away from the bridge, further reducing the risk of collision.

A roller joint was fitted on one end of the bridge to take into account the movement of the entire building during high winds. With the complex design complete, and the challenges with the turbine and bridges solved, construction could begin. Challenges were met with setting out the building with its curved shape, but were eventually fixed with careful efforts and efficient management coordination.

All of these challenges really inspired me to how the engineering industry routinely tackles and solve all of these problems, where many would see them and opt for a more simple design or give up. It showed me how an engineering education can give us a unique procedural thought process and excellent problem solving skills, resulting in projects and innovations which would otherwise be considered impossible.

Challenges Facing the Construction Team

Throughout the program, there is a theme of the construction team facing extreme challenges from the weather and making the innovative design work in reality.

After 2 and a half years, the Bahrain World Trade Centre stood at 240m tall, with the sturdy 3 bridges joining the two structures weighing in at 68 tons each, the turbines were ready to be slowly fixed.

The high wind speeds in Bahrain predictably caused issues in construction. It was not safe to raise the blades slowly up by crane in winds above 50km/h. Even if the raising of the blade was successful, the chances of fitting the blade to the bridge with a clearance of only 60cm in sections of the raise was highly unlikely with the wind being focussed onto an unattached, stationary blade.

The constant threat of delay due to the wind meant that the time and asset management was required to be highly efficient in order to be ready to go when the wind speed dropped under the 50km/h threshold.

Unfortunately, the timing of the project meant the turbine blades were ready to be hoisted just as the Shamal arrived. This seasonal high wind system which affects the Persian Gulf states raised winds to 110km/h. Obviously the blade raising was impossible in this situation. It was clear that the design was working against the construction until the blades were actually fitted. The threshold for fitting these was assigned as <21km/h.

Good management in this case meant for high personnel supervision and an efficient plan. To cover every eventuality, a backup plan was made to “park” the blade if needed at a secure point in the structure. This showed me the massive need for planning every stage of the construction process, and ensuring there are contingency measures in place for any potential hazards.

After a long wait, the blades could be attached, with the biggest challenge being the highest up, 3 rd blade. This was due to the steep rope angle of the crane rising, and with winds of 25km/h, the risk was more than catered for in the plan. However, the team decided to press on and raise the blade, getting the blade fitted to the bridge just in time as wind speeds increase again.

Once all blades were attached, the risks declined significantly, there was stability in the design now, and the design of the structure to funnel the wind into the turbine was no longer a hindrance to construction. The blades were incredibly strong, able to deal with speeds of up to 250km/h, and with a steel core to prevent any breakages. The 3 blades receive different wind speeds due to the shape of the structure, so the design had to take this into account, adding drag to the blades to ensure that each would spin at the same speed on 38 RPM, increasing in the inner blade mechanism to 250RPM.

Eight months later, the Bahrain World Trade Centre was nearly complete. The fantastic sail shaped structure was funnelling wind into the 3 wind turbine bridges, and the monitoring and fine tuning of the blades had been successful prior to the unlocking of the mechanism. When the building opened and the blades were released, one of the truly spectacular and iconic structures of the Middle East was unveiled to the world. In an area so commonly associated with fossil fuels, it acts as an icon as to how an innovative design and good team management can result in a sustainable and eco-friendly, fantastic building which nobody believed could be built. With a design like this succeeding, it should hopefully pave the way for the next non-renewably powered building to be developed.

Viewer Reflection

I thoroughly enjoyed watching the documentary, and felt it was a comprehensive study of the challenges facing design and construction teams when tackling a new project, especially one which has never been attempted. I feel like I now appreciate the design to construction process better, and the careful considerations which must be made at the design stage. The risks taken during the design and construction of this project are an excellent demonstration to the viewer how in any engineering project certain decisions must be taken. Sometimes these work, and sometimes they don’t, but this project in particular showed how every single outcome was identified, and steps were taken to ensure complete safety for all those involved. It also made me realise the difficult but interesting nature of people from different nationalities and cultures all working together in a project. The South African architect, the Danish design team, and the mostly local construction team may all have different views and backgrounds, which could result in challenges with language barriers or tension between different areas of the workforce. But it also gave me the impression that in large scale projects like this, an engineer is an engineer no matter where they learnt their trade, and the combined enthusiasm for completing an iconic project can bring together people of different backgrounds for one common goal.

In a time where engineers are relied upon more than ever, and often taken for granted, it is projects like this which show the true nature of the engineer with a revolutionary project in hugely challenging circumstances to overcome the reluctance of most and make something work which was previously deemed impossible. I found the innovation and hard work of all those involved in this project inspiring, and I hope there are many more projects like it planned for the future.