Project
Arab Engineering Bureau (AEB) provided structural design services for the commercial Alfardan Office Tower located in the marina district of Lusail City in Doha, Qatar. Rising 32 stories with a curved geometry, the mixed-use tower features a cantilevered podium intended as a luxury car showroom, which smoothly transitions into a symmetrical, sharp-edged, high-rise building wrapped in a glazed façade. The USD 260 million project required a cost-efficient structural design solution to support the coastal topography and the podium’s cantilever slabs, which gradually increased in size on each floor. AEB needed a flexible, interoperable modeling and analysis application to accommodate design and collaboration challenges.
Solution
AEB used STAAD.Pro to design all structural steel elements of the tower, utilizing a 3D BIM approach that facilitated visualization and collaboration in a virtual environment throughout the project’s lifecycle. Using Bentley’s structural modeling and analysis application, AEB determined an optimal support solution in compliance with European codes to accommodate the weight of the varying cantilevered podium slabs, ensuring structural integrity. The user-friendly, interoperable software accelerated design time and streamlined information sharing among the different disciplines through automated features and plug-ins.
Outcome
STAAD.Pro accelerated design, production, and coordination to save nearly 30% in resource hours, lowering overall project costs. The software automated time consuming manual tasks, enabling engineers to complete structural design and analyses in minutes as opposed to days. Performing clash detection helped reduce steel quantities and identify errors prior to construction. The interoperability of STAAD.Pro enabled seamless integration with third-party technology, streamlining workflows among the multiple disciplines using different software platforms to save significant time and reduce errors.
Software
Bentley’s interoperable structural design and analysis technology enabled AEB to incorporate structural grids, converting wire mesh to 3D models for analysis and presentation. Working in STAAD.Pro’s customizable design environment with international design codes optimized structural engineering in accordance with European codes. The software automated seismic, nonseismic, wind, and vehicle analyses, minimizing time and errors to ensure design accuracy and structural integrity. Using STAAD.Pro provided a cost-efficient solution as part of a 3D BIM digital process to optimize design and construction and coordinate workflows throughout the entire project lifecycle.
Project Playbook: ProjectWise, STAAD.Pro