High Rise

Excellence in sky-high construction

Over the course of many years and numerous prestigious projects, BESIX has acquired deep expertise in the design and construction of high rise buildings. Among many others, our name is associated with the Meridien Hotel and Nile City in Cairo, CBX and Carpe Diem in Paris, Montevideo, New Orleans and Maas Toren in Rotterdam, The Emirate Tower, the ADNOC tower and Burj Khalifa in the Emirates, The Aspire Tower and the Qipco Tower in Doha and the Four Seasons Hotel in Bahrein.

Blending design, approach and realization

In order to meet tight budgets and schedules, these outstanding and complex constructions require close coordination in terms of design, method and execution. To respond to this need, BESIX has developed a strong Engineering Department including 150 engineers and technicians dedicated to structural design and geotechnics as well as BIM, methods and planning. Together with the production specialist, the Engineering Department brings added value through optimized design, better buildability and the selection of the most efficient construction tools.

Remarkable specialisations, unique challenges

When it comes to skyscrapers, the expertise of BESIX extends to fields that are not applicable to the construction of lower buildings. Some examples include dynamic behaviour, building movement control, pre-settings, high-performance materials, composite sections, soil structure interaction analysis, thermal control of concrete used in massive structural elements, and many more. BESIX possesses the capabilities, skills and expertise in-house to overcome challenges in these specialised areas.

Compensating for time-dependent stresses

Ensuring that the building is perfectly vertical and that the floor slabs are horizontal at the end of the construction is extremely challenging. Due to its height, a very tall structure will be subject to significant deformation. Compensations may be needed, which often require sophisticated calculations and surveying techniques that consider the time-dependent evolution of concrete characteristics and compensations pertaining to solar exposure and wind load applied to the structure.

The sky is the limit

Skyscrapers are some of the most complex, boundary-pushing constructions yet created by humans. It takes advanced project management, decades of experience in a wide range of engineering disciplines and dedicated teams of experts to take buildings to these heights. BESIX strives to continuously innovate in the field of high rise construction, bringing pioneering techniques and creative approaches to the table to transform vision into reality.

Breaking records under pressure

Concrete pumps will often be used to bring fresh concrete up to level, reducing the demand on cranes. For the Burj Khalifa Tower in Dubai, pumps capable of generating tremendous pressure were used to bring concrete up to more than 600 metres above the ground – achieving a world record in the process.

Taking a small footprint to great heights

The footprint of the structure of a high rise is small for the magnitude of the project, resulting in limited space to locate cranes. The selection of the optimum number, types and positions of cranes is a crucial element of the project. If there are cranes located outside the structure, the shaft will require intermediate supports with connections to the building structure – connections that will interfere with the progress of the façade installation. When located inside the structure, they may climb with the building. The procedure to dismantle the cranes at the end of the construction period will always require detailed analysis and, in some cases, a temporary light crane capable of fitting in lifts may need to be installed to dismantle the initial, heavier ones.