The LAU students spent our free time at the water park where we had an amazing day. We rode through The Rapids; all holding on to each others tubes making an already adventurous river of twists and turns even more exhilarating. We also tried out The Torrent River, a river of periodic tidal waves. The Rapids and The Torrent River connect and provide for a great way to view the entire park from the comfort of your tube, there are multiple areas where you can exit the river and eventually you end up in the wave pool. The Leap of Faith is exactly what the name of the slide promises, at 27.5 meters tall, riding down the slide is exciting.
Oman Boat Trip
On Friday all of the Syracuse students and Dr. Clemence drove to Oman for a leisurely boat trip. Leaving early in the morning, we rode about three hours through Sharjah and Fujairah to reach Oman. The landscape changed dramatically between the two emirates. We went from driving through rolling desert dunes and miles of date farms to weaving our way through jagged mountains and deep ravines
The boat trip itself was great. Between beating back swarms of orange wasps with our sandals and getting to jump off the top deck of the boat into the water, we all enjoyed the time to relax, read and lay in the sun. The boat stopped in two coves along the rocky coast where everyone could swim and snorkel. We also enjoyed the views. In this part of Oman, the mountains rise right out the deep blue waters of the Gulf of Oman and are shrouded in fog.
This morning both teams traveled to Al Manara Villa for a brief discussion of snagging with Mr. Abdallah and Mr. Mazen. After learning about the difference between outstanding works and snags, the group split into three teams with one team spending an hour on each floor. The groups went from room to room and gained a good knowledge of where snags can typically be found. Each group used a booklet specific to its designated floor to note remarks for each area. While in general, the villas finished were very impressive, under a close eye the groups found many common snags or outstanding works. For example, on the ground floor, the main entrance area had some scratched marble and was missing the interior door handle and lock casings in the frame. The snagging process is usually done four to five times and, like everything else in the construction process, follows its own schedule. Most importantly, the snagging process must be scrupulously carried out to ensure DCC’s quality standards are met.
Lecture on Quality Standards from the Perspective of a Global Education Provider: Building one Brick at a Time
When the groups returned to the office, the groups worked on their respective presentations until lunch. After lunch, a guest lecture was granted by Mr. Carl Bistany (Ryan’s father) who is the CEO of SABIS. SABIS, which is derived from the combination of the two founders last names (Saad and Bistany), is a family-owned company that promotes higher learning by founding and running quality schools world-wide. SABIS employees roughly 4700 employees and has over 70,000 students. Unlike most schools, SABIS is financially independent and is run like a business. Perhaps its most defining characteristic is its non-selective admission criteria. SABIS accepts students on a first-come first-serve basis. During the lecture, Mr. Carl pointed out that the success of the company is derived from its business run format and emphasis on quality. The lecture was very motivating and thought-provoking. By making parallels between SABIS and how a contractor business is run, the students were able to see how what we have learned during our time at DCC can be generalized and applied to almost any business or industry.
The day started as we all loaded up in the big bus and headed to Abu Dhabi again. Upon arriving there, we all put on our safety gear and stepped out into what felt like a sauna, the humidity was unbearable. The site we were looking at, ADCPTower was only in the beginning phases of construction and it was still being mobilized. We looked down at a large excavation and learned about the different methods used for waterproofing and placing reinforcement for the foundation and columns. We walked around the site and observed the different ways that the Project Manager, Mr. Subrahmanyam or as we call him Mr. Superman, had mobilized the site through the organization of the office, scaffolding, and material storage. The tower will eventually consist of four basements, a ground-floor, two mezzanine levels, and twenty-two floors, but currently DCC is still waiting for a work permit so that they can begin construction.
After the visit to the ADCPTower, we returned to the GuardianTowers, but this time went to the tower that is going to be allocated to office space, we saw a sample office and learned about the different finishes for the building. The finishing in the hallway and lift lobby that we saw was beautiful, and it was interesting that the tiles used for the floor and the wall siding were all different forms of granite. We went to the second, tenth, and fifteenth floor and we went to the roof. As we moved up through the floors, less and less progress had been made. For example, on the second floor all the concrete, block work, and MEP works were mostly complete and finishing was being done, whereas on the fifteenth floor the workers we prepared the floor slab for the block work to be laid. After spending the morning at the GuardianTowers with the Project Manager, Jihad Chouiery, we all were sweaty and starving. We had lunch at the Holiday Inn again, the buffet was luxurious and delicious with fresh fruit, brie, curry, potatoes, and mini- hamburger, we all ate enough to last us until the next day.
After lunch, we went to the mosque that was recently completes and is the eighth largest mosque in the world. Melody, Stacy, Amanda, and Marieke all had to cover their shoulders with sweaters as they approached the mosque, and when entering were given traditional full dresses and head scarves that were required in order to enter the prayer area. After we all left, we were still in awe from the beauty of the mosque. We then left for Dubai, but on the way back we made a stop at the Formula One Racetrack and the FerrariTheme Park, we didn’t get out of the bus but we were able to see part of the track and one of the rides that is being built. Our journey to Abu Dhabi then came to a close, and we were all exhausted and enjoyed the desert view as we headed back to Dubai.
Today we was split into two site/office visits; first to the Dubai Sports City Wastewater Treatment Plant then to Al-Bonian International, an electromechanical contractor.
DubaiSportsCity Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP)
Before heading to the WWTP, we were told about the plant and the processes that are involved. The fully enclosed plant can handle 25,000 cubic meters of waste per day. The plant treats both the waste from DubaiSportsCity and other wastes that are trucked in from other locations. A membrane bioreactor (MBR), as well as other anaerobic processes, is used to treat the waste. The MBR uses a smaller footprint, which is essential for the fully enclosed plant. The treated water is used for urban irrigation but does not meet standards for drinking water, although some students tried the water and felt fine.
Albonian International (MEP)
General description:
Albonian is an electromechanical contracting company that started its operations in 1987 in Tripoli, Lebanon.
After 22 years, Albonian has grown into an international group with its headquarters located in Dubai and more than 2500 employees.
Albonian International is the main MEP subcontractor for DCC, and they have done many projects together like 014 Tower, RolexTower, Ariyana (2Y) Tower and Code building.
MEP lecture: The lecture was divided into four major parts:
·Introduction to electric works:
oGiven by Mr. Nizar Maalouf
oLow voltage systems: phases (primary, intermediate, and final distribution) and components (generator, cabling, etc...)
oLow current systems: fire alarm systems, access control systems, etc…
·Introduction to mechanical and plumbing works
oBy Mr. Jamil Kanafani
oPlumbing systems: drainage and vent systems, and water supply systems.
oHVAC systems: heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems.
·MEP work process in a project
oBy Mr. Jamil Kanafani
oWork planning, materials and drawings approval, material and manpower requisition, Authorities approvals, and execution of works (health and safety, work process, etc…)
·Green buildings
oBy Mr. Anthony Raj Job
oWhat is, and why do we need green buildings.
oDirect and Indirect emissions in buildings
oSome solutions and suggestions.
After the lecture, Mr. Ahmad Zahabi took us in a tour inside the company’s offices.
This visit was very interesting, and educational, and it gave us an overview of MEP works and importance in any project.
We woke up in the morning and hit the road to Abu Dhabi and in one and a half hour we arrived and we went to the site of the GuardianTowers. We were welcomed to the site by its Project Director, Mr. Subrahmanyam, who introduced us and gave us information about the GuardianTowers.
These towers are two 4 basements 19-story towers (2 podiums + 17 typical floors) that are characterized and shaped by a distinctive sliced and shifted geometry. The towers are joined by a podium. The built-up area of the towers is almost 80000sq.m
We were guided in the site by the project manager Mr. Jihad Choueiry who at first took us to a sample floor of the residential tower where we saw the different finishes this tower has. It contains single bedrooms and double bedrooms apartments of ceramic tiling with different sizes for the floors and painted walls.
We started going up in the levels of the tower to check the work so we saw different stages of construction as we ascended the building. Mr. Choueiry showed us how walls are finished starting from the block wall to either tiling or painting, as well as floor finishing and waterproofing.
.
We started building some block walls on the 16th floor where we were divided into teams of four each. We did three layers of each wall; we put mortar between each block and on the surface of each layer without forgetting the steel mesh each three layers.
We then left for lunch at the Holiday Inn hotel and afterwards, we left to visit the Emirates Palace which is a very huge hotel compared to what we’ve seen as finished hotels.
This high-rise tower is a mixed use building consisting of luxury condominiums, office and retail space with a separate parking structure. A two-level bridge connects the car park building to the first floor of the tower. The main tower consists of office floors from the first to the 31rst floor, residential apartments from the 34th to the 56th floor, two penthouses on the 59th and 60th floor and mechanical floors on levels 32, 33, 61 and 62. It comprises ten elevators:
·Six elevators stop at the 31st floor and are intended for the offices use only
·Three elevators are intended for the residential part of the tower.
·One service lift
The Rolex tower has also two entrances, the offices entrance and the residential entrance. The offices entrance is 10.5m high, it is tiled with marble and matrix stone and is closed by glass panels. The residential tower has an 8.5 m high entrance.
After this general introduction about the building we went up to the office floors. Those are equipped with a raised-flooring system which allows for future versatility since none of the clients have decided on the final layout yet. But some elements, mostly exterior, are imposed on the client for aesthetic purposes of the tower.
Then we went up to the mechanical floor where the transfer beam is located due to the change in the layout of columns. We learned that most mechanical equipment is raised on springs in order to minimize the vibrations. And due to the high loads imposed by the mechanical equipment, the mechanical floor slab is cast in situ because a better compressive strength of the concrete can be achieved this way (10KN/m2). The waterproofing on those floors is also worthy of note. It is done using two levels of protection: the first is the traditional waterproofing membrane used with the polythene sheet and the second is an additional gel coat.
Afterwards we visited the apartment floors. Each floor comprises four apartments: 2 two-bedroom apartments and 2 three-bedroom apartments.
As it ascends the building opacity changes gradually from translucent to transparent.The vertical light well located at the upper portion of the residential tier forms a visual link between the walls of the tower.
Finally we visited the penthouses. The one on the 59th floor has a swimming pool and is partitioned using rotating wooden panels along with other luxurious finishes. The second penthouse covers a larger surface area because the light well is closed at this level. The finishes on the second penthouse ranging from black mosaic tiles, polished painted timber to leather are all polished which gives a shiny appearance to the whole apartment.
Team 2: Ariyana (2Y) Tower
We visited the AriyanaTower which is located on the 2Y plot near the Dubai Marina; it consists of three (3) basements, one (1) ground floor and thirty three (33) floors (3B+G+33). It is a residential tower that will also have retail centers on the bottom floors. The building has a built up area of 44,000 sq.m and a plot size of approximately 3100 sq.m. Mr. Mazen Hallak, project manager (PM) gave us a tour throughout the building explaining the different finishes and the key elements that make up this structure. He also took us through the mock-up apartments that were on the 4th floor and showed us the two (2) & three (3) bedroom apartments. We were also given a set of plans in order to relate what we saw on site to the drawings, this helped us visualize the different lines on the plans to what is actually built. We were also accompanied by the general foreman, Master G, and the quality assurance/quality control engineer to the parking levels. DCC’s parking floors are standard unless the client desires to have it otherwise. We also got stuck in the elevator for about 5 minutes with Master G and the elevator operator. Overall the Ariyana Tower is a wonderful structure with stunning views, city and marina.
In the afternoon, there was a lecture on Disputes, Delays and Arbitration by Mr. Ian Harper. For more information on the lecture, click on the link below.
Today the Pinnacle Engineers Team headed off to the Dubai Marina to see our third in-progress site, AriyanaTower. The tower consists of three basement levels, a ground floor, 33 floors, and the roof level. The cost of the tower is estimated to be 225 million AED and have duration of 25 months. The structure of the building is complete and it is in finishing stages of both the interior and exterior. The building will be complete in October 2010 and will be used for residential apartments and four retail stores. When arriving to the site we learned about the basic layout of the building and site and then had tours of the mock-up apartments. Each floor has four apartments, three of which are two bedroom apartments and one is a three-bedroom apartment. All apartments include the basic kitchen appliances, cabinets, bathroom fixtures, wardrobe cabinets, and laundry facilities, these items are included to meet the high quality and standards of any DCC project and can be found in any of their projects prior to handover.
The AriyanaTower has a unique façade design, and during the visit we learned about the different methods to apply the gypsum reinforced concrete, curtain walling, and glass cladding. The Project Manager, Mr. Mazen Hallak, spoke to us and showed us throughout the tour of the building about the importance of waterproofing, and we were able to see the different techniques used for balconies, pools, bathrooms, and windows. After a general tour of the tower, we went with one of the Quality Assurance and Control Engineers to the roof to see the electro-mechanical floor and learn about the different inspections that are made to make sure the walls are plumb, safety measures that are being taken, and that the construction of the building is to code. It was fascinating to learn about the intricate details that are so essential to the construction process.
Team 2:RolexTower and Al Manara Villa
Team 2, MECA Engineering, went to two sites, RolexTower and Al Manara Villa. Both of these sites are in finishing stages and Rolex has sample apartments including two penthouses.
RolexTower
Project Scope:
RolexTower is a residential and office tower with a separate car park building linked by a bridge
Owner: Ahmed Seddiqi and Sons
Architects/Designers: Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill (SOM).
Consultants: ERGA Progress, Chawla Architects
Main Contractor: DCC
Built-up Area: 52,476 square meters
Duration: 27 months
Project Cost: About 400 Million Dhs
Height: 246 meters
Project Description:
1-ParkingBuilding: 4B + G + 9 Floors
2-RolexTower: B + G + M + 62 Floors
Tour:
We were given a tour by Mr. Subrahmanyam the official project manager of the tower. We started off in the parking building, where we saw the ground floor and first floor, and then went on the bridge that connects the parking building to the first floor of the tower.
At the end of the bridge, there are two different entrances to the tower, separating the offices from the apartments. Entering from the residential entrance, a person cannot go into the other part due to a glass wall that separates them. There are six office lifts, three residential lifts, and one service lift.
Then Mr. Subrahmanyam showed us the different types of floors in the tower, consisting of office, residential, penthouse, mechanical and technical floors.
From the 1st to the 31st floor there are office floors (2 offices per floor)
From the 34th to the 56th floor there are residential apartments
The mechanical floors are the 32nd, 33rd, 61st and 62nd floors
The technical floors are the 57th and 58th floors
Finally, the two penthouses are on the 60th and 61st floors
The slabs of the tower are all hollow-core slabs, except those of the mechanical floors due to the heavier weight. The main purpose of using these slabs is that they reduce the unused sections of the concrete. All staircases of the tower until the 33rd floor are pre-cast concrete, and on that floor there is a transfer beam to transfer the load coming from the above structure to the columns because the building narrows down.
Curtain wall is the external finish consists of fritted glass panels. Some panels are spotted and some other are not spotted from inside. The interior finishes include ceramic tiles with skirting, marble, emulsion paint, wood paneling.
The RolexTower is in finishing stages and mock-up apartments have been made to show potential buyers what they can expect. The apartments include a one and two bedrooms as well as the two penthouses. The finishing details in the apartments were incredible, an attention to detail and great views make these Rolex apartments extraordinary. The penthouse on the 61st floor has a bathroom with unrivaled views of the World Islands and a bedroom that overlooks Burj Khalifa’s fountain, famous for its night time shows.
Al Manara Villa
Project Scope:
Project Name: Private Villa for Mr. Hassan Yabroudi
Owner: Mr. Hassan Yabroudi
Architects/Designers: LAB Archtecture (Exterior), Claude Mezher (Interior)
Consultants: ERGA Progress
Main Contractor: DCC
Built-up Area: 1815 square meters
Duration: 16 months (with extension)
Project Cost: 19,750,000 Dhs
Plot Size: 30x40 square meters
Project Description: B + G + 1 Floors
Tour:
We were given a tour by Mr. Mazen Hallak (Projects Coordination Manager), to see the different partition of the villa. First we visited the ground floor, which has an area of 500 square meters, consisting of a sitting room, a guest bedroom, dining room, studying room, a pantry and access to the outdoor swimming pool.
Next, we went to the first floor of the villa, having an area of 500 square meters. It is formed of a sitting room, a pantry, three normal bedrooms with their own bathroom and a master bedroom which takes up almost half of the floor!
Finally, we went down to the basement level. It has an area of 800 square meters. This floor consists of the main kitchen, two mechanical rooms, a theater room, a gym and an extra storage room. It also has access to the underground parking area, where the ground is made of cobblestone pieces, 5 cm think and carefully selected one by one.
What make the villa unique are the amazing finishes. Some of the finishes include: Grey Markira (Marble with white material), granite tiles with flamed finishing, honed finishing, mat finishing (concept of the whole villa), special paint on bathroom walls, glazing around the courtyard, mosaic finishing in bathrooms and pool, camara stone and others.
In the afternoon, both teams went to e-Construct, a pre-cast structural design company, where we had a couple lectures about different pre-cast projects they have worked on in the UAE. The first project was a coal storage warehouse in Sharjah, where e-Construct used pre-cast reinforced concrete beams that spanned up to 50 meters! The beams were post-tensioned and designed with a concrete truss, to learn about the design analysis and production of these beams was unreal. This type of pre-cast concrete is very rare, especially for such a large span and project, and it was interesting to learn about the challenges and techniques that were used to accomplish the project. We also had a lecture about a new development to be used for office space and residential apartments called the Dubai Pearl. The Dubai Pearl is four, 73 story, towers connected at the top by four stories that will consist of “sky palaces”. The raft foundation for the project is 3.25 meters thick and took 36 hours of constant pumping to place the concrete. We also learned about how value engineering was applied to the project, and how they adjusted the floor system, columns, beams, and lateral stability to reduce the total cost.
The Pinnacle Engineering team (Team 1) went to our last visit of the Conrad Hotel today. First we met with the site engineer from Dubai Contracting Company L.L.C. We learned the logistics and specifications of the hotels automated carpark. The carpark foundation consists of fifty piles, with shoring along the outside. It is made up of one basement, a ground floor, and twelve stories. On the roof of the carpark there will be landscaping which is for aesthetic purposes only. There is a bridge that connects the carpark to the actual hotel. The car park is completely automatic, the cars are dropped off in the front and then the system parks the cars on any of the twelve available floors. It costs roughly forty percent more to build a carpark that is completely automated but it leaves room for more cars. Conrad Hotel’s carpark can park approximately 1200 cars.
After the lecture on the hotel carpark, the project manager from Arabtec, the company that is joined with Dubai Contracting Company L.L.C, spoke to our team about submittals. Submittals are extremely important to the timing of the project. We learned that contractors must submit approvals to order any materials. It is crucial to get these submittals sent in, and approved quickly, because they can delay a project if the consultant does not approve them. It is important to submit most materials for approval within forty to sixty days because some materials take time if importing is needed.
Once we finished our lectures, the site engineer of DCC took us to the mock hotel room. The contractor builds one mock room in order to have the design, finishes, and materials approved by the consultant. The consultant may approve the mockup with comments in which case the contractor is allowed to go forward with construction, but has to make the revisions. The mockups are important because they allow the contractor to finish the rooms perfectly before starting to build all of the other rooms. When we were in the hotel room, we were instructed to look around and find any snags with the finishes of the room. It was hard to find any however because the room we visit had already been approved by the consultant.
Group 2: The Kingdom Of Sheba
Our second visit began with a discussion about Post-Tensioned (PT) slabs. A representative from the PT subcontractor explained all of the elements of post-tensioned concrete work. As we took our site tour he explained where the steel was located and how many beams were replaced by using PT instead of typical reinforced concrete slabs. We then had a demonstration of how the steel strands were reshaped with a hydraulic jack. The strands are pushed into an onion shape so they do not pull out of the concrete during the post-tensioning process.
During the site tour we went up to the eleventh floor of Block C in the Balqis residence where DCC was waiting for approval to cast the reinforced concrete transfer slab. Because of the different arrangement of columns and the heavy point loads the columns cause on this slab, PT could not be used. Originally the floor was divided into three penthouses. However a tenant purchased two of the apartments to combine into one. The architectural and structural plans were all changed to suit the owner’s needs. Unfortunately, design changes like this often cause delays in construction.
From the eleventh floor we went down to the basement. The formwork for the sprinkler system water tank was under construction while we visited. Originally the designs had called for a plastic and fiberglass water tank but according to Dubai’s strict building codes, the tank had to be redesigned with concrete. This was a huge oversight by the designer because now, with the floor slab already cast above the basement, there is not enough head room for vibrators in the tank walls. To solve this problem DCC will have to use self-compacting concrete for the tank, an expensive mistake by the designers.
Mr. Yabroudi took the six SU students, Amanda (our TA), and Professor Clemence on a long weekend trip to Amman, Jordan and adjacent historical sites. We woke up at the crack of dawn and caught an early, three hour flight. The agenda for the day started with a visit to the nearly completed DCC office building and the VertexTower, which is halfway through construction. Both buildings were constructed to DCC quality and the things that stood out were the organization and neatness of both sites. We also saw one of the extravagant mock apartments for the VertexTower, and after going through the three bedroom place; we were informed that this would be one of the smaller apartments!
Our adventure for the day continued with a stop at a hole-in-the-wall falafel sandwich joint, which provided our hungry stomachs with chick-a-pee/ panini delight. Next stop: Jerash.
Jerash was about a 45 minute drive north from Amman where the remains + 200o year old remains of a Roman city have been excavated and restored. We got the feeling, while walking along the stone paths next to huge columns and through the chariot racing area that life was not very different those many years ago as it is today, in fact, it could have been better. We walked about 2 miles in total, making many stops to admire the ruins and imagine what they looked like when they were new. The amphitheater was one of the most memorable stops, in which we were able to hear the acoustical qualities of the structure. We also walked off the beaten path a little to find the remains of a basilica with an intricate mosaic floor, still amazingly colored and intact. Jerash has many historical features that our guide explained to us, but of all this information, nothing topped the fact that we were walking on rocks that have been kept in place since the major earthquake in 749 AD.
We returned in the ‘Premier Jett’ van on the way back to the hotel; stopped for traditional sweets made from fried cheese, wheat, and pistachio nuts, and swam in the multiple pools/Jacuzzis at the hotel before getting ready to go out to Fakhr-Eldine Restaurant, a traditional Lebanese restaurant that not only satiated our taste buds, but was also a graduation celebration for Amanda. So many delicious food items were put on the table, and the favorites remain the hummus and the eggplant, feta cheese, tomato tower. This was a day that a lot of us considered one of the best of our lives, and we were so happy to finally be able to spend a day enjoying traveling, not just thinking about assignments or work.
Friday May 28, 2010
It was another early morning and a three hour van ride to Petra, our destination for the day --at Petra, one of the new seven Wonders of the World--- we walked through the canyons with dropped jaws and nine cameras continuously taking artistic photographs. Awe is not a strong enough word to describe how we felt as we ventured past the 2,000+ year old, carved facades for tombs and dwellings. On the way, we passed horses, camels, and tourists in bouncing carriages, funny sights indeed.
The best moment was when we turned around a bend and saw the first glimpse of the Treasury through the stone valley, as if we went back in time to when this sculpture was first discovered for the western world. Who knows how many people have felt this same feeling, just thinking about all the possibilities of how this façade was designed and constructed, and how it still remains intact today.
We heard a story about a New Zealand woman who fell in love with a Bedouin, a native of Petra, claming to be direct descendants of the people who built the city, and her change of lifestyle from Western living to cave dwelling. We passed by a stand while walking through the city, and we stopped to talk with one of her sons, who sold us a signed copy of her autobiography, ‘Married to a Bedouin.’
Our day was not over yet--- on no, and as we came to the end of the trail, we all remembered that we had agreed to ride donkeys back to the van, even though all the girls were in shorts or skirts and almost everyone was in sandals! I don’t think we’ve laughed so hard in our lives as we were lead up the hilly trail on short legged animals, getting poked and yelled at by Bedouin donkey herders, all brothers. Not only did Stacy get a marriage proposal from one of them, but Amanda had a 13 year old boy fall in love with her and joined her on the back side of her donkey. Professor Clemence couldn’t stop laughing as he rode along, taking pictures and commenting on everyone else’s riding abilities Pete’s donkey, Scotch (on the rocks) lost steam halfway up the hill and Marieke realized that her feet almost touched the ground while she was riding, and oh so many photos were taken. The king of the donkey herd, Mr. Yabroudi himself, was bringing up the rear, making contract deals on his Blackberry as he was riding along. When we returned to the hotel---a wedding was going on by the pool, and being the typical tourists we were, we watched over the railing as the couple promenaded around the area and had their first dance. Jordan Day Two, was another wonderful day.
Saturday May 29, 2010
Our third and final day in Jordan arrived, and we were all caught between emotions of excitement, exhaustion and displeasure toward the prospect of our midterm report due the next day. Our first stop of the day was to Mt.Nebo, where we were able to see the same view that Moses did as he looked over the Promised Land. After this monumental stop, we made our way to the River Jordan to visit the side of the river that Jesus was baptized on. No one is sure about the exact location of his baptism, but authorities are positive it was on the Jordan side, the west side.
Finally, we ended the day at the lowest point on earth, the 27% salt body of water, the Dead Sea. We were treated to an afternoon at the Marriott, and we swam in the salty water, well, floated because swimming would only make our eyes scream in pain. The water was so dense, and the waves made us drift away from the dock, but it was such an amazing feeling to be able to just let the water hold you.
After about 10 minutes in the water, the longest we could stand, we covered our bodies in Dead Sea mud and tried to let it cake to our skin as much as possible before rinsing it off in the shower. The rest of the afternoon consisted of water slides, sun tanning, and refreshing pools. Relaxing is the best word to describe the feeling that we were all enthralled by, but this word is not nearly enough to explain how amazing it felt to simply be for an afternoon.
We went back to the hotel in Amman, packed and left for the airport, arriving back in Dubai very late, but never regretting the lovely events that happened this memorable weekend.
When we arrived on site, we were escorted to the site offices located in the basement of the building. After some Turkish coffee, we were greeted by Mr. Ibrahim, the site engineer, and Mr. Anil, the Project Manager. After a brief site induction, we were introduced to the sites main features. The Conrad Hotel will serve as a hotel and office building and will feature three (3) basements, a ground level, two (2) mezzanine levels, and fifty-one (51) floors. We then watched a conceptual video on what the project will look like when finished. Adjacent to the building is an automated twelve (12) story car park area. Currently, this area was excavated and secant piles were used for shoring during the foundation work which consists of approximately fifty (50) piles. The car park, which is supported with diagonal bracing, will be connected to the main hotel by a landscaped deck and pool area.
We then took the lifts up to the 20th floor and were shown how the scaffolding supports the slab loads and how the slabs were preformed before placement. After, we walked up to the 24th floor where rebar was being placed for a 4.2 x 1.5 meter transfer beam. Over eight-hundred and fifty (850) tons of rebar were required for the 24th floor alone. Because of a recent change to the shape of the upper part of the building (from cornered to rounded), some reinforcement bars were also being removed. Below, the 23rd floor will house the mechanical units of the building. We traveling down to the podium floors to view the large steel truss system used on the eight (8) podium floors.
Group 2: The Kingdom of Sheba
We were given a similar introduction and site tour as Group 1. This tour is explained in Week 2 Day 1. However, there were some new topics that were covered.
The subcontractor with the most influence over the project is the MEP. (Mechanical-electrical and plumbing) They are present in every part of the project. While on our tour we walked along an excavation that when completed will be the road. The reason it has been excavated is to allow for the MEP. Water transport is extremely important, drainage systems and also electrical wires must be placed before the road can be constructed. If designs for these systems are not completed construction will be haulted.
The group also learned about reinforcement codes. It is important that after the reinforcement is laid, it be inspected before the concrete is poured. There are many places on site that have rebar waiting to be inspected.
In the afternoon after our site visits, there was a lecture on Construction Management by Mr. Ian Harper. The information from that lecture can be found at the link below.
