Doha
Doha
“The future is now”
The Tornado Tower - Doha
So where is Qatar? and specifically, where is Doha? After a refreshing 10 days in Bali, I slowly made my way to Zurich with a 12 hour stop over in Doha. I purposely chose a long stop over to take a short trip through the CBD. After doing some research, Doha is quite simply next level!
After gauging the geographical positioning of Doha, my first assumption was Doha simply doesn’t receive the hype it deserves because it is smack bang next to Dubai. Generally, if two parties engage in a conversation about significant buildings and infrastructure in the middle east, we automatically assume Dubai, the United Arab Emirates. Doha as I mentioned is next level and presents some of the most futuristically engineered infrastructure in the world.
The piece of infrastructure i’ve chosen to investigate in the city of Doha is the Tornado Tower. This 52 storey master piece (640 ft tall) is located in the commercial hub of Doha, West Bay. A variety of blue chip companies have situated themselves in West Bay including Oil and Gas Companies, Government Organisations and the Qatar Financial Centre (QIF).
I’ve chosen this building in particular to give some professional insight on the structural elements involved in the design process. Architecturally, this is very appealing to the eye. To engineer such a beast, can prove quite challenging. For those that don’t know, architects and engineers rarely see eye to eye. Considering the magnitude of this structure, both sets of eyes are practically perpendicular. Major factors that must be considered when designing this structure are the bearing wall systems and building frame systems. A factor of safety was adopted when designing the wall and frame systems for earthquake resistance. Although Doha is not directly affected by seismic activity, various earthquakes were felt in circa 2013 and prompted a re-evaluation of building codes throughout the area.
After walking around the city in the 37 degree heat, I only managed to get a few good shots of the Tornado Tower. I’m new to using the Canon 70D and the afternoon light really played havoc with the angles I approached. The images though clearly show the building architecture and the reason for the name ‘Tornado Tower’. This building was absolutely stunning to see in the flesh, along with its neighbouring counterparts. The moment resisting frame designed for the Tornado Tower is very unique. Horizontal beams and vertical columns provide the structural support to resist lateral forces such as the structures weight. Structural stability of the tower is the ultimate goal for engineers. Structural members within the Tornado Tower have been designed specifically for the arc presence through the mid section of the structure. The tornado arc introduces unique bending moments. This arc or curvature also creates non-standardised shear forces. This structural collaboration between CICO Consulting Architects & Engineers and AECOM would have taken some serious patience. Although I have personally never been involved with the design of a structure of this magnitude, learning about this creation has been refreshing. From an engineers perspective, I could talk about the Tornado Tower all day.
Please enjoy the photos I have posted below, and any feedback or questions are surely welcome.
“Young engineers are the future"
More Posts from Shaunhowrd-blog and Others
I've been coming to Bali for the past decade and some of the villas popping up throughout the Canggu area are mind blowing... @modern.architect #ricepaddies #bali #indonesia #architecture #villa #themodernengineer #structuralengineering #travel #lifestyle (at Canggu Beach)
Bali
“Bagus Sekali"
'Modern Engineer’, why on earth would you start in Bali? I’ve had a beautiful relationship with Bali since 2008 and it continues to flourish. The place offers up something for absolutely everyone. Reconnecting with local friends and seeing the world with a much clearer vision are the two things I enjoy most about Bali. It’s a humbling experience to say the least. The local people live off the bare minimum but without a doubt will greet you with a big, grateful smile on a daily basis. 24 hours in Bali and ‘life’ is put back into perspective.
As an engineer, witnessing the growth of local infrastructure over the last decade has definitely been an eye opener. New bridges, roads and buildings are emerging all over the island. The capital injected into the local economy by western companies has also contributed to this rapid growth in infrastructure.
With a variety of structures in mind, I have decided to talk about a hotel that is currently under construction, directly opposite the guest house I have been living in. The construction of this hotel offers up some of the typical Balinese building techniques and displays the third world environment that the local builders are met with each day. Late yesterday afternoon I ventured over to the building site and was met with a local builder at the entrance who was cleaning away framing off cuts into a pile. I’ve been learning Indonesian on and off since I was 10 years old and in the best Bahasa I could muster up, I kindly asked if the man’s boss was on site. With a blank look he replied ‘no boss, no boss’ with a grin from ear to ear. I smiled back and asked if I could have a look through the job site and he proceeded to nod and smile.
As I entered the site, the first thing that sprung to mind was safety, or the lack there of. Safety on a construction site is paramount in my home country of Australia. A job site will simply be shut down if there is any question’s concerning safety. From the lack of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), to bamboo scaffolding, safety concerns were abundant across this job site. This unfortunately is to be expected in a third world country due to the lack of necessary resources. Exposed stair cases with no railings, workers with no harnesses working at heights, exposed reinforcement bar and the list goes on. The fatality rate in Indonesia on construction sites is recorded at 9 per day. Reports indicate that this could be far higher as many are not recorded. Mind blowing really!
Moving along, the structure itself looked sound but as seen in the pictures rough around the edges. The concrete stair casings were set, the design on the other hand questionable. I can’t imagine the design was accurate to the building legislation set in Indonesia, but some sort of progress had been made. The questions that arise from an engineer’s perspective are, has enough reinforcement been included in the slab? are the joists correctly positioned? has the concrete reached its required compressive strength? I was met with another 5 workers on the job site as I scaled the 4 level building. All the workers were happy to have me on bored as I mumbled in Bahasa that I was an ‘insinyur' (Engineer). None of the workers spoke any english, so finding a set of building plans was also proving difficult. With a solid communication barrier, a few more smiles arose, a couple of nods were made and the crew was happy to let me cruise around and take a few photos. I would also like to add I was in flip flops, a t-shirt and board shorts which seemed to be no problem.
All the concrete columns looked sound and the structure stable. Looks can be deceiving though. The bamboo bracing used to construct the top floor panels and roofing was an eye opener. This definitely looked strange at first but the tensile and compressive strength of bamboo is significantly higher than one would imagine. Bamboo can’t be used as a structural member in a building but can be utilised within a portioning wall, ceiling, roof and various areas of construction that does not incorporate heavy load-bearing. With the obvious lack of capital available when constructing such buildings, bamboo becomes a very efficient resource within the Indonesian construction industry. I didn’t hang around to long as I didn’t want to disrupt the construction program, if they had one? I’m sure it was tucked away somewhere. It was also scorching hot in the Balinese sun! I was grateful for the self guided tour the local builders had let me engage in, so I jumped onto my bike and gathered 6 large waters for the crew from the local store. They were all extremely grateful. This was certainly a humbling experience as I type this from the comfort of a Finns Beach couch overlooking the Indian Ocean. I’m certainly grateful for the position I am in with my life at present.
“Every opportunity is a chance to learn”
The Modern Engineer
#Küssaberg #castle - #Deutschland #constructed #1125 #travel #explore #europe #structuralengineering #history #postclassical (at Dangstetten)
#Switzerland 🇨🇭 it was a #pleasure ... #bisbald #byefornow #tschüss #ciao #aufwiedersehen #swissalps #europe #explore #travel #snow #mountains @earth @switzerlandpictures (at Zürich, Switzerland)
Its great to see the population of Women in engineering growing.
It’s Women in Engineering Day
Today, June 23 is International Women in Engineering Day. We have many talented women across NASA that contribute to our success to reach for new heights and reveal the unknown for the benefit of humankind.
Happy Int'l Women in Engr Day! Love working @nasa to plan spacewalks, train astronauts, & flight control! #INWED17 #IAmANASAEngineer #nasa pic.twitter.com/pasndXB8sS
— Grier Wilt (@grierlauren)
June 23, 2017
Hearing from them illuminates the vibrant community of dedicated women who play a vital role at the agency. These women have pushed to pursue their dreams and make a difference everyday at NASA.
Happy International Women in Engineering Day! #INWED17 #IAmANASAEngineer pic.twitter.com/yvhhAzGUYv
— ~Alexandria~ (@DOPECHICKBEATS)
June 23, 2017
We hope that these stories will inspire girls everywhere to reach for the stars and explore the myriad of opportunities available to them through pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Proud to call these awesome @NASA_Johnson women engineers my friends! Happy Int'l Women in Engineering Day! #INWED17 #IAmANASAEngineer @NASA pic.twitter.com/qGSiR2xVFo
— Jenny On Console (@JennyOnConsole)
June 23, 2017
Join us as we celebrate the achievements of our outstanding women engineers.
Happy International Women in Engineering Day!#IAmANASAEngineer #INWED17 #INWED2017 #KSC @NASA_LSP @NASA @NASAKennedy @kelleyjoooones pic.twitter.com/RRCt75ff5g
— Laura P. Rose (@lauraprose)
June 23, 2017
Learn more and hear stories from the Women at NASA community by visiting http://women.nasa.gov.
We are the smart, incredible women of @LockheedMartin that are building @NASA_Orion at @NASAKennedy ! #INWED17 #IAmANASAEngineer pic.twitter.com/HurWOvhYIn
— Chelsea (@Queen_Of_Quarks)
June 23, 2017
Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com
Love this!
The Glass House - Phillip Johnson / Veil (Fujiko Nakaya)
© Richard Barnes
#Zürich views from the #primetower 🇨🇭 #zurich #switzerland #switzerlandpictures #europe #herbst #travel #explore #cityvibes #infrastructure #engineer #themodernengineer #menwithurban @menwithurban (at Canton of Zürich)
“step outside your comfort zone”
What does the title ‘engineer’ mean to you? What is an engineer? An engineer in my eyes is a collective noun that encompasses a vast array of modern day professionals pushing the boundaries of human evolution. Still too broad for you? A common question I am met with as a professional civil/ structural engineer is ‘what is an engineer’? If you really want to know, grab yourself a cup of coffee, class is in session.
My name is Shaun Howard and i’ve been a professional engineer since June 2013. I graduated at Griffith University on the Gold Coast, Australia with a Bachelor of Civil Engineering. I’m from Brisbane, Australia but I don’t reside anywhere at the moment, on the hop is where I like to be. Since graduating, i’ve worked on a diverse range of projects throughout Australia within the Civil and Structural space. I’m a fitness addict, I love to travel and I love the term ‘engineering’. The term is extremely broad and I am here to explore what it means to be an engineer and the boundaries engineers are currently pushing to evolve the human race.
Welcome to ‘The Modern Engineer’. Follow my journey as I bounce around the globe to give you a professional perspective on various, significant infrastructure.
“to broaden the horizon, is to explore the unknown”
#themodernengineer
A beautiful start to Monday morning here in Bali @finnsbeachclub #themodernengineer #civilengineer #structuralengineer #lifestyle #travel #infrastructure #bali #indonesia #balibagus #tgim (at Finns Beach Club)
