Mirage is excited to announce that we have secured the building permit well ahead of Main Works Contractor appointment for our design studio’s very first project – The St. Regis Residences Downtown Dubai by Emaar, located in the Opera District of Downtown Dubai. Enabling works are nearing completion, with preparatory work being undertaken for the sub-structure works.
The project draws inspiration from the early 20th century art deco style of New York, infused with a contemporary twist. Two residential towers – one at 65 storeys and another at 42 storeys respectively; this development is an elegant addition to the cityscape overlooking Dubai Opera, Burj Khalifa and the Dubai Fountain.
In the design of high-rise buildings, wind loads play a critical role. St. Regis Residences Downtown Dubai location is unique where the wind loads are significant, owing to the prevailing wind direction, and the project’s proximity to other built and upcoming towers. The conventional wind engineering approach would have required dampers on the taller tower, and significantly more reinforcement to attain lateral stability of the two towers.
Mirage, however, challenged the convention and utilised the most advanced wind engineering technique to achieve a resilient design. This feat was achieved through our partnership with CPP, a leading US-based wind specialist which employed a cutting-edge approach combining wind tunnel data with wind climate data. This advanced approach, considered the state-of-the-art in wind engineering, has been successfully implemented on a variety of building types and locations across North America. Notably, though, this marks the first instance of its application in the region, further demonstrating our commitment to innovation and excellence. Mirage’s structural engineering team, Emaar, and CPP collaborated closely and engaged in multiple iterations to optimise the building’s design and achieved the most effective response to wind loads.
Roy Denoon, CPP Senior Principal and Vice President says, “It has been a real pleasure working hand-in-hand with the Mirage team to advance integrated design approaches in the Gulf region. Their openness to supporting new techniques is testament to their values and willingness to improve the design standards, resilience and sustainability of their building projects.”
“As the Structural Director at Mirage, I’m excited to see this project take shape. Our team, dedicated countless hours to ensure the structural integrity and economic design of these high-rise towers, ensuring the highest levels of safety and resilience,” says Tamer Sallam.
Amar Tahilani, Mirage’s CEO says that “Mirage’s cutting-edge structural engineering approach and the firm’s motto to place the Client first, made a significantly positive impact on the project both in terms of cost and programme efficiency”.
