Capital Gate: Leans More Than The Leaning Tower of Pisa

Capital Gate, the iconic leaning building in Abu Dhabi, reached halfway point. The mixed use building, designed by international architects RMJM, is currently under construction and will lean 18 degrees westward; 14 degrees more than the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

The Capital Gate (‘feature tower’) is a spectacularly cantilevered building which adds its unique form to the Abu Dhabi skyline. A dramatic steel and glass façade shrouds the 35-story building which sits on 490 piles which have been drilled 30 meters under ground to accommodate the gravitational, wind and seismic forces caused by the distinctive lean of the building.

To make this possible, the central core of the building slants in the opposite direction to the lean of the structure, and it straightening as it grows. It sits on top of a 7-foot-deep concrete base with a dense mesh of reinforced steel. The steel exoskeleton known as the diagrid sits above an extensive distribution of 490 piles that have been drilled 100 feet underground to accommodate the gravitational, wind and seismic pressures caused by the lean of the building.

A gigantic internal atrium, including a tea lounge and swimming pool suspended 263 feet above the ground, has been constructed on the 17th and 18th floors, the halfway point of the 35-story, 525-foot tall tower.

Capital Gate will house Abu Dhabi’s first Hyatt hotel – Hyatt at Capital Center, a presidential-style luxury, 5-star hotel and will provide 200 hotel rooms for Abu Dhabi and will serve ADNEC’s (Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company) visitors and exhibitors as well as international business and leisure travelers.

More pictures: www.rmjm.com.