Precision from Lower Bavaria for Abu Dhabi

Window automation "Made in Passau" for one of the largest cultural projects in the Far East: SIMON PROtec supplies 1083 folding arms for a total of 578 front windows for the "Zayed National Museum" building project in Abu Dhabi, which are distributed across five different building wings.

The Zayed National Museum is designed to commemorate the history, development, and culture of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The building is hidden under a landscape - and only the so-called "falcon wings" are visible. It is dedicated to the founder of the empire, Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan. As early as 2007, there was an international tender for this prestigious project, which was won by the renowned architectural firm Foster + Partners from London. After numerous delays, the date for the official completion of the project is still open, but construction work on the huge, 44,000-square-metre site continues to progress. SIMON PROtec have been part of the project since February 2019, when the company received an enquiry to this regard. A suitable solution was not far away, although the final contract was only approved towards the end of 2021. The task is one of the most exciting in the company's history and a great challenge at the same time, as the windows are all different and unique in their geometry. The only thing they have in common is the triangular shape, which in turn has different heights, widths, and angles. The decisive factor for the order with a value of 600,000 euros was "that we deliver a unique technical solution that no other supplier offers worldwide," says CEO Martin Weber happily. "Engineering Made in Bavaria!" Ensuring that all the wheels mesh accordingly during project planning requires close coordination on the part of SIMON PROtec's technical sales department with the local sales partner (SE CONTROLS MIDDLE EAST FZE LLC) and the two project control companies (Lindner Steel and Glass Middle East and Lindner Fassaden GmbH from Switzerland), as well as the company carrying out the work on the construction site (Reem Emirates Aluminium LLC).

Special challenges due to architecture and desert climate

Since 1967, SIMON PROtec have been a pioneer and specialist when it comes to electrical smoke and heat extraction (SHEV) or ventilation and window automation - in particular, the manufacturing of window opener units. "The folding arm actuators supplied for this project are used to electrically open a total of 578 front windows for air intake and exhaust," Weber explains. 505 windows of these are each equipped with two folding arm actuators that are operated synchronously with each other. An additional 73 windows each have only one single actuator. The opening width is set to meet the respective requirements for the geometric opening area. The windows are driven via a central building management system (BMS) to control the natural ventilation. Wind speed and direction are monitored, and humidity and temperature sensors enable the windows to be opened automatically if condensation is expected.

The integrated SICO BUS technology takes care of synchronous operation and precise positioning control. "This way, SIMON PROtec ensure that natural ventilation is possible within a few seconds in the Zayed National Museum, with the special challenges of a desert state, and also fulfils all the requirements for preventive fire protection in smoke and heat extraction," Weber is pleased to report. Due to the geographical location and the prevailing climatic conditions, it was also a project-specific requirement that no sand (dust) be allowed to penetrate the window opener unit itself and that it be protected against water - both of which are made possible by the IP65 protection class of the folding arm.

Other special features are the cable routing, which runs exclusively within the window frame and is therefore invisible. The folding arm is perfectly integrated into the overall visual concept via a special and dirt-resistant colour scheme in basalt grey (AKZONOBEL RAL 7012).

With their German development and production quality, SIMON PROtec ensure that one of the most ambitious cultural projects in the Far East can count on the highest precision when opening and closing the 1083 windows. Somehow it all sounds a bit like a fairy tale from the Arabian Nights.

PROJECT DATA

Start:

No. of actuators:

Models:

Coating:

Protection class:

Commissioner:

Architecture:

Completion:

2019

1083 (for 578 windows)

1010 x PA-KL²(-K)-XX/XXX-S (2 x synchronous actuators for 505 windows)

73 x PA-KL²(-K)-XX/XXX (single actuator)

Basalt grey (AKZONOBEL RAL 7012)

IP 65

Lindner Steel and Glass Middle East and Lindner Fassaden GmbH

Foster & Partners, London

tbd.