Middle East and Africa
The Kempinski, Burj Rafal, Riyadh
The Burj Rafal will be the tallest residential tower in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia after its scheduled completion in the middle of 2013.
A wind tunnel study of the structural loads and building motion was undertaken for this 66-storey tower structure. This structure is certainly not amenable to code-based predictions for the structural loads and occupant comfort under building motion due to its height, not to mention its oval-shaped plan form. Testing was also carried out in the wind tunnel to determine the wind loads on the two 55m high spires located at the roof of the tower. This study also accounted for the interference effects of one spire acting on the other.
Other studies were carried out including a façade pressure study and a wind environment study. The pressure study was able to provide the real-time differential pressure acting on either side of the two tiered roof crown feature.
