Project Focus

Dubai Design District (d3) is a purpose-built master-plan development in Dubai dedicated to the design community including startups, entrepreneurs and established international design, luxury and fashion brands. It is a TECOM Group freezone business park consisting of three phases, the first of which is 11 building offices, completed in 2015. d3's facilities when fully completed will include residential, hospitality, retail and office space. The development has  a 1.8 km waterfront development which will be populated with food and beverage outlets, hotels, retail outlets and a multi-use outdoor space. d3 is located close to Mohammed bin Rashid City and adjacent to Dubai's Business Bay. The district is situated beside Dubai Creek, and behind Burj Khalifa and Dubai Mall.

The glitzy, avant-garde Dubai Design District is known for global fashion and design festivals, plus chic galleries showing work by up-and-coming designers, world renowned architects and artists. Trendy al fresco cafes serve lunch and artisan coffee, while sleek restaurants offer creative takes on classic Mediterranean dishes. Nearby, Ras al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary is a wetlands reserve with migratory birds like flamingos and herons.

Technal developed the façade systems to meet the performance specifications and project’s unique façade requirements. The main system used in the project was Technal MX-EL unitized glazed curtain walling with integrated sail shading features. The project utilizes existing concrete structures, where the brand new facade design had to correspond to existing site conditions. The project ran on a tight construction schedule of 14 months and an even tighter schedule for the façade program.

The 10 buildings which were approximately 58 m tall had a massive façade area of 64,000 m2 with. A total of 11,900 panels were designed, engineered, tested, fabricated and installed in a record 6 months. The Technal MX EL System was tested for 1000 Pa Static and Dynamic water tightness with Wind serviceability of 2.56 kpa and tackling inter storey displacement of +/- 18 mm. The incorporated custom made mashrabiya not only provided eccentric design touch to the façade but also  acted as natural sun protection offering exceptional comfort for the building occupants.