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Application of Geotechnical Engineering in Construction

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Application of Geotechnical Engineering in Construction
Burj Al Arab, Dubai
Student’s Name
Institution’s Name

Introduction
Burj Al Arab is one of the most incredible buildings on the planet. It is the world’s tallest
hotel and the only seven-star hotel. The building came to existence due to Sheik Mohammed bin
Rashid Al Maktoum idea. Sheikh’s plan was to ensure that there was a continuation of wealth
even after extraction of oil came to an end. The name itself, which means the radiant tower,
explains the wonder of this hotel. It is the most luxurious hotel with a total height of 321m, 56
floors and 400 rooms. The shape of the building is similar to that of a billowing sail and this
corresponds to the maritime trading power of Dubai. It can be accessed from land, sea, and air.
The building has a helipad that is built at a height of 212m. It can be accessed from the mainland
by using a private curving bridge. Its construction started in November 1994 and took 5 years to
be completed. $650 million was used to construct this building (Bright Hub, 2017).
The building was constructed on a man-made island and the design was done by Tom
Wright. The Sheikh insisted that the hotel should rise from the sea so as to match with its image
of a sail. Atkins, the largest UK’s multidisciplinary consultancy, was the architect as well as the
engineering consultant for this great project. It was then built by the Murray &Roberts, a South
African construction contractor.

Application of Geotechnical Engineering in Construction

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Construction and Application of Geotechnical Engineering
Geotechnical engineering involves acquiring the information of earth materials, such as
soil and rocks, on a given site either for exploration or construction. The information acquired is
then used to analyze the risks presented by the earth materials and this helps to understand the
design procedures and the foundations of the construction. Dubai is located in the Arabian
Desert. It has a sandy landscape with gravel dominating the southern parts. Therefore, this means
its construction foundation is weak. However, it is considered to be a stable zone when it comes
to tsunami since its Persian Gulf water is not deep enough.
With the above factors, Burj Al Arab was an archite...