- The Bahrain World Trade Centre is a pioneering project designed by South African architect Shaun Killa that stands at 787 feet tall in Manama, Bahrain. - Killa designed the building with a sail shape to funnel winds into a central division housing a wind turbine to generate clean electricity. This had never been attempted before at such a large scale. - The design team faced significant challenges, such as finding engineers willing to take on the risky design and sourcing turbine blades the appropriate size. Through persistence and innovative solutions, they were able to solve these problems.

1. Bahrain WorldTrade Centre:“Buildingthe Super Tower”
Estream Coursework GordonBest
For thispiece of coursework,Ichose tostudy the BahrainWorldTrade Centre,orBWTC. It was a
pioneeringandinnovative projectbySouthAfricanarchitectShaunKilla.Situatedindowntown
Manama, Bahrain,it standsat 787ft, or 50 stories,andacts as a tradingand commercial centre for
Bahrain.
In an area of such highfocuson fossil fuels,itwasdecidedthatabuildingwithfeaturesmore akinto
a renewable energy projectshouldbe designed.MrKilla,a worldrenowneddesigner,andalsoa
keensailorcame upwiththe conceptof a sail shapedbuilding,whichwoulddirectthe highwindsof
Bahrainintoa central divisionbetweenthe twostructures,enablingawindturbine toturnthis
concentratedwindintoclean,efficientelectricityforthe building.Suchavisionhadnevercome to
fruitionbefore,butwiththe correctteamand the correct design,he believeditcouldbecome a
reality.
In thisessayI shall discussthe challengeswhichneededtobe overcome in ordertocreate such an
iconicstructure,I will explore howeffectivemanagementandcareful designhelpedtosolve these
problems,andfinallyIshall lookintoif the visionwhichShaunKillahadof a cleanand sustainable
buildingdesigncanlast,andhow thiscan be done.
ChallengesFacingthe DesignTeam
Throughoutthe program,there isa recurringtheme of the designteamhavingtoovercome
significantdoubtandchallenges. Thesemade me appreciate the massive level of background
knowledge neededandthe necessitytoimprovise andinnovate newsolutionsinaprojecttofully
overcome anyproblems.
WhenShaun Killasubmittedhisdesign,he knew itwouldbe atotallyuniqueandinnovative idea,
but he was metby reluctance fromthe engineeringcommunitytoattemptsucha riskydesign,
strugglingtofind willingengineers.The ideaof puttingawindturbine onabuildinghadneverbeen
attemptedbefore,nevermindona raisedbridge highabove the Bahrainurbanareawith fast winds
to consider.The riskof blade failure and thenmostlikelyfallingdownuponthose beneaththe
structure was a terrifyingnotion.
Nevertheless,he persistedandeventuallyfoundateamof Danishbridge andturbine engineerswho
had run simulationsforKilla’sdesign.Theyfeltthatwiththe correct turbine size,suchamassive risk
couldpay off.The difficultythe teamhadnextwassourcingthe turbine blade.Mostlarge turbine
companiesmake turbinestothe blade size of 80mor more,andsmallercompaniesmake adiameter
much lessthanthe required30m forthe Danishdesigntowork.Thiswasdue to the low cost
effectivenessof suchasize and orderof only3 turbines.Theyfoundasolutiontothisbyusinga
slightlyolderdesignwithalterationsandaddedsafetyfeatures.
Once the correct turbine hadbeenfound,the challengesfacingthe teamwere stillsubstantial.The
bridgesbetweenthe twostructureshadtobe able tosupportthe blade deadloadof 11 tons,as well

2. as the resonance fromthe dynamicloadingcausedbythe blade rotating.Toresolve this,the bridge
was made more rigidto attempttoreduce resonance levelscomingfromthe blade. Thisreducedthe
chance of highresonance collapse,andalsoincreasedthe stabilityof the blade topreventit
deflectingandstrikingthe bridge inhighwinds.Inadditiontothe increasedstability,the blades
were made intoa v shape pointingawayfromthe bridge,furtherreducingthe riskof collision.
A rollerjointwasfittedonone endof the bridge totake intoaccountthe movementof the entire
buildingduringhigh winds. Withthe complexdesigncomplete,andthe challengeswiththe turbine
and bridgessolved,constructioncouldbegin. Challengeswere metwithsettingoutthe buildingwith
itscurvedshape,butwere eventuallyfixedwithcareful effortsandefficientmanagement
coordination.
All of these challengesreallyinspiredme tohow the engineeringindustry routinely tacklesandsolve
all of these problems,where manywouldsee themandoptfora more simple designorgive up.It
showedme howan engineeringeducation cangive usa unique procedural thoughtprocessand
excellentproblemsolvingskills,resultinginprojects andinnovations whichwouldotherwisebe
consideredimpossible.
ChallengesFacingthe ConstructionTeam
Throughoutthe program,there isa theme of the constructionteamfacingextreme challengesfrom
the weatherandmakingthe innovative designworkinreality.
After2 and a half years,the Bahrain WorldTrade Centre stoodat 240m tall,withthe sturdy3
bridgesjoiningthe twostructuresweighinginat68 tons each,the turbineswere readytobe slowly
fixed.
The highwindspeedsinBahrainpredictablycausedissuesinconstruction.Itwasnot safe toraise
the bladesslowlyupbycrane in windsabove 50km/h.Evenif the raisingof the blade wassuccessful,
the chancesof fittingthe blade tothe bridge withaclearance of only60cm in sectionsof the raise
was highlyunlikelywiththe windbeingfocussedontoanunattached,stationaryblade.
The constant threatof delaydue tothe windmeantthat the time andassetmanagementwas
requiredtobe highlyefficientinordertobe ready togo whenthe windspeed droppedunderthe
50km/h threshold.
Unfortunately,the timingof the projectmeantthe turbine bladeswerereadytobe hoistedjustas
the Shamal arrived.Thisseasonal highwindsystemwhichaffectsthe PersianGulf statesraised
windsto110km/h. Obviouslythe blade raisingwasimpossibleinthissituation.Itwasclearthat the
designwasworkingagainstthe construction until the bladeswere actuallyfitted.The thresholdfor
fittingthese wasassignedas<21km/h.
Good managementinthiscase meantforhighpersonnel supervisionandanefficientplan.Tocover
everyeventuality,abackupplanwas made to “park” the blade if neededata secure pointinthe
structure. Thisshowedme the massive needforplanningeverystage of the constructionprocess,
and ensuringthere are contingencymeasuresinplace foranypotential hazards.

3. Aftera longwait,the bladescouldbe attached,withthe biggestchallenge beingthe highestup,3rd
blade.Thiswasdue to the steeprope angle of the crane rising,andwithwindsof 25km/h,the risk
was more thancateredfor inthe plan.However,the teamdecidedtopressonand raise the blade,
gettingthe blade fittedtothe bridge justintime aswindspeedsincreaseagain.
Once all bladeswere attached,the risksdeclinedsignificantly,therewas stability inthe designnow,
and the designof the structure to funnel the windintothe turbine wasnolongerahindrance to
construction.The bladeswere incrediblystrong,able todeal withspeedsof upto250km/h, andwith
a steel core to preventanybreakages.The 3 bladesreceivedifferentwindspeedsdue tothe shape
of the structure,sothe designhadtotake thisintoaccount,addingdrag to the bladestoensure that
each wouldspinatthe same speedon38 RPM, increasinginthe innerblade mechanismto250RPM.
Eightmonthslater,the BahrainWorld Trade Centre wasnearlycomplete.The fantasticsail shaped
structure was funnellingwindintothe 3windturbine bridges,andthe monitoringandfine tuningof
the bladeshadbeensuccessful priortothe unlockingof the mechanism.Whenthe buildingopened
and the bladeswere released,one of the trulyspectacularandiconicstructuresof the Middle East
was unveiledtothe world. Inanarea so commonlyassociatedwithfossil fuels,itactsas an icon as
to how an innovative designandgoodteammanagementcanresultina sustainable andeco-
friendly, fantasticbuildingwhichnobodybelievedcouldbe built.Withadesignlike thissucceeding,
it shouldhopefullypave the wayforthe nextnon-renewablypoweredbuildingtobe developed.
ViewerReflection
I thoroughlyenjoyedwatchingthe documentary,andfeltitwasacomprehensivestudyof the
challengesfacingdesignandconstructionteamswhentacklinganew project,especiallyone which
has neverbeenattempted. Ifeel like Inow appreciate the designtoconstructionprocessbetter,and
the careful considerationswhichmustbe made atthe designstage.The riskstakenduringthe design
and constructionof thisprojectare an excellentdemonstrationtothe viewerhow inany
engineeringprojectcertaindecisionsmustbe taken.Sometimesthese work,andsometimesthey
don’t,butthisprojectin particularshowedhow everysingle outcomewasidentified,andstepswere
takento ensure complete safetyforall those involved.Italsomade me realise the difficultbut
interestingnature of people fromdifferentnationalitiesandculturesall workingtogetherina
project.The SouthAfricanarchitect,the Danishdesignteam, andthe mostlylocal constructionteam
may all have differentviewsandbackgrounds,whichcouldresultinchallengeswithlanguage
barriersor tensionbetweendifferentareasof the workforce.Butitalsogave me the impressionthat
inlarge scale projectslike this,anengineerisanengineernomatterwhere theylearnttheirtrade,
and the combinedenthusiasmforcompletinganiconic projectcanbringtogetherpeople of
differentbackgroundsforone commongoal.
In a time where engineersare relieduponmore thanever,andoftentakenforgranted,itisprojects
like thiswhichshowthe true nature of the engineerwitharevolutionary projectinhugely
challengingcircumstancesto overcome the reluctance of mostandmake somethingworkwhichwas
previouslydeemedimpossible. Ifoundthe innovationandhardworkof all those involvedinthis
projectinspiring,andIhope there are many more projectslike itplannedforthe future.