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The Ekat City project forms part of a city-wide redevelopment strategy, including top-of-the-range residential accommodation and social housing. The client particularly valued the logic and clarity that Arup brought to the design process.
The client's objective was to provide the highest quality office, retail, hotel and conference facilities currently available in this area of Russia. The masterplanning concept for the site included a below-ground servicing strategy, leaving the ground plane free from vehicular traffic and enhancing the prestige of the project.
The project, designed by French architects Valode et Pistre, comprised a total of 800,000m² of commercial offices, retail, hotel and conference facilities, including 300,000m² of basement parking. The scheme in Ekaterinburg includes three towers that are 80, 55 and 43 storeys tall.
Arup provided structural, mechanical, electrical and public health engineering expertise for the scheme design and design development stages, as well as preparation of the ‘Proekt’ submission. Additional services included vertical transportation, fire strategy (working with local fire consultant Krilak) and wind engineering.
Project Summary
800,000m2 of commercial offices
3towers
+80 storey tall
Wind tunnel testing was carried out to Arup’s specification by BMT in London. The testing investigated the effects of wind on each of the three large towers of the Ekat City project, and on a fourth residential tower to be constructed on an adjacent site, and assessed ground level environmental wind conditions
Arup’s engineers were described by the client as 'experts' that not only suggested and investigated possible options, but also made clear recommendations as to the best course of action.
Given the current lack of appropriate design guidance for modern high-rise buildings in Russia, Arup was able to add value by providing state-of-the art guidance on appropriate design parameters based on global project experience.
