Damac gets completion certificate for DIFC towers

Damac Properties announced on Tuesday that it had received the completion certificate for the Park Towers development in the Dubai International Finance Centre.

The elliptical twin tower development was designed by San Francisco based firm Gensler. The firm was also responsible for the DIFC ‘Gate Building’.

“Park Towers makes a striking addition to the architecturally impressive landscape of the DIFC. The completion certificate is the first step in the handover process. While we are still finalising the landscaping and interiors, we expect to deliver the building shortly,” Naill McLoughlin, senior vice-president of Damac Properties said.

Encased in an energy-reducing solar glass skin, the two towers posed a number of challenges to contractors. Installing the different sized glass panels on the façade posed a particular problem, the firm said, adding that the latest in CAD design and 3D software was required to configure the panels.

The glass cladding allows every residential and office unit to have a sheer glass outlook, while also serving to create a sense of ‘industrial chic’ to the interiors, McLoughlin said.

“The architectural design of the towers is aesthetically pleasing from both the exterior and interior perspectives of the building. The curved glass façade allows every apartment to have a view beyond 180 degrees,” he added.

Sitting on a 1,200m2 plot of land, the twin towers rise 180m above ground level, with three basement levels, seven podiums and 42 additional floors.

Damac plans to have boutique retail outlets and restaurants on podiums one, three and four.

The following seven floors contain office space, along with podiums five and seven. The first four tower floors (5-11) will also have office space.

The residential floors begin from the 12th floor and take up the higher levels of the developments.

In addition, podiums four and seven contain landscaped gardens, tennis courts and a swimming pool. In addition there are residential lounges and a high end gym on the property.

“Park Towers was designed with the corporate executive in mind. It is a high-end mixed use development which was designed to allow its residents to live, work and play within the perimeter of the development, whilst being within walking distance of the Dubai International Finance Centre and all it has to offer,” McLoughlin explained.

Despite the impact of the global financial recession, he said that he believed that Dubai was beginning to re-assert its position as a regional hub for tourism, logistics and finance.

This re-assertion would see an increase in demand for quality office space; while the resulting influx of employees is expected see a rise in demand for residential properties.

According to a report released by Asteco, the UAE property management company, the first two months of the year saw a 20% rise in enquires for leasing office space.

A recent report released by financial and professional services company, Jones Lang LaSalle, found that some residential and office locations in Dubai have begun to show signs of stabilisation.