Cover Story

Established in Thailand in 1968, WEN Holding (formerly known as Wattana Engineering & Construction) was involved in over 100 building and industrial projects as the main contractor before itdecided to explore its operations in Qatar in 2004. The company has to its credit many Qatari landmarks such as the Sidra Medical & Research Center, National Museum of Qatar, Al Jassimya Tower, Al Areen Residential Tower, etc. Shedding on many of its achievements so far, Dr Eknarin Sriprasert, Vice President, WEN Qatar WLL, also elucidates on the company’s and its future plans. We launched our first project in Qatar -15th Asian Games Athletes Village at Hamad Medical City. Here our scope of work included providing project management services to the post-tensioning contractor in various work packages including Ministry of Public Health & Staff Club, Central Energy Plant, as well as Hospital Shell & Core and Oval Car Park. The project was designed and supervised by a Consultant so called Federation of Design and Construction Services of Thailand (FEDCON) under direction of Viboon Sriprasert, Chairman of the company.

A fruitful journey

After acquiring the necessary experience in this large-scale project in Qatar, the company exported its site supervisory staff, formwork system and skilled workers from Thailand to participate in Al Areen Residential Tower (B+G+35) project in West Bay as a structural work subcontractor. This project was completed in 2007, since then we have been partneringwith Al Hassan Group and further exploring its new business opportunities under the brand name of WEN Qatar WLL We subsequently completed several landmark projects in Qatar including, Islamic Institute at Al Waab, Al Jassimya Tower (3B+G+40) in West Bay, and Sidra Medical and Research Centre in Education City. Currently, we are engaged in reinforced concrete and wet trade works for the National Museum of Qatar, designed by Ateliers Jean Nouvel. Our other ongoing projects include Burj Marina Tower, Business Square Tower, and Bridge Construction in Lusail.

Framed to perfection

The Qatar National Museum opened in 1975 in a restored palace originally built in the early 20th century by Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim Al-Thani. It served as his family residence and the seat of government for approximately 25 years. In addition to the original Amiri Palace, the former Qatar National Museum included a Museum of the State, a lagoon and a very popular marine aquarium. In 1980 the building won the Agha Khan award for restoration and rehabilitation of Islamic architecture. This splendid monument to Qatar’s past is now preserved as the heart of the new National Museum of Qatar. The new museum’s innovative design created by eminent architect Jean Nouvel is inspired by the desert sand rose and grows organically around the former palace. This unprecedented 21st century institution will celebrate the culture, heritage and future of Qatar and its people. It reflects and belongs to a new era in Qatari prosperity, the country’s prominent role in the Arabian Gulf community and its world standing.

Sculpted to precision

Another one of our major landmarks, the Burj Marina Tower Plot 8 in Lusail consists of three main elements: podium including the basement, main tower and the `frame' structure. The podium houses approximately 7,000 sq m of retail facilities on the ground floor while the basement and first five upper floors are devoted to parking facilities. The tower houses 24 storeys of offices and a tech floor on the 30th floor. Elevated gardens are being proposed on the top of the podium and on the roof of the 30th floor. The frame structure of the building envelopes the tower leaving a void above the roof garden. Above this void the frame supports a panoramic restaurant on the 35th and 36th floor with a metal deck on the 37th floor and three further tech floors. Office space occupies the vertical elements of the frame, to either side of the tower. The construction of this project has currently reached the 35th floor and the entire project is likely to complete by the end of 2013.

Innovative technologies

As per project requirement at the National Museum of Qatar project, our company utilises Building Information Model (BIM) for shop drawing coordination, production, as well as visualisation for workface construction. Initially, the client provided us with a conceptual 3D BIM model. Each one of the specialised contractors who is involving in the project would then gradually develop the model with higher level of details suitable for fabrication and installation on site. Prior to submission for approval, the detailed model from every contractor will be uploaded, shared, and integrated in the central server. Clashes will be detected and resolved in 3D fashion by regular design coordination meetings and, finally, 2D shop drawings will be produced in accordance with the approved model. Since the geometry of the project structure is very complicated, the 3D model visualisation is also available in the site cabin where engineers and supervisors can view and get better understanding of the structures that they are going to build.

Going green

The National Museum of Qatar follows LEED – green building standards by using materials containing pre and post consumer recycled content to attain LEED credits MR 4.1 & 4.2. We also used regional materials (extracted and harvested within 500 miles of the project site) to attain LEED credits MR 5.1 & 5.2. A certificate for each mat erial and product was obtained to confirm the compliance with LEED requirements from their manufacturers and suppliers.

Milestone achievement

We managed, supervised, and installed over 1 million square metre of post-tension -ed slab structure in various projects in Qatar including Hamad Medical City, Museum of Islamic Arts, and Medina Centrale at the Pearl in collaboration with PBL Group, an international post-tensioning specialist contractor. In these projects, PBL delivered the PT design and materials from head quarter in Thailand, while we organised project management team, supervision staff, and workforce in installation of PT tendons, perform stressing and grouting at the job sites in Qatar. The implementation of PT system has generated huge benefits in terms of overall cost saving for structures as well as speed in construction.

Quality and safety

Each of our staff and workers has to undergo safety induction training before they can work at the project site. We also organise a ‘toolbox talk’ by our safety engineer for our supervision staff and workers highlighting practical safety awareness and measures on site. In addition, potential workers are trained on scaffolding erection and crane signaling from accredited third party institutes. We also introduce ‘one keep, one throw’ system that enabling our workers to retain at least one piece of reusable tools/consumables and throw away the waste everyday. Our engineer and supervision staff also studies the method statement and inspection and test plan (ITP) approved by the Consultant prior to initiating any new work. In addition, we provide internal training on the proper utilisation of formwork system and casting method for fair-faced concrete elements. New horizons Our company constructed 33 major projects in Thailand as the main contractor during year 1990-1995. However, due to regional economic crisis that severely affected the country’s market, we started exporting construction expertises and qualified personnel to overseas projects. We also executed several landmarks in Qatar following footstep of FEDCON initiatives.

Centres of operations

In GCC, we have a deal with a local business partner in Bahrain to prequalify and participate in major projects including an inter -national chain 5 star hotel, government housing development, city’s sewerage plant and network, and the new convention centre project. In South East Asia, we have completed five office and residential towers owned by Canada Bank in Cambodia. We further plan to enter Myanmar market by the end of 2012. In Africa, we have partnered with a local Nigerian developer, Crown Realties, to build a state-of-the-art office building in Lagos and university’s dormitories across the country. Also, we have signed an MOU with South Sudan Government Agency for future development of major projects.

New partners

With the multi-continental growth of our business, we plan to merge our global expertises with knowledge from local partners to achieve competitive advantages in quality, cost, and time. Furthermore, we also plan to partner with prominent companies for expertise in infrastructure, architectural finishing, electromechanical works, etc to expand our services worldwide. Future ahead Currently, we plan to secure infrastruture projects for Qatar World Cup 2022 along with several international projects. We also plan to establish more subsidiaries to raise project financing and execute upcoming projects in various countries worldwide

Chicago Design Consortium International (CDCi)

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CDCi is a full-service consultancy office, newly established in Qatar. Our firm has continued to grow through sound management practices and a tenacious commitment to providing clients with functional and easily maintained designs that satisfy program requirements of today and offer flexibility for tomorrow. CDCi emphasis on providing value-added design services to clients, and apply cutting-edge design concepts to create exceptional buildings that inspire the best in those that study, work and live in them.Our professional staff allows our team the ability to complete projects for both large and small clients. We offer a multi-service team of professionals and support personnel, which includes architects, engineers, project managers, construction managers, specifications writers, cost estimators. CDCi broad base of skills and experience allows us to respond to clients’ needs with comprehensive services, including: architecture, structure and electromechanical.

We believe in combining your strategy and vision with the finest team of professionals, we create an active line of communication with  our  clients,  listen  to  their  needs  and  discover  what  they want.  In  turn,  we  will  create  not  only  a  building  or  design,
but a sustainable place that inspires and improves how people function in those spaces. We are compelled to design buildings that reflect a community’s vision and are part of a larger order. We believe our design is
enriched  by  the  awareness  of  context,  culture,  tradition,  and heritage.We seek simple yet comprehensive design solutions, which best serve  our  clients,  the  users  of  their  buildings,  and  the  public at-large.

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