Hub Zero

Project Name: Hub Zero – Family Entertainment Center
Location: Dubai, UAE
Client: Meeras
Main Contractor: Belhasa Six Construct / Orascom Construction Industries Joint Venture

Façade Consutant: Inahbit

Scope of Work:

– Advance structural composite façade with integrated LED lightning

– Steel & glass facades to office area.

– Structurally glazed façade as glass fins to entrance and lobby with sliding doors.

Contract Completion: August 2016

Project Value:

Since 2011 Affan has been pioneering the benefits and use of advanced structural composites in construction
As Architects look to push the bounderies, 3D modelling has advanced together with the materials that are now able to be used together to construct truly 3dimensional surfaces and structures.

Having constructed their new Dubai headquarters and production facility almost entirely of structural composite, in 2014 Affan were awarded the facade of Meeras’s Hub Zero. At the request of the contractor Six Construct , Affan were asked to table a proposal for the external skin of the entertainment center …. The brief …. It had to be cost effective, capable of being installed efficiently and quickly as time was a determining factor and able to integrate more than 4000 led panels.

Affans design was based around 2 story high structural composite cassettes ranging from 10m to 15m in a single element The cassettes then had more than 6000 individual decorative panels added … A particular design concept from the Client to give a varying depth and randomness to the facade. The last components (the LED panels) were then fixed into the cassettes.

The unitised elements maximize the benefits of factory production and quality control and were transported on long trailers usually 3 or 4 per delivery.

Upon arrival on site, installation was swift and enabled the facade to quickly develop from a simple block work structure to a fully finished facade.

In addition to the composite facades, Affan completed the Entrance Façades, comprising structural glazing supported on structural glass fins with integrated break out sliding doors from Boon Edam, and all structural supports for the Main Entrance 14m x8m LED Screen

The above video provides a time lapse view of the production, from fiber lay up and infusion through to installation and alignment with the final demonstration of the LED lighting a fitting testament to the design of the project, and the benefits that can be achieved using structural composites in construction.

The Façade was completed in February 2016 and the centre opened to the public in August 2016