Dubai was once an unremarkable, sleepy trading port town – but no longer. Today, the city sitting on the shores of the Arabian Sea has all the trappings of a bustling, futuristic metropolis: super highways, glitzy malls, and neck-craning skyscrapers.
This metamorphosis, which started a few decades ago, continues apace today. Entire new districts are springing up as Dubai cements its position as a worldwide hub. Among these, the Uptown Dubai District (formally known as Burj 2020), poised to become the town’s new hotspot, with a 10 million square foot residential and enterprise hub complete with 200 retail and F&B outlets – no less. Uptown Dubai is set to become the go-to destination for everything including shopping, dining, entertainment and cultural experiences.
Bringing that Uptown Dubai district to life is Uptown Tower, a 340-meter-tall skyscraper, whose construction is expected to be completed by 2022. Designed by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture and built by BESIX Group, the 78-storey super-tall glass tower will be home to about 200 luxury hotel rooms and suites, restaurants, health spas, conference facilities, as well as 229 uniquely designed branded residences.
And Schindler is contributing to making that vision a reality. BESIX Group subsidiary Six Construct turned to Schindler, keen to leverage its proprietary Schindler R.I.S.E technology, the world’s first robot able to perform installation work in an elevator shaft.
“We are thrilled to be lending our expertise to such a landmark project,” said Julio Arce, President Europe South, Middle East & Africa. “This is another example of our commitment to providing the best of what urban mobility technology has to offer to shape the smart cities of tomorrow.”
For technology buffs, Schindler R.I.S.E is a sight to behold: Brought out to market in July 2020, the Schindler R.I.S.E robot (short for “Robotic Installation System for Elevators”) moves autonomously up the shafts, drilling precision holes to set the anchor bolts needed for the elevator guide rails and landing door brackets. Used in combination with Building Information Modelling (BIM) technology, Schindler R.I.S.E is able to process data from the building’s digital model to find the most adequate spot to drill, avoiding rebar – reinforcing steel used as rods in concrete.
In more ways than one, Schindler R.I.S.E is a textbook example of how automation can improve workers’ health and safety on construction sites – by allowing workers to focus on tasks that are less repetitive and physically demanding. The technology also allows for increased accuracy, which, in turn, leads to better quality installations.
“We are proud to be contributing to the success of this great project through our innovative robotics system, which helps to improve our workers’ health and safety but also provides a new standard for installation quality and speed," said Urs Püntener, Head of Global Fulfilment.