Quality Award

The President of Turner Construction International, Ali H. Odeh, received the Century International Quality ERA Award from BID's President Jose E. Prieto.

Founded in 1902, Turner Construction International, part of Turner Construction U.S.A., a professional building services company, is ranked first in major segments of the construction industry in the world, with an annual construction volume of $8.6 billion. Its 5,700 employees work on over 1,600 international projects. The Burj Khalifa tower constitutes its most noteworthy project due to the fact that it will be the tallest skyscraper in the world. The President of Turner Construction International (member of the American Society of Civil Engineering), Ali H. Odeh, received the Century International Quality ERA Award from BID’s President Jose E. Prieto at BID’s Quality Convention in Geneva.

Burj Khalifa

Burj Khalifa (Arabic: برج خليفة‎ “Khalifa Tower”), formerly known as Burj Dubai, is a skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and is currently the tallest man-made structure ever built, at 828 m (2,717 ft). Construction began on 21 September 2004, with the exterior of the structure completed on 1 October 2009. The building officially opened on 4 January 2010. The building is part of the 2 km2 (490-acre) flagship development called Downtown Burj Khalifa at the “First Interchange” along Sheikh Zayed Road, near Dubai’s main business district.
The tower’s architecture and engineering was performed by Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill of Chicago. Adrian Smith, who worked with Skidmore, Owings and Merrill until 2006, was the chief architect and Bill Baker was the chief structural engineer for the project.The primary contractor was Samsung C&T of South Korea, who also built the Taipei 101 and Petronas Twin Towers. Major subcontractors included Belgian group Besix and Arabtec from the UAE. Turner Construction Company was chosen as the construction project manager. Under UAE law, the Contractor and the Engineer of Record are jointly and severally liable for the performance of Burj Khalifa. Therefore, by adoption of SOM’s design and by being appointed as Architect and Engineer of Record, Hyder Consulting is legally the Design Consultant for the tower.
The total cost for the Burj Khalifa project was about US$1.5 billion; and for the entire new “Downtown Dubai”, US$20 billion. Mohamed Ali Alabbar, the Chairman of Emaar Properties, speaking at the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat 8th World Congress, said in March 2009 that the price of office space at Burj Khalifa had reached US$4,000 per sq ft (over US$43,000 per m2) and that the Armani Residences, also in Burj Khalifa, were selling for US$3,500 per sq ft (over US$37,500 per m2). The completion of the tower coincided with a worldwide economic slump and overbuilding, causing it to be described as “the latest … in [a] string of monuments to architectural vacancy.”

Dubai

Dubai (in Arabic: دبيّ‎, Dubeye) is one of the seven emirates of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula. The Dubai Municipality is sometimes called Dubai state to distinguish it from the emirate. Written accounts document the existence of the city for at least 150 years prior to the formation of the UAE.
Dubai shares legal, political, military and economic functions with the other emirates within a federal framework, although each emirate has jurisdiction over some functions such as civic law enforcement and provision and upkeep of local facilities. Dubai has the largest population and is the second-largest emirate by area, after Abu Dhabi. Dubai and Abu Dhabi are the only two emirates to possess veto power over critical matters of national importance in the country’s legislature. Dubai has been ruled by the Al Maktoum dynasty since 1833. Its current ruler, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, is also the Prime Minister and Vice-President of the UAE.
The emirate’s main revenues are from tourism, property and financial services. Although Dubai’s economy was originally built on the oil industry, revenues from petroleum and natural gas currently contribute less than 6% (2006) of the emirate’s US$ 80 billion economy (2009). Property and construction contributed 22.6% to the economy in 2005, before the current large-scale construction boom.
Dubai has attracted world attention through many innovative large construction projects and sports events. This increased attention, coinciding with its emergence as a global city and business hub, has highlighted labour and human rights issues concerning its largely South Asian workforce. Established in 2004, the Dubai International Finance Centre was intended as a landmark project to turn Dubai into a major international hub for banks and finance, rivalling New York, London, and Hong Kong.