Status Under construction Location Colombo, Sri Lanka Country Sri Lanka Construction started 2012 Floor area 14 ha Architect Moshe Safdie | Type Residential, Retail Town or city Colombo Architectural 240.0 m (787 ft) Floors 68 Phone +94 11 7 466550 | |
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Address 121A Sir James Pieris Mawatha, Colombo 00200, Sri Lanka Function Commercial building, Residential building Similar Colombo Lotus Tower, Beira Lake, Altitude, Grand Hyatt Colombo, Gangaramaya Buddhist Temple Profiles | ||
The Altair Project (or Altair) is a residential and commercial development under construction in Colombo, Sri Lanka. At 68 stories and 240m, the building will be one of the tallest buildings in Colombo when it is completed. The building is situated adjacent to Beira Lake on 2 acres of land located at 127, Sir James Pieris Mawatha, Colombo 00200. As of August 2013, piling is completed.
Contents
Location
The building is located in the heart of Colombo, adjacent to Beira Lake at 127, Sir James Pieris Mawatha. The Urban Development Authority plans to convert part of Sir James Pieris Mawatha into a pedestrian-only promenade to facilitate the 40,000 sq ft (3,700 m2) high street retail shopping which will be created on ground level. To reduce congestion, traffic will be diverted via a new access road. According to the traffic analysis conducted, travel time will increase by a nominal 14 seconds.
Due to its location, residents of the building will enjoy 270 degree unobstructed views of Beira Lake and the Indian Ocean.
Features
Altair will consist of 400+ luxury apartments (3 Bedroom, 4 Bedroom and Penthouses) ranging from 1,500 square feet (140 m2) to over 4,000 square feet (370 m2). Additionally, the development will also have a Sky Garden on the 63rd floor with a pool, lounge and party arena.
Design and Construction
The building has been designed by Moshe Safdie of Safdie Design who was also the architect for the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. There are two towers, one of which is leaning on the other. The leaning tower has been designed using a distinctive diagrid structure with flat slabs which not only adds structural stability to the building without the need for internal columns but also allows for a permeable surface with large windows. This allows maximum airflow and light which contributes to energy savings in heating and cooling and also provides access to the balcony for an awesome view.
The towers will be constructed on reinforced concrete piles and a raft footing with a reinforced concrete and/or steel superstructure. Even though Colombo rarely experiences significant earthquakes (it is classified in seismic Zone 0 under the international building code), Altair has been designed to withstand earthquakes up to 7 on the Richter Scale.
The developers have also commissioned wind tunnel tests to be conducted by RWDI. This is the same team that conducted the tests for the Burj Khalifa. 103 individual wind speed sensors were placed on a 2m model of Altair. They also modeled all relevant surrounding buildings and topography within a 480m radius.
Construction Status
The Altair's piling and foundation has been laid and cranes have been set-up to begin construction of the tower. By late 2015 the building is expected to be at least 50m tall.