Emaar has plans for 200-metre high Sky Walk for adventure seekers

The National -- Adventure seekers can slip into a safety harness to walk on a 200-metre high Sky Walk as part of a new attraction in Downtown Dubai.

The half-oval steel structure is suspended outside level 53 of the Address Sky View towers and has been planned as a major tourist attraction by Emaar Properties.

Residents and tourists will walk in safety gear “literally outside the building,” Emaar said in a statement, and promised breathtaking views of the Burj Khalifa and the Dubai Fountain from the observation corridor.

The 30-metre long cantilever Sky Walk is fixed to the structure of one of the two towers, and offers a 45-metre walking distance, the developer announced on Wednesday.

 “Appealing to adventure seekers, Sky Walk will add to the touristic appeal of the city and offer visitors a never-before experience,” said Mohammed Alabbar, chairman of Emaar Properties.

“Lifting the Sky Walk in place is a true engineering feat accomplished seamlessly by a team of experts from across the world.”

A team of over 300 engineering, construction and design experts worked for over one year on the Sky Walk that weighs more than 350 tonnes of structural steel.

A residential and hospitality project, the distinctive towers of the Address Sky View, also feature an 85-metre-long Sky Bridge, at 220 metres height.

While lifting the Sky Walk into place, the international team had to address design challenges and take into consideration high wind speeds and the summer temperature. The engineering team also designed a four-metre high steel girder to hold the immense load of the Sky Walk and high-capacity cranes not commonly used in the region.

The structure was divided into two main pieces with the weight of the girder about 250 tonnes and the Sky Walk at about 350 tonnes.

Special high-capacity hydraulic jacks were imported from Switzerland to lift the two main steel pieces.

Each element was assembled on the ground over three months and then lifted into position. The Sky Walk truss, the heaviest component, was lifted to the 200-metre height with high-capacity hydraulic jacks and cables.

The project is designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, the architects of Burj Khalifa.