Over 32,000m² of mega panels supplied for VIP car park at Sowwah Island Financial Centre

SAS International has said it has supplied over 32,000m2 of mega panels for the new VIP car park at the Abu Dhabi Financial Centre in Sowwah Island, Abu Dhabi. The ADFC car parks are located north and south of the site, providing around 5,200 parking places.

Keeping in mind Abu Dhabi’s searing summer heat, architects Gensler were keen to provide an appropriate air conditioned climate for visiting VIPs to the ADFC facility. According to the company, a suspended metal ceiling was chosen to enclose the required air conditioning and MEP services with a mix of plain and perforated metal panels. Combining what the company terms performance with aesthetics, the service panels allow air return while the differing-sized perforations (39% open area in the central area of the tile and 25% open area towards the edges) provide a gradient finish.

Gensler required a large modular panel to give a proportionate scale relative to the large single 16,000m2 floor plate for the car park. SAS International was actively involved in the design of the metalwork solutions, working closely with the architect to manufacture the oversized metal System 330 ceiling panels to meet specification demands.

In addition, the manufacturer was able to provide a suitable handling, packaging and shipping solution for the 1.5-square-metre panels, owing to its extensive experience in producing offsite modular systems.

ADFC is part of the Sowwah Island project by Mubadala. The development consists of an International Stock Exchange, highrise office towers and substantial retail space. The ADFC office towers are Grade A buildings, meeting the highest quality of finishing. The towers, SAS added, are energy efficient and have achieved LEED Gold pre-certification.