The first section of the concrete raft pour is now complete at the BSBG-designed Visa Headquarters in Dubai Internet City. Approximately 225 m3 of concrete was used in this first raft pour, which took six hours to complete. An important milestone in the process of construction, the raft pour will be finished in sections, with six pours scheduled over the course of the next months. The second pour was scheduled to commence on May 17, 2020.

BSBG completed the concept design of the prestigious headquarters building for long term client Sweid & Sweid, which will become the new Middle East home of Visa when complete.

Currently, part of the BSBG team overseeing construction, project manager Abdul Rehman Qureshi explained that despite the challenges faced by construction sites across the UAE with restrictions in place due to the impact of COVID-19, work has made great progress since the project moved to site. “The first concrete pour is an extremely important milestone for us on this project,” Qureshi explained. “the process was made more challenging by the social distancing rules we have in place, following the government guidelines. However, the pour was completed in just six hours, and following all relevant QA/QC procedures – including all sampling and testing.”

BSBG announced its role as the concept design and delivery architect for the project back in October 2019. The design was completed by the BSBG design hub, +studio, with group design director Michael Lewis guiding the concept phase in collaboration with the client.

In addition to the complete design packages, BSBG is also providing lead consultancy and structural engineering for the Visa HQ building.