Skycity - Criticism

Criticism

The project has come under heavy skepticism due to the nature of its claims, and doubts have been expressed over Broad Group's ability to complete such a project in such a short time. There are also doubts on whether this is an actual project or just a marketing ploy. The head of structures for WSP Middle East (the company behind The Shard in London), Bart Leclercq even jokingly said that he would give up structural engineering if the project did complete on time. Even so, the innovativeness of the group in using a technique like fabrication has been commended by him and others.

While most architects do not particularly contest the possibility of constructing a supertall tower in such a short time frame and with such costs; doubts have been cast over the ability of the Broad Group to achieve such a grand scale project, especially since they have constructed only two buildings as of date, neither of which are over 30 floors. A tower of such height requires stiffness, which in turn would require enormous amounts of concrete and steel, and a huge amount of time for it to settle. The ability of the architects to understand the complexity involved with a project this size has also come under question.

Another factor that seems to have been overlooked in the designs, according to architects, is the wind factor. A building with such a height and shape will need to deal with large horizontal forces, all the way to the bottom of the tower. Such a wind strategy seems to be absent from the Broad Group's blueprint on the tower. Because of a lack of stiffness, the building would also generate a huge draft and would start to sway due to the wind, making it potentially unstable.

Other concerns have related to the tower's ability to deal with emergencies. In case of a fire, there might not be enough support to douse it nor to evacuate people, as fire rescue crews are generally not equipped to reach such heights. Also, for a person needing emergency treatment, like in a heart attack, the elevators might be too slow to transport them to the hospital in the short amount of time available. Finally, the structure may also cause subsidence in the local geology.