UAE Armed Forces Officer's Club

When the president of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) planned an officer’s club for his armed forces, he envisioned top-notch accommodations packaged in impressive architecture. Today, a five-star hotel and sports and cultural facilites are in full operation on the Arabian Gulf and are housed beneath an exquisitely designed, wing-like structure that covers 120,000 square meters (143,520 square yards).

To landscape this huge complex, featuring the largest building of its kind in the world, contractors are facing the challenge of converting 75 hectares (185 acres) of desert into lush turf and gardens. The vast greenery amidst arid conditions has called for the efficiency of a Rain Bird automatic irrigation system controlled by a MAXICOM® Central Computer Control System. Through its offices and distributor located in the UAE, Rain Bird has been supplying a full range of products to keep the Armed Forces Officer’s Club a world-class oasis in the desert.

Gardens Add to Desert Greening

Located between Saudi Arabia and Oman on the Arabian Gulf, the UAE is a federation comprising seven emirates, or states, with a total population of approximately 2.4 million citizens. The emirate of Abu Dhabi is the largest of the seven and is ruled by President His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al Nahyan. The emirate’s main city, Abu Dhabi, is the UAE capital and home to the UAE Armed Forces Officer’s Club.

The Officer’s Club was designed by Roger Taillibert, a renowned French architect who designed the Montreal Olympics complex. Considered an architectural feat, the club has a unique design that includes a main structure of three massive concrete shells shaped like large flying wings. The shells are about 24,000 square meters (28,704 square yards), rest on only six external supports and cover enough floor space to accommodate 10,000 people at one time. The club, with its elaborately embellished interior of marble, mosaic tiles and glass, includes a 590-bed hotel, sporting and fitness facilities, a 700-seat theater, restaurants, and numerous conference rooms.

Landscaping the Officer’s Club has brought another opportunity to "green up" the desert. Since the early 1970s, the UAE government has combated the dry desert climate with greenery, including an ambitious afforestation project that stretches 100,000 hectares (247,110 acres). At the club, only 15 hectares (37 acres) of the landscaping, or 20 percent, is complete, yet already an enormous amount of greenery creates an appealing contrast: about 800 ornamental trees, 7,000 shrubs, 350 palm trees, 22,000 ground cover plants, 9,000 hedge plants and 30,000 square meters (35,880 square yards) of turf.

Tailliburt’s architectural and engineering firm, Taillibert Gulf Environment, conceived soft and hard landscaping to blend the building’s broad contours with its surroundings. Massive amounts of earth were moved to define views and to highlight architectural points. One strong landscape concept includes ornamental rock and brick walkways bordering large turf areas of Paspalum Vaginatum (Salt Jointgrass). Circular planters of date palm and petunias punctuate the turf. Throughout the site are a variety of ornamental trees, shrubs and ground cover such as ficus, neem, bougainvillea and lantana.

Rain Bird Products Keep Vast Landscape Looking Good

The challenge of irrigating this vast desert oasis is being met by Al Ain Automatic Irrigation, a design, distribution and contracting firm located in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain, a city 165 km (103 miles) from the Officer’s Club. To supply the system, the firm has relied on its long-standing relationship with Rain Bird’s International Division. Since the 1960s, Rain Bird International has supported customers through established offices in more than 50 countries. By living in the communities they serve, Rain Bird staff not only speak the language and understand local culture, they offer consistent service, knowledge and unmatched after-sale backup.

A full Rain Bird distribution network also serves more than 130 countries on six continents. In the Middle East, Rain Bird’s commitment and expertise have been instrumental in greening up the desert. For 20 years, Rain Bird has had an office in the emirate of Sharjah while its distributor, Al Ain Automatic Irrigation, has covered the Abu Dhabi area.

The Officer’s Club uses an array of Rain Bird products made for efficient water use. Palm trees are irrigated with 1300A-F adjustable full-circle bubblers, chosen for their fully adjustable flow rate. For the thousands of ground cover plants, more than 50,000 EM-M10-B and EM-M20-B Rain Bug pressure-compensating emitters were used. Rain Bug emitters provide outstanding uniformity over the wide operating pressures created by long runs of lateral line.

To irrigate smaller portions of the turf, more than 2,000 Rain Bird SAM (Seal-A-Matic™) four-inch pop-up spray heads were installed at the club. VAN (Variable Arc Nozzles) Series nozzles were chosen because their pattern is easily adjustable from 0 to 360 degrees, providing full coverage to irregularly-shaped areas.

For open expanses of turf, more than 200 T-Bird™ and Falcon™ four-inch pop-up rotors were installed for superior close-in watering and uniform water distribution, reducing watering times. EFB-CP-PRS-B electric remote-control valves were chosen for their high performance in dirty water applications. The valve has a contamination-proof, self-flushing screen that cleans itself and resists debris build-up. A 400 millimeter (16-inch) looped main line allows for future extensions of the remaining phases.

Forming an integral part of the system is the Rain Bird MAXICOM Central Computer Control System for automatic watering through daily ET evaluations by the Rain Bird Weather Station. With this reliable means of water managem ent, combined with Rain Bird’s full range of efficient products and commitment to service, the irrigation system is operating effectively and meeting the high expectations of such a world-class oasis.