U Tower

The U-Tower (Ю-Тауэр) is a multifunctional residential complex in the Shayxontoxur district of Tashkent, at the intersection of Islam Karimov Street and Bunyodkor Avenue. The main building consists of 30 floors and includes residential apartments, commercial premises, two-level underground parking and common areas.

After its construction, the U-Tower will be the second tallest building in Uzbekistan, after the Nest One complex.

Story
At the competition, leading world-famous architectural bureaus were involved in the development of the U-TOWER design. They included Zaha Hadid, DP Architects Pte. Ltd, Benoy, INK Architects and others, but the local Uzbek company MB Studio won the competition with a unique concept. The company NRG Uzbekistan, which built the building, fully applied the experience of progressive construction in Kazakhstan and the best architectural traditions of the centuries-old culture of the Uzbek people, represented by the parent companies M Buildings and BI Group. When designing the facade solution, the peculiarities of the country's climate were taken into account, with special emphasis on the strength and reliability of the structure, taking into account the seismicity of the region. The outlines of the building symbolize the Latin letter U. There are actually several interpretations and explanations for why there is such a shape, namely, the letter U as a symbol of the unification of like-minded people who value convenience and reliability; it also has a direct translation of the English word United, which means united, friendly, connecting. This form sets a special tone for the entire building, and the appearance and content of the U-TOWER at first sight sets you up for the anticipation of something unusual and special.

Technical specifications and building codes
To design the complex, special technical conditions were developed for the seismic resistance of the building's load-bearing structures, as well as special fire safety standards. The structural diagram, dimensions of the building's load-bearing structures, as well as the technical characteristics of the materials used were checked and agreed upon by Shamil Abdullaevich Khakimov - Ph.D., Senior Researcher, Academician of the International Academy of Engineering, international expert on the protection of building structures from earthquakes and mountain hazards (certificate No. 104), senior researcher at NIPTSSS ANTISEISMIC LLC.The calculated seismic resistance of the building frame is 9 points. To improve the foundation of the building, 218 bored reinforced concrete piles with a diameter of 1.2 meters, a length of 30 meters were made, embedded in the load-bearing soil - stone loess. The piles were tested for indentation, pullout and horizontal loads. The maximum pressing load on one pile was 1000 tons. The main load-bearing frame of the building used concrete class B45, grade M600. For connections of vertical and horizontal reinforcement, instead of welded joints, mechanical coupling joints with rolled threads were used, which ensures the reliability of the joints in terms of strength and the ability to control the tightening torque of all joints in the reinforcement cage. To ensure fire safety, the building has ventilation systems - air pressure and smoke removal, a fire alarm with a warning system, sprinkler fire extinguishing and internal fire water supply, as well as 24-hour video surveillance of common areas. All utilities and escape routes are protected by fire-resistant materials and fire doors. The staircases are separated from the floor corridors by special airlocks with air pressure to ensure smoke-free staircase passages. The building also has a safety zone with a total area of 150 m2 to shelter people who are unable to leave the building in case of fire danger and emergency power supply with its own diesel generator to ensure uninterrupted operation of all key life support systems of the complex.

Peculiarities
The residential complex has 438 apartments, with the number of rooms from 1 to 6 and two-story penthouses. The house has common areas: a guest room, a gym, a children's playroom, a co-working space, a prayer room, as well as walking areas on the roof of the stylobate on the 3rd floor, with a children's playground and a workout area. On the 27th floor of the building there is an open terrace with an observation deck. There is a two-story parking lot with its own electric chargers for electric vehicles, a Face ID system, a “smart” barrier, 24-hour video surveillance cameras, security at the entrance, and a reception in the front hall.

Transport accessibility
The Druzhba Narodov metro station is within walking distance from the complex.

Construction progress

 * 2021 July–November - excavation and pile foundation development, foundation pouring.
 * 2021 November–December - pouring the foundation and installing a monolithic frame for the first floors.
 * December 2022 – completion of the main monolithic works.
 * December 2022 – work began on the construction of the façade of the building.

Awards

 * Unusual design of 2023
 * 2023 Yio's most sophisticated construction
 * Beautiful design of 2023.