AL HABTOOR Group has appointed Atkins to provide full multidisciplinary design services for three luxury residential towers and a retail podium totalling 395,000 sq m on a prime site next to the planned Dubai Water Canal project in the heart of Dubai.

The scheme, due for completion in 2015, is a key part of Al Habtoor City, a major new mixed-use development next to Sheikh Zayed Road.

Atkins will be delivering architectural, structural, mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) and ground engineering design for the project, comprising two 75-storey residential towers and a third 52-storey tower, which will together house up to 1,460 apartments and 11 penthouses with exclusive leisure facilities for residents. Each penthouse will include its own private sky garden and swimming pool, while the two taller blocks will feature a stunning four-storey penthouse incorporating more than 3,000 sq m of living space.

Atkins has completed the concept design stage and is undertaking detailed design for the project, with enabling works already under way.

Principal design architect Kourosh Salehi said: “Our client’s aspiration was for classical elegance with efficient contemporary overtones. In order to achieve this, our design inspiration was sourced from early 20th century art deco architecture.”

Meanwhile, district cooling provider Empower has signed a deal with the Al Habtoor Group to supply 17,500 tons of refrigeration (TR) of district cooling to the $3 billion mixed-use Al Habtoor City project.

Empower will deliver the district cooling service in three phases starting from May 2015.