Sapphire Residences achieves major milestone at Galle Face

• The 224-metre residential tower reaches 50th floor

WelcomHotels Lanka, the developer of the iconic Sapphire Residences, has announced that construction has peaked at the 50th floor,marking it as major milestone. 

“This momentous milestone marks the crowning of the residential tower,” commented WelcomHotels Lanka Managing Director Arun Pathak. 

“Most significantly, and despite the unforeseen challenges that have impacted the wider economy during this period, the construction has been delivered on schedule. This demonstrates our unwavering commitmentto the city of Colombo and to creating the most impressive collection of residences ever seen in South Asia.”

Scheduled for completion in 2021, the development comprises of the majestic 224-metre residential tower, which sits alongside the 140-metre high ITC One hotel. These two towers will be connected at the 19th to 21st floor by a spectacular Skybridge with infinity pools on top and a jazz lounge below. 

Following a global trend at the uber-luxury end of the market for large lateral apartments, the top two floors will feature the region’s largest penthouses with some of most spectacular views in South Asia, reinforcing Sapphire Residences’ position as the #1 residential address in the city. 

Comprising 132 enormous Sky Mansions and Penthouses, Sapphire Residences will be home to a privileged number of individuals who have ascended the pinnacle of success and personal achievement and desire stylish, carefree living in the most luxurious and secure homes in Colombo.

“In fact,” explained Pathak, “an excellent example of expert security planning is evident throughout. Designed by Control Risks, one of the world’s leading security specialists, a comprehensive yet highly discreet range of systems, processes and personnel are being implemented.” 

At no instance did we ever think that achieving 50th floor in time was not possible. In fact, the belief was always there that we would complete the 50th floor ahead of schedule. Therefore this momentous milestone marks the crowning of the residential tower. Scheduled for completion in 2021, the development comprises of the majestic 224-metre residential tower, which sits alongside the 140-metre high ITC One hotel. These two towers will be connected at the 19th to 21st floor by a spectacular Skybridge with infinity pools on top and a jazz lounge below - WelcomHotels Lanka Managing Director Arun Pathak

The building employs an iconic design by a world-class team led by Gensler, the renowned US architectural firm, in which the residential tower uses an innovative triangular plan to ensure the internal space of each floor is maximised and enabling spectacular uninterrupted ocean, city and lake views. Engineered with no external supporting walls, an uninterrupted flow of natural light fills every residence, while four-metre ceilings create an exceptional sense of living space throughout.  To turn this unique design into reality demanded the expertise and experience of a world-leading construction company and one of the world’s top contractors, L&T, was selected for this immense task.Inevitably such a unique design presented some interesting challenges.  

“We have navigated through some very difficult construction restrictions from the design consultants,” explained L&T’s Project HeadNatarajan Namachivayam. “For example, the Skybridge is one of the most unique structures that we have ever built, and it requires full-scale load testing before final assembly on site. This is a unique challenge that, to our knowledge, has no precedent on this scale and size anywhere in the world,” he added. 

“Also, the unusual unsupported exterior boundary wall and its porous nature when untreated meant that water ingress management was a massive challenge in terms of waterproofing and dewatering. But we overcame this as well.”

Sapphire Residences has already achieved the prestigious LEED pre-certification at the highest Platinum level in the core and shell category, ensuring the lowest environmental impact of any building on this scale. 

“Luxury with sustainability is engrained in our DNA and best practices have been incorporated here. Erecting the first tower has been a labour of love and dedication, involving a workforce of thousands of project managers, designers, engineers, consultants and labourers, as well as scores of local suppliers, all of whom have worked tirelessly to fulfil the demanding construction, safety and sustainable parameters,” explained Pathak. 

“As ITC’s first overseas project, the company remains determined to deliver a first-class product that fulfils all our promises to clients, supported by our excellent local and international partners.” 

Discussing the vast scale of the project, Namachivayam summarised some remarkable statistics: “For the past three years we have had a team of 76 personnel dedicated to this development. Working closely with local contractor ICC, we are responsible for managing 1,130 workmen on site, over 100 local suppliers, 225 subcontractors, as well as over 30 consultants based in various locations around the world.”

Additionally, almost 40,000 m3 of soil was dug out and removed from the site, whilst 145,000 m3 of concrete and 2,000 metric tonnes of steel had to be delivered. “And all of this taking place on Galle Face, one of the city’s most high traffic thoroughfares,” he added.

To ensure that the site and construction programrun like clockwork, each of these parties is carefully managed to meet the demands of a comprehensive project schedule, as any delay by one can have a detrimental knock-on effect that usually impacts upon several other aspects of the project. Namachivayam is justifiably proud of the fact that L&T has been a major part of the making of a Sri Lankan landmark, at the same time imparting state-of-the-art construction and project management skills to local subcontractors. Pathak concluded, “We now look forward to seeing the remarkable sky mansions and penthouses take shape. With stunning interiors by the world’s greatest living designer Philippe Starck, these will be truly exceptional homes for those who wish to live in what will be South Asia’s premier luxury residences.” Were there any times when the project team thought that it would be impossible to finish the 50th floor on time?“At no instance did we ever think that achieving 50th floor in time was not possible,” he noted. “In fact, the belief was always there that we would complete the 50th floor ahead of schedule.”And they have. 

We have navigated through some very difficult construction restrictions from the design consultants. For example, the Skybridge is one of the most unique structures that we have ever built, and it requires full-scale load testing before final assembly on site. This is a unique challenge that, to our knowledge, has no precedent on this scale and size anywhere in the world. Working closely with local contractor ICC, we are responsible for managing 1,130 workmen on site, over 100 local suppliers, 225 subcontractors, as well as over 30 consultants based in various locations around the world -  L&T’s Project Head Natarajan Namachivayam 

Sapphire Residences is brought to Sri Lanka by WelcomHotels Lanka Ltd a 100% subsidiary of ITC Limited India, one of whose many businesses is ITC Hotels. With the enduring Namaste as the symbol of its brand experience, ITC Hotels is one of India’s largest luxury hotel chains offering comprehensive hospitality solutions through more than 100 hotels in over 70 destinations in the country. ITC’s hotel group operates under four distinct brands; ‘ITC Hotel’ at the Luxury end, ‘WelcomHotel’ in the 5 star segment, ‘Fortune’ in the mid-market to upscale segment and ‘WelcomHeritage’ in the heritage leisure segment. Integrating India’s fine tradition of hospitality with globally benchmarked services, each ITC Hotel in the collection of hotels is an archetype of the culture and ethos of each destination. With ‘Responsible Luxury’ as its guiding premise, ITC’s luxury hotels combine grandeur with intimacy to operate according to the highest principles of environmental stewardship. Each ITC luxury hotel is certified with a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum rating for its endeavours towards green building, using processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient. The brand features opulent accommodations, state-of-the-art business facilities, renowned signature cuisine and award-winning wellness experiences.

L&T Construction, India’s largest construction organization and ranked among the world’s top 30 contractors, has been over the past seven decades transforming cityscapes and landscapes with structures of immense size and grandeur. The company’s capabilities span the entire gamut of construction - civil, mechanical, electrical and instrumentation engineering - and its services extend to all core sector industries and infrastructure projects.

Larsen & Toubro is a major technology, engineering, construction, manufacturing and financial services conglomerate, with global operations. L&T addresses critical needs in key sectors - Hydrocarbon, Infrastructure, Power, Process Industries and Defense - for customers in over 30 countries around the world. ITC is one of India’s foremost private sector companies and a diversified conglomerate with interests in Fast Moving Consumer Goods, Hotels, Paperboards and Packaging, Agri Business and Information Technology.  With a market capitalisation of more than US$ 50 billion and Gross Sales Value of over US$ 10 billion, ITC has been ranked amongst the top 10 ‘sustainable value creators’ in the consumer goods segment globally by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In 2014, ITC was ranked as India’s most admired company by Fortune India magazine in association with Hay Group. An exemplar in Sustainability, ITC is the only company in the world to be carbon positive, water positive and solid waste recycling positive, for more than a decade now, with its businesses and value chainssupporting around 6 million sustainable livelihoods.