Engineering firm reaches new heights

Plans for the Signature Tower in Jakarta, Indonesia, include a six-star hotel and an observatory on the 111th level. Photo / Supplied

Work to create an Indonesian skyscraper twice the height of Auckland's Sky Tower has been won by Auckland consultancy Beca.

A spokesperson said the business had won the contract to provide the mechanical and electrical engineering design for Jakarta's Signature Tower, the tallest building planned in the Southern Hemisphere.

It will be the fifth-tallest building in the world, standing 638m, with a 10-level retail podium, three office zones, a six-star hotel and a viewing observatory at the 111th level.

"Challenges include engineering a complex network of over 100 lifts, two of which shuttle vertically over half a kilometre from the ground floor to the observatory," said the Beca spokesperson.

Construction will start in the middle of the year and will not finish until 2017.

Beca engineers in Auckland and Jakarta will provide fire and life safety design and mechanical and electrical engineering on the tower and consultancy on the lift job.

The firm is working on 22 high-rise towers in Indonesia, including Ciputra World, the Wisma Mulia office and the Sequis Centre.

All the blocks are more than 40 storeys high. Beca is also working on the 67-level Thamrin Nine mixed-use complex.

The world's tallest building is the Burj Khalifa, Dubai, at 828m.

Simon Longuet-Higgins, a New Zealand-born mechanical engineer, is leading the team from Beca on the Signature Tower.

He speaks Indonesian, is based in Auckland and has worked on projects in Indonesia since 1984.

He has worked on the Macau Tower in China, Conrad Resort & Spa in Bali, Pacific Place in Jakarta and the SkyCity conference centre and Grand Hotel in Auckland.

SIGNATURE TOWER

* Height to tip: 638m
* Floors above ground: 111
* Floors below ground: 6
* Observatory level: 535m
Source: Beca