Construction and Building Materials 18 (2004) 383–390

Economic aspects of using steel framed buildings with composite floors:

case studies from United Arab Emirates
¨ ¨ Celikag*
Murude ¸
Civil Engineering Department, Eastern Mediterranean University, Gazimagusa, T.R.N.C., Via Mersin 10, Turkey

Received 12 November 2002; received in revised form 10 March 2004; accepted 10 March 2004

Abstract

This paper is aimed at emphasising the advantages of structural steel in general and composite floor construction in particular.
It is typical of engineers in developing countries, such as those in the Middle East, Gulf and Far East, to look at the cost of
materials on a one to one basis. That is to say, compare a concrete beam with a steel beam. However, often what really matter
are the overall project cost and the lifetime cost of structures. The two case studies included from United Arab Emirates (UAE)
provide some facts about advantages and economies of using the composite floor construction. Also, it shows that the initial cost
of individual material or elements of a structure is not the best way in determining the overall life-time cost of structures.
䊚 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Composite floor; Steel decking; Case study; Steel beams; Pre-cast slabs; Post-tensioned

1. Introduction It is a fact that steel framed buildings are not so

During the concept design stage of projects, steel vs.
concrete w1x is becoming a more frequent argument. The
steel framed buildings with composite floor construction
are now very popular due to the numerous advantages
they provide throughout construction projects. During
the late 1980s there was a notable increase in the use
of structural steel with composite floor construction in
the United Kingdom w2,3x. The trend in the Middle East
and Far East also indicates that clients and consultants
are becoming more aware of the advantages of using
structural steel with composite floor construction. One
good example from Gulf region is the West Bay and
Salam Twin Towers in Doha, Qatar w4x. These twin
towers were originally planned to have a reinforced
concrete frame. However, detailed work carried out
during the concept design stage of the project revealed
that a steel framed structure with a concrete shear core
and composite floors built with steel decking would
bring considerable economies to the overall cost of the
project during its lifetime. The Client was convinced
with the results and the twin towers were built using
the steel frame option.
*Tel.: q90-392-6301159; fax: q90-392-6302869.
E-mail address: murude.celikag@emu.edu.tr (M. Celikag).
¸ location. It is time for all of us to think globally in
common in the Middle East. However, ‘Buildings’ do
not necessarily mean residential or commercial build-
ings. In reality, 95% of the ‘Industrial buildings’ in UAE
and other Middle Eastern and Gulf countries are steel
framed w5x.
As we all know, customs, traditions, natural resources
and environmental factors in specific countries have a
lot to do with the architecture of the buildings and
various materials and methods used for the construction.
Often these factors lead to a more practical and econom-
ical building structure. Due to traditions in design and
construction in the area, engineers and public alike
naturally accept that steel is a must for industrial
buildings and somehow they do not ask the question
‘why’? There are many reasons why steel should be
used more often for residential and commercial buildings
too. At this stage one should admire those individuals
who continuously work hard to find answers to such
questions and make our lives better by developing new
techniques, materials and methods in diverse disciplines.
Nowadays, people travel a lot and, therefore they
become multi-cultural. Ease of transportation for goods
also means that the one who has the right finance can
buy anything he wants and have it delivered to any

0950-0618/04/$ - see front matter 䊚 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2004.03.001
384 ¸
M. Celikag / Construction and Building Materials 18 (2004) 383–390
Table 1
Cost differentials for floor construction
Floor construction options Cost US$ym2
Option 1 Datum
Waffle slab
Option 2 y5.3
Precast planks on in-situ beams
Option 3 Same as Option 1
Post-tensioned
Option 4 42.3
Composite steel
order to take more advantage of what is on offer to us
or for our customers.
In recent years, structural steel is one of the products
that is being manufactured and more frequently used in
developing countries. There is no doubt that it is the
right product for many construction projects and that is
why it should be taken more seriously. Those who are
not familiar with structural steel, its ancillary products
and the design and construction of steel framed struc-
tures, should make an effort to learn more about its
applications in the construction industry.
Two case studies were carried out in the UAE to
establish the advantages of using steel decking for
composite floor construction. Details of these case stud-
ies are given in Section 5 of this paper.
2. Modern building materials in the UAE and Middle
East Region
In previous times, building materials were simple but
were superbly adapted to the demands of lifestyle and
climate. Portable tents provided shelter during tribal
wanderings in the winter season. Summer months were
spent in the date-palm plantations, where home was an
airy ‘arish made of palm fronds’. Arish were also
common in the coastal fishing, pearling and trading
settlements. Inland more permanent houses were built
of stone guss (mud mixture made into blocks) and were
roofed with palm trees leaves. Fossilized coral, cut in
blocks, bonded with Sarooj (a blend of Iranian red clay
and manure), or a lime mixture derived from seashells,
and plastered with chalk and water paste, was used
extensively in coastal regions. These materials have very
low thermal conductivity and were therefore ideally
suited for the hot and humid coastal environment w6x.
After the establishment of the UAE in 1971 there was
a rapid development in the construction industry. This
brought along the need to use modern materials and
methods to be innovative and fast in construction.
Currently, UAE has some of the most interesting and
unique structures in the world, such as, Emirates Towers,
Bur Jul Arab and Jumairah Beach Hotel. In-situ rein-
forced concrete is one of the most widely used materials
for the construction of residential houses, industrial and
commercial buildings. However, often there is fierce
competition between the post-tensioned and steel com-
posite steel systems, particularly for buildings requiring
long clear spans and shallow depth of construction.
Depending on the project, often, the steel option is not
preferred due to the need for longer procurement time.
A variety of cladding and glass systems are used to
cover the external surfaces of buildings, as in the case
of Emirates Towers and Jumairah Beach Hotel. Fabric
is also a very favorable material that is generally used
to cover roof areas. However, it is used for the facade¸
of the seven-star Bur Jul Arab Hotel. Good quality
marble and ceramic are used as floor and wall finishes
whereas stainless steel balustrades decorate the staircases
and balcony areas. Stainless steel truss systems also
appear in atriums as part of the structural system holding
the glass walls. Paving stones are extensively used for
gardens, garage driveways, pavements, private roads,
and so on.
Table 1 details the cost differentials for a hypermarket
type retail development where retail area is a suspended
first floor with car parking at ground level below.
Structural solutions have been investigated based on an
8.4=8.4 m grid over a total area of 36 200 m2. Cost
differentials indicate that the pre-cast planks on in-situ
beams are the most economical type of floor construc-
tion followed by waffle slab and post-tensioned slab.
Therefore, option 2 was selected for the floor construc-
tion. Composite steel appears as the most onerous
solution in this particular case.
Table 2 gives the indicative rates provided by two
international contractors for different types of floor
construction. The building is a 15-storey tower in the
form of a rectangular arch. Structural solutions have
been investigated based on a 9=9 m grid over a total
area of 4356 m2. Option 1 is the most economical floor
construction system offered by the Contractor 1 whilst
Option 2 is the most economical one that is offered by
the Contractor 2. Option 2 was favorable due to the
availability of post-tensioning materials and the presence
Table 2
Budget rates per square meter construction of the floor area
Floor construction options Indicative rates US$ym2
Contractor 1 Contractor 2
Option 1 52.7 61.5
Reinforced concrete flat slab
350-mm thick
Option 2 53.3 53.3
Post-tensioned concrete flat slab
275-mm thick
Option 3 81.7 58.2
Precast concrete slab with structural
topping on structural steel beams
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M. Celikag / Construction and Building Materials 18 (2004) 383–390
Fig. 1. EBS 45 Galvanized decking profile.
Fig. 2. RLSD 0.9-mm thick Ribdeck AL Z35.
Fig. 3. RLSD 0.9-mm thick Holorib Z28.
Fig. 4. Composite floor with steel decking and shear studs.
of a number of capable post-tensioning specialist sub-
contractors in the local market.
Floor construction option 4 (Table 1) and option 3 of
contractor 1 (Table 2) indicates that the steel option is
continuing to be relatively more expensive than the
other options. However, the budget rates of contractor 2
for option 3 (Table 2) are more competitive than that
of contractor 1. These notable differences in rates can
be due to
● Contractor’s ability for speedy procurement of steel
from the local market.
● Contractor’s knowledge and experience about the
proper usage of steel for buildings.
385
The case studies in Section 5 clearly presents the
reduction in the cost of steel framed buildings when
proper systems and methods are used.
3. Why structural steel?
There are few advantages of structural steel that are
widely known, such as: column free clear spans provid-
ing flexible space, freedom for fixing services and more
natural lighting; short construction period due to fast
erection and the use of composite floors; lower foun-
dation costs due to excellent strength to weight ratio
w7x. Steel is a homogeneous and quality controlled
material that has additional safety. It has the ability to
accommodate exceptional loads, such as, earthquake and
explosion and it is a recyclable structural material. All
these are important advantages of steel and they help
all parties involved in construction to achieve the best
of everything.
Architects get more freedom for expression, creativity
in design resulting in elegant simplicity, allows trans-
parency, slenderness with no limits for architectural
design.
Civil Engineers can achieve simple functional designs
with relatively low material cost over time, easy fixing
¸
for facade and other components, integration of services,
effective solutions for acoustic and thermal insulation,
efficient surface and fire protection systems, easy com-
bination with other materials.
Contractors achieve lower site costs during construc-
tion, weather independent construction due to prefabri-
cation, construction site with less noise, dust and
spillage, visible connections that enable easy checking
that provides extra safety.
Owner achieves durability, long life, calculated main-
tenance, easy future extension, modification and refur-
bishment w8x, energy efficient design.
4. Composite floor construction is the way forward
Significant developments have taken place in the
structural design of multi-storey buildings in recent
years. These developments have generally been based
on the principles of composite construction. However,
recent studies in the UAE and other Gulf countries, such
as Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, had proved that
mezzanine floors in single storey industrial buildings
could also benefit from composite floor construction
using steel decking (Figs. 1–3). Some of the advantages
of steel floor decking w9x can be summarized as follows:
a It acts as permanent shuttering for suspended in-situ
concrete floor or roof slabs, stiffens supporting
steelwork frame and acts as all or part of the tensile
bottom reinforcement for the concrete slabs.
b In conjunction with decking system, shear studs
(Fig. 4) can enhance the performance of steel framed
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M. Celikag / Construction and Building Materials 18 (2004) 383–390
Fig. 5. Mezzanine floor framing plan—built up sections and local decking are used.
structures allowing reductions in member sizes. This
means lower dead load and reduction in the size of
foundations.
c Requires minimum site storage, allows easy fixing
to the soffits, handling on site is simple and it can
easily be cut and fitted to awkward shapes. In most
circumstances there is no need for temporary prop-
ping during the placing and curing of the concrete.
Therefore, all together simplifies and speeds up the
construction.
d It can be used with lightweight or dense concrete.
Up to 4 h fire resistance with exposed soffit can be
designed. During construction it provides a safe
working platform and cover for the site staff.
5. Case studies
Two case studies are considered to compare the two
possible uses of steel decking; firstly as a composite
floor and secondly as a permanent shuttering. Steel
decking, in particular locally manufactured steel decking
(Fig. 1), are often used as permanent shuttering for
industrial, commercial, and residential structures in UAE
Due to its profile and properties the locally produced
steel deck is generally not capable of achieving long
spans to enable more effective steel floor beam design.
These case studies are carried out to prove that compos-
ite floor construction using steel decking, such as
Richard Lees Steel Decking (RLSD) w9x (Figs. 2 and
3), leads to a more economical design that achieves
long clear spans.
5.1. Case study 1: new factory building project G174-
industrial building with a mezzanine floor
Emirates Building Systems (EBS) are a predominant-
ly pre-engineered company. They do not use steel
decking as part of a composite floor; instead they use it
as a permanent shutter. One of the objectives of this
study is to prove that the use of composite floor with
RLSD will provide considerable savings to EBS in the
long run.
The project considered is a new pre-engineered fac-
tory building in Dubai. In UAE, it is typical of such
buildings to have mezzanine floors used as offices.
These are the areas where steel deck is used as perma-
nent shuttering. Fig. 5 shows the mezzanine floor layout
with built-up beam sections. The built-up beam section
sizes, e.g. BU 500=250=16=10 represents a beam
with a 500 mm overall depth, 250 mm flange width,
16-mm web thickness and 10-mm flange thickness. The
material of these fabricated built-up sections is out of
ASTM A572 grade 50 steel w10x. The loads on the
mezzanine floor are as follows:
Gridline G-Jy7-9.
Dead loads5 kNym2 and live loads7.9 kNym2
(including 0.4 kNym2 for services).
Gridline J-Ly7a-9.
Dead loads2.5 kNym2 and live loads2.4 kNym2
(including partitions and services).
The Emirates Buildings Systems steel decking EBS
45 (Fig. 1), which is used as a permanent shutter for
this project, is only capable of spanning approximately
1 m. An alternative floor layout with same column
positions and floor loading can be seen in Fig. 6. BS
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M. Celikag / Construction and Building Materials 18 (2004) 383–390
Fig. 6. Mezzanine floor framing plan—hot rolled sections and 0.9 mm Ribdeck AL Z35 are used.
5950: Part 1, Part 3 and Part 4 w11–13x were used to
design this composite floor. Corus (formerly British
Steel) hot rolled steel beams w14x of grades S275 (pys
275 Nymm2) and S355 (pys355 Nymm2) complying
with British Standards BS 4 and BS 4848 w15,16x were
used together with the in-situ reinforced concrete slab
and 0.9-mm thick Richard Lees Ribdeck AL Z35 w9x
for this floor layout (Fig. 2). The 135-mm thick com-
posite slab (self weight of slab 2.96 kNym2) had A193
top mesh and was capable of resisting 1.5-h fire. It is
clear from the floor layouts that composite slabs with
RLSD option can span longer and aesthetically the
ceiling would look nicer with less number of beams.
Steel beams that are designed composite with the slab
also enable shallower floor construction.
Table 3 compares the cost of the two options. Two
main elements, which are structural steel and decking
prices, are compared. Tonnage of steel required, its
fabrication, erection and fire proofing prices are calcu-
lated on a per square meter basis. Prices of steel deck
as per square meter added to obtain the cost of the
composite floor system. Findings indicate that RLSD
option uses less tonnages of steel, therefore, leading to
lower fabrication, erection and fire proofing costs. How-
ever, RLSD is almost three times more expensive than
the EBS decking, however, overall the option with built-
up beams and EBS 45 decking costs 65.6% more than
the RLSD. option with hot rolled beams. This is a
saving due to the composite floor alone. It should also
be kept in mind that less tonnage of steel means lower
foundation loads with further savings on foundation
construction. Furthermore, lighter structures are also
preferred for construction in earthquake regions. All the
above mentioned are considerable savings for those who
387
are involved in construction market and should be taken
very seriously.
5.2. Case study 2: Children’s City-Commercial Build-
ing—suspended floors
This particular project worth nearly $20 million pro-
vided with the opportunity to compare the unit prices
of floors using RLSD w9x with those using several
locally manufactured steel decking.
Children’s City is now built in a prestigious location
at Creek Park of Dubai, UAE. This complex is a kind
of museum for children having three main buildings in
red, blue and yellow. Fig. 7 shows a sketch plan layout
of the complex. These buildings contain resources and
inter-active equipment to help children learn by seeing,
feeling and touching. Yellow building is an atrium in
between the other two buildings. The main aim of this
complex is to help local children learn more about the
past and the present of UAE; including the way of
living, importance of trade, banks and souks (market
places), effects of the environment on people and
economy, etc.
Buildings have two floor levels. Since the Children’s
City complex was so important due to its intended
function and prestigious location then the consultant,
Schuster Pechtold and Partners, was looking for provid-
ing a strikingly different structure to become a landmark
in that area. The structure was located in a park,
therefore the structural height had to be limited. Also,
the building was expected to have reasonably high live
loads. Therefore, the building’s construction depth had
to be shallow with beams capable of carrying heavy
live loads and bridging long spans. All these require-
388 ¸
M. Celikag / Construction and Building Materials 18 (2004) 383–390

Table 3
Comparison of Richard Lees Ribdeck AL Z35 and EBS 45 per square meter floor area

Types of decking Structural steel Decking details Total cost

a b
(US$ym2)
Tonnage of Fabrication Erection Beam fire 1.0 h fire Fire rating Mesh Price
steel (US$ym2) (US$ym2) proof area proofingc (h) (US$ym2)
(tonnesym2) (m2) (US$ym2)
RLSD 0.9 mm 0.0308 29.32 6.70 209 5.08 1.5 A142 14.2 55.30
RIBDECK AL
EBS 45 0.0518 66.20 12.68 322 7.82 None A142 4.75 91.45
(0.456 mm)
a
Fabricationqsupply of materialqpainting, etc. U$ 1278ytonne for EBS option and US$ 952ytonne for Ribdeck option.
b
Erection only: US$ 244.8ytonne for prefabricated sections and US$ 217.6ytonne for hot rolled sections.
c
Fire proofing: Tuleila heat insulation—1 h fire proofing US$ 6.12ym2.

ments strongly suggested the use of a steel framed
building. However, engineer’s general lack of knowl-
edge and experience in steel design and application in
Gulf region was clearly reflected on the preliminary
design of the structure. Originally the floor layout was
arranged as such to use local galvanized steel decking
with in-situ concrete. 5 kNym2 live load and 6 kNym2
dead load plus self-weight were assumed for the struc-
tural analysis and design. Fig. 8 shows a typical bay
from the preliminary floor layout where local deck is
spanning up to 2 m.
There were several options to replace this layout, one
of which was the layout using hot rolled I beams w14x
and RLSD w9x as shown in Fig. 9. Among other floor
layout options was Westok cellular beams w17x used
with RLSD or pre-cast slabs. However, for better com-
parison hot rolled I-beams were used for both floor
layout options. The alternative layout option had 0.9
mm HOLORIB Z28 Richard Lees Steel Decking that
spans 2.67 m between beams giving clearer ceiling for
aesthetics and allows more space for services and
shallower floor construction. For this study, RLSD was
compared with four other locally manufactured steel
decking considering the cost of structural steel material,
fabrication, erection, fire proofing and the cost of shear
studs and steel decking (Table 4) it is found that savings
between 11.5 and 15.2% can be achieved by using
RLSD option.

Fig. 7. Typical floor layout for Children’s City.

 ¸
M. Celikag / Construction and Building Materials 18 (2004) 383–390 389

Fig. 9. First floor framing plan—hot rolled sections and 0.9 mm Holo-
rib Z28 are used.

Fig. 8. First floor framing plan—hot rolled sections and local decking
are used.
6. Conclusions
Budget rates of floor construction given in Table 2
indicate that composite steel floor construction rates are
heavily dependent on the availability of material, expe-
rienced professionals and skilled laborer. It is clear from
the case studies in Section 5 that when steel decking,
such as Richard Lees Steel Decking, is used composite
with slab and beams then it could provide considerable
savings for steel framed structures. There is a lack of
technical details regarding the composite behavior of
the locally available decking material. This means that
engineers at UAE should consider the imported decking
material for composite construction. They are reluctant
to do so since the purchase cost of the imported steel
deck is very high, as much as 200% higher than the
local decking (Tables 3 and 4). However, these case
studies show that the initial cost of a specific material
or method should not be such a big concern for
engineers. One should always look at the overall costs
and long-term advantages while deciding on which
material and systems to use for construction in general.
All the costs provided in this paper relate to the floor
construction and this alone is not enough to judge the
overall cost of a building with different floor systems.

Table 4
Comparison of Richard Lees Holorib Z28 and various local decking per square meter floor area

Types of decking Structural steel Decking details Total cost

a b
(US$ym2)
Tonnage of Fabrication Erection Beam fire 1.0 h fire Shear studs Mesh Price
steel (US$ym2) (US$ym2) proof area proofingc (US$ym2) (US$ym2)
2 2 2
(tonnesym ) (m ) (US$ym )
RLSD 0.9 mm HOLORIB Z28 0.129 96.49 22.83 163 3.96 2.60 A142 18.05 143.93
Tiger steel, 1.0 mm 47y180 0.149 117.56 26.37 189 4.59 4.85 A142 10.88 164.25
Tiger steel, 1.0 mm TS75 0.149 117.56 26.37 189 4.59 4.85 A142 11.7 165.07
Aseel construction, 0.9 mm 45y150 0.149 117.56 26.37 189 4.59 4.85 A142 12.5 165.87
Profiles RHF, standard profile 0.149 117.56 26.37 189 4.59 4.85 A142 7.07 160.44
0.9 mm RH 45y150
Alwahaj metal industries, 1.0 mm 0.149 117.56 26.37 189 4.59 4.85 A142 9.8 163.17
Wahajclad 45y185
a
Fabricationqsupply of materialqpainting, etc., say US$ 789ytonne for local decking and US$ 748ytonne for Holorib option.
b
Erection only: US$ 177ytonne for hot rolled sections.
c
Fire proofing: Tuleila heat insulation—1 h fire proofing US$ 6.12ym2.
390 ¸
M. Celikag / Construction and Building Materials 18 (2004) 383–390
Before deciding on which framing system to use it is
highly advisable to consider the numerous advantages
mentioned in Section 2 of this paper in addition to the
floor cost. Besides cost, it should be kept in mind that
sometimes aesthetics may be equally important to the
client. All these factors should finally be balanced to
achieve an acceptable design.
Acknowledgments
Gratitude is extended to Corus Middle East Dubai
(formerly British Steel Middle East Dubai), Richard
Lees Steel Decking of UK for allowing and encouraging
me to develop this study. Sincere thanks to the staff of
Emirates Building Systems, Cleveland Bridge Engineer-
ing Middle East, Schuster Pechtold and Partners and
Tuleila Heat Insulation in UAE for all the technical
support which helped greatly in building up the cost
comparisons for the case studies.
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