The Oman Observer has featured an article on the ATC Tower in Oman that Multiforms are producing and installing the facade of...

Come October 2012, the skyline at Muscat International Airport will be dramatically transformed when the construction work on the upgraded gateway’s iconic 100-metre-high Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower is due to be completed.
The imposing structure, being built as part of a multi-billion-dollar expansion and revamp of the Sultanate’s main international airport, will rank among the tallest occupied buildings in Muscat Governorate, and indeed around the country. In addition to serving as an architectural landmark for the airport, the ATC tower will also become the new nerve centre and hub of air traffic operations.
Well-known construction firm Carillion Alawi has already commenced work on the ATC tower, which is coming up just south of the new passenger terminal west pier. Under contracts awarded by the Ministry of Transport and Communications last year, Carillion Alawi is also constructing a number of ancillary buildings, including an air traffic and meteorology complex, a crash, fire and rescue facility, a data centre and training facilities.
Pile foundations along with relevant waterproofing and ground treatment works on the ATC tower have already been completed, with the project having since progressed into the sub-structure phase. Although a standalone structure, the tower will be connected to the passenger terminal building by a glazed bridge link. London-based TPS, the engineering and architectural design arm of the Carillion Group, is the principal consultant for the projects being undertaken by Carillion Alawi on behalf of the ministry.
In addition to carrying out the architectural design of the iconic tower, TPS has also enlisted specialists to analyse the structural characteristics of the slender structure with the aim of ‘damping’ any sway triggered by variable wind forces. According to TPS, state-of-the-art ‘Tuned Mass Dampers’ will be installed during the construction phase to harmonise the predicted oscillations with the structure’s natural frequency, thereby allowing the air traffic controllers to work normally in the glass-encased cab atop the tower.
Significantly, the contractor has also made headway in the construction of the Air Transport Management Complex, Data Centre, Training Building, and other structures covered by the contracts. The biggest of these ancillary buildings is the Air Transport Management centre (ATM), which is in fact a complex of three buildings linked by a hub in the centre. The ATM will house the Area Control Centre from where the entire airspace will be monitored.

Sound-proofed galleries within the complex will enable visitors and students to observe air traffic controllers at work without distracting them. Also envisaged within  this complex is a Meteorology Department, furnished with a well-equipped studio, from where weather bulletins are proposed to be broadcast. Also adjoining the ATM Complex will be the Contingency and Training Centre where simulators and classrooms will be equipped to train recruits in air traffic and other aviation related matters.

In addition to operational and technical training facilities, the centre will also house an auditorium. TPS has assembled a multi-disciplinary team to work closely with Cowi & Larsen JV, the Ministry’s main consultant for the redevelopment of Muscat International Airport. When operational in the year 2014, the upgraded Muscat International Airport will be capable of handling 12 million passengers per year, up from the terminal’s present capacity of 4 million passengers.

Here is a link to the article online... Oman Daily Observer