Chilled water piping in Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO) 

Chilled water piping in Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO): local context

Dubai Silicon Oasis is a free-zone technology park and residential community on the Dubai–Al Ain Road, mixing offices, residential towers, villas, schools and retail. It has grown steadily since the mid-2000s. Manolia completed MEP for a G+6 residential building with health club here and is currently delivering MEP for a G+3 parking building. Its mix of tenants means MEP packages range from residential and parking to technology offices.

• Approvals run through the Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority (DSOA) building channel, with Civil Defence review of fire and life safety drawings; procedures follow DSOA's requirements.
• Parking structures need jet-fan or ducted ventilation, CO detection, smoke clearance and sprinkler coverage coordinated with structural beams and ramps.
• Mid-rise residential buildings with health clubs need pool dehumidification, separate ventilation for changing rooms and robust hot-water systems.

Building types we serve in Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO)

For high-rise towers, the work concentrates on pressure-zoned water and drainage stacks, riser and plant-room coordination, stair pressurisation and a cooling source sized for diversity across dozens of typical floors.

Scope of work

• Installation of steel or pre-insulated mains, risers and branch pipework with supports, anchors and expansion provisions suited to each route.
• Underground pre-insulated chilled-water networks between buildings, with trench coordination, leak detection wiring where specified and protected crossings.
• Chemical cleaning and flushing to remove mill scale, debris and welding residue, with water treatment introduced after flushing.
• Closed-cell insulation with vapour barrier, aluminium cladding outdoors and labelling with flow direction.

Systems we install

• Pressure independent control valves at fan coils and AHUs
• Expansion vessels and pressurisation units

UAE site and climate challenges

• Buried networks in saline or high-water-table ground face corrosion, so pre-insulated systems with protective jackets and sealed joints are used and trenches are backfilled with suitable material.
• Large temperature differences between installation in summer heat and cold operating conditions cause expansion and contraction, so anchors, guides and loops are positioned to protect long risers, branch take-offs and equipment connections.
• Two-pipe versus four-pipe distribution: almost all UAE buildings need cooling only, so two-pipe is standard, but hospitals, laboratories or palaces needing reheat for humidity control may justify a separate heating loop.

Relevant Manolia projects

Frequently asked questions