Ventilation & smoke extraction in Al Nahda (Dubai) 

Ventilation & smoke extraction in Al Nahda (Dubai): local context

Al Nahda on the Dubai side sits right against the Sharjah border near Al Qusais, a residential district of mid- and high-rise apartment buildings, schools, clinics and neighbourhood retail built mostly since the 2000s. It is popular with families who split work and life between the two emirates, so buildings are dense, fully let and heavily used. Manolia completed the MEP works for a 2B+G+11 residential tower with gym in the area.

• Twin-basement towers on compact plots need car park jet-fan ventilation, CO detection, sump pits with duty/standby pumps and smoke clearance coordinated with sprinkler zoning, all squeezed between deep transfer beams.
• School buildings in the district benefit from fresh-air AHUs with dehumidification and CO2-based demand control, because classroom occupancy swings sharply across the day and the summer humidity load is high.
• Peak-hour traffic around the Dubai–Sharjah crossings is severe, so Manolia schedules concrete-pour-adjacent MEP works, deliveries and inspections outside the morning and evening rush.

Building types we serve in Al Nahda (Dubai)

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 car park ventilation with jet fans, main extract fans and CO or NO2 sensors controlling normal ventilation.
• Smoke exhaust fans, smoke dampers and make-up air paths for atria, malls and corridors as required by the strategy.
• Interface wiring with the fire alarm system for zone-by-zone activation and fan status feedback.
• Natural ventilation openings, automatic smoke vents and their actuators where the fire strategy relies on them, tested to open on alarm.

Systems we install

• Motorised smoke dampers and relief dampers
• Automatic smoke vents and actuators at roof or high level

UAE site and climate challenges

• Basement car parks in summer accumulate heat and vehicle exhaust, so normal ventilation rates are controlled by CO and NO2 sensors to save energy while keeping air quality safe for drivers and attendants.
• Basement car parks in coastal towers can see condensation on cold surfaces when hot humid air is pulled in at high rates, so supply air paths and ramp openings are reviewed to limit wet floors and corrosion of jet fans.
• Whether to use dedicated smoke fans or dual-purpose fans that ventilate daily and switch to smoke mode, which saves equipment but needs high-temperature ratings and careful control priority.

Relevant Manolia projects

Two Nahda residential towers, Sharjah

Al Nahda (Sharjah) · MEP · Completed

MEP for two towers of 23 and 24 typical floors over parking podiums.

2B+G+15+Gym

2B+G+15 residential tower, IMPZ

Dubai Production City (formerly IMPZ) · MEP · Completed

Full MEP package for a two-basement residential tower with gym.

Frequently asked questions