The renovation of a five-star Sheraton hotel was successfully completed in Bahrain in the Middle East. fischer BWM façade systems firmly secure the cladding made of Equitone fibre cement panels to the modern building envelope.

Opened in 1981, Bahrain’s Sheraton Hotel has seen many guests and members of staff come and go. The 14-storey hotel with 256 rooms and suites was fully renovated between 2020 and 2024. The project comprises the entire estate, including guest rooms, conference and meeting rooms, leisure facilities and public areas as well as a multi-storey car park. The hotel had previously undergone renovations in 1998 and 2006. Sheraton Hotels, part of the American Mariott Hotel company, is the client behind the project. Dadabhai Construction was the principal contractor and was also commissioned to construct the façade.

A fischer BWM subframe solution firmly and safely secures the cladding made of Equitone fibre cement panels to the façade on a total surface of 2.500 m². The modern building envelope is additionally clad with aluminium composite panels (ACM = two aluminium layers with a polyethylene core). fischer BWM’s ATK 100 + 103 aluminium supporting structures were used to fasten the Equitone elements. fischer SXRL frame fixings anchor the FLH AL L-shaped aluminium wall holders of the vertical support system in construction bases made of concrete and hollow blocks. Used both as fixed points and as sliding points, they absorb proportional wind loads and the entire dead load of the façade panels and subframe (fixed points) while compensating the thermal expansion of the profiles (sliding points).

Specialist undercut technology was additionally used during the project. “Our client, Dadabhai Construction, was looking for a concealed fastening free of expansion pressure for the Equitone panels with a thickness of 8 mm”, says Musab Hamdan, Country Manager Bahrain at the fischer subsidiary in the United Arab Emirates. “We offered the ideal solution with our Tergo+ private label product made exclusively for thin fibre cement panels by Equitone.” 

“In this prestigious project we have seen a lot of challenges due to its high level of specifications”, says Reji Mudeen, Construction Manager at Dadabhai Construction at the time of the construction. “One of them was that the client decided to go with Equitone panel of 8 mm thk for external walls. It was a challenge for us at the planning stage of how to install these thin panels in easy, fast and safe way, at same time maintain architect’s finish.” Reji Mudeen emphasises: “We have ended up with only one reliable solution using fischer Tergo + and ATK system, which helped us to comply with all projects requirements in terms of façade fixing and give the finish that client was looking for.” “Our fischer FZP II T Tergo+ Zykon panel anchors provide the façade with a harmonious appearance by offering a distinguished look thanks to concealed fastenings of the Equitone panels while offering a high level of safety”, states Jan Zimmermann, Head of Market Management fischer façade systems, summarising the advantages. Bernard Hayek, Operation Manager at OBRAS International, confirms: “The Equitone panels, supplied via regional distributor OBRAS General Trading LLC based in Dubai, UAE, enabled a modern and functional façade. The fischer BWM subframe was the ideal solution for mounting the panels securely and concealed.”

Thanks to their short geometry and additional features, the FZP II T Tergo+ anchors are suitable for the concealed fastening of the thin fibre cement panels by Equitone with thicknesses of 8 mm and above. “By placing the anchors using undercut technology, the ideal static position on the façade panel can be chosen”, Jan Zimmermann adds. “This prevents the fibre cement panel from deflecting”. The geometrical interlocking and stress-free fixing ensures high retaining values with the ideal anchor fastening, allowing large panel formats to be used.

An ideal range of suitable system accessories from a single source further simplified and accelerated the installation process at the Sheraton Hotel in Bahrain. fischer’s mobile BWM drilling equipment BSN 101T allowed undercut holes to be drilled into the fibre cement panels directly on the construction site with precision, ease and speed using the dry drilling method with the fischer BWM FZPB 11T D12 drill bit.

“We supported our client Dadabhai Construction by providing both the right products and services,” Musab Hamdan reports. “During the planning phase, this involved designing the subframe and fastening solutions as well as drafts of every perspective, including the fischer BWM ATK system details and FZP II T Tergo+ anchor layout. In addition to this, there were installation and machine briefings as well as on-site training”. The façade construction specialists were trained to correctly set up the BSN 101T machine to drill into 8 mm panels, read the drafts and calculations and install the subframe solution. fischer’s experts supported their client with the right system and service solutions from a single source on site and from their headquarters in Germany until the project’s successful completion.