Stepping into the World of Architecture: CCL’s Ultra-High-Performance Concrete

September 10, 2025

For years, CCL has focused on the hidden engineering of structures, developing innovative solutions that prove essential to structural performance but cannot be seen. Having achieved greatness behind the scenes, we now venture into the visible world by delving into the world of architecture.

Ultra-High-Performance Concrete (UHPC)

Ultra-High-Performance Concrete, UHPC for short, is a cutting-edge concrete material that boasts high durability, ductility and impressive strengths that exceeds up to 150 MPa. These attributes mean that even the boldest architectural visions can be brought to life, so if you’re looking for large openings, impressive cantilevers or ultra-thin concrete elements, UHPC is the answer.

Despite all that strength, it is extremely lightweight and can even hold its own weight, so minimal fixings are needed for installation. If you thought it couldn’t get any better, you’d be wrong – UHPC is reinforced with steel, stainless, or organic fibers, so you can skip the usual reinforcement and cut down on CO₂ emissions at the same time.

What CCL Offers

At CCL, we’ve got you covered from start to finish – design, manufacturing, supply and supervised installation.

During the design, we optimise panels to be stronger, thinner and lighter, so there’s no need to worry about extra steel reinforcement. Brackets and fittings are engineered to fit the project’s needs, and our flexible molds allow us to create multiple panel types with minimal changes.

We manufacture at either CCL’s purpose-built facility or at a factory local to the construction site – whichever works best for the project. We only use the best quality materials and keep a close eye on quality, so that everything meets the highest architectural and structural standards.

When it’s time to install, CCL ensure safe handling, precise alignment, and secure fixation, with tailored lifting methods for a flawless finish.

Our Partnerships

CCL found a perfect partner in Ductal®, a worldwide specialist and leader in UHPC with over 25 years of experience. Developed by Holcim, this ultra-high-performance fiber-reinforced concrete has a compressive strength exceeding up to 150 MPa.

In our Gulf region, we have happily joined up with RECKLI®, the go-to specialists in architectural concrete moulds. They’ve been pushing the boundaries of design in shaping concrete for 50 years, picking up plenty of awards along the way.

Projects:

CCL have taken UHPC on a global tour – from the Gulf region to Africa, the Middle East, and all the way through Europe.

Novotel / Adagio, Ivory Coast
The façade of Novotel Abidjan features Ductal® shading panels, which ramp upward from one elevation to the next, this adds to the aesthetic appeal of the building and interacts with natural sunlight throughout the day.
As part of the same project, the adjacent Adagio building also incorporates Ductal® panels. The inclined closed boxes provide shading from the sunrise but still let in the natural light throughout the day.

Zeena Tower, Lebanon
This 20-storey tower is wrapped in a UHPC façade with Ductal® panels that are twice as strong as regular concrete, we’re talking over 160 MPa in compressive strength. Thanks to that strength, some panels are a massive 4 × 6 metres, yet only 8 cm thick. With standard concrete, they’d need to be almost double that thickness, what a way to spoil a sleek look.

UAE Embassy, Lebanon
CCL developed a façade inspired by the Moucharabieh style, a hallmark of Arabic architecture featuring intricate grids. Approximately 2,500m² of UHPC was supplied for the façade and it even incorporated grooves for the external light fittings.

Verdala Terraces, Malta
The UHPC façade panels for this project are uniquely designed with double-sided architectural finishes, showcasing intricate detailing and a seamless finish on both sides. They provide a durable and weather-resistant exterior while also serving as a key design feature. Large-format panels, up to 6.77 × 3.68 m, minimise joints for a sleek, uninterrupted finish.

Katara, Qatar
If you step inside Katara, you will be greeted by 18,000 m² of bespoke UHPC elements, including ornate columns, arches, faceted walls, and a rhombus-shaped curved ceiling. Every piece was designed to work seamlessly with the building’s systems, so nothing gets in the way of the design. Panels, limited to 2.4 × 2.4m, were seamlessly joined onsite. CCL handled the full design, manufacture, and installation.

Orca Deco Showroom, Cameroon
The façade comprises 400 custom UHPC panels, which have each been uniquely perforated and arranged to create a bold, abstract interpretation of the Orca logo. The largest elements measure an impressive 5.2 metres in length by 1 metre in height, with a slender thickness of just 7 centimetres.

IFC, Senegal
These advanced UHPC elements cover a total area of 350 m² and feature a distinctive brick-coloured finish, carefully designed to complement the overall architectural vision. CCL handled the lot – manufacturing, supply, and installation of every vertical and horizontal façade element.