Burj Dubai (Burj Khalifa) Fireworks Show, 4th of January, Dubai

09.01.10 / News / Author: / Comments: (25)
Tags: , , , , , , ,

Burj Dubai Breaks Record… and Keeps Going

04.01.10 / News / Author: / Comments: (0)
Tags: , , , ,

burj dubai 2
The Burj Dubai realized its “tallest high-rise building in the world” claim on July 21, according to developer Emaar Properties, when the concrete floors were poured and set on the skyscraper’s 141st story. At 1,680 feet tall, the still-incomplete tower surpassed the previous height record of 1671 feet, established by Taiwan’s Taipei 101, and surges toward an undisclosed height rumored to be 2,300 feet, some 160 stories, when the tower is finished in 2008.
Burj Dubai during the day
Photo: Courtesy Emaar Properties
The Burj Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, reached a milestone on Saturday when construction workers poured concrete for the 141st floor–making this 1,680-foot-tall skyscraper the tallest building in the world.

Although developer Emaar Properties and architects at Skidmore Owings & Merrill are keeping the Burj’s final height a secret, the 160-story building could reach 2,300 feet by the time it is finished in 2008.

Designed by a team of 90 architects at Skidmore Owings & Merrill, and erected by a small army of 6,800 laborers in grueling desert temperatures reaching 120 degrees Fahrenheit, the Burj Dubai achieved its height record just 1,276 days after construction began. Its composite concrete and rebar floors are rising at an average rate of three days per level. But aside from the speed of construction and the building’s sheer size, the Burj is “epoch defining” for typifying the “supertall” typology, says Carol Willis, director of The Skyscraper Museum in New York City. Supertall is a category of buildings that soar past 1,250 feet or 80 stories tall.

“What we’re seeing in these supertall buildings is a shift in construction type,” says Willis, whose museum is featuring a show about the Burj through September. “In the 20th century, the paradigm was an office building built of steel in North America. Now it’s mixed-use, and principally residential, built of concrete or composite, and primarily in the Middle East or Asia. It’s become essentially the opposite.”

The Burj’s highest 50 floors will contain office space, while the remaining interior program is devoted to a luxury hotel, on floors one through 20, and penthouse apartments, on floors 20 through 110. Its floor plates will taper from 33,607 square feet, at the base, to 10,788 square feet at the top—half the size of floor plates in the 108-story Sears Tower, which contains nearly the same cubic volume as the Burj. Residential towers require less floor plate area, Willis explains, because they contain fewer elevators than office skyscrapers.

The $1.4 billion Burj tower is the focal point of Emaar’s Downtown Burj Dubai, a 500-acre, $20 billion development where the operative word appears to be “big.” The complex will feature the world’s largest entertainment center and shopping mall—totaling 12 million square feet—an artificial lagoon, and additional residential high-rises. Apartments with Burj tower views, Willis says, are already commanding higher prices than those featuring only desert views.

“When these buildings are really built in the real world they certainly stand for a kind of visionary ambition, but that doesn’t exclude a rational blueprint for their economic viability,” she says. “As long as there are people that want to live or work with that elevated status or perspective, these buildings will continue to rise into the sky.”

Inside the Burj Khalifa tower

04.01.10 / News / Author: / Comments: (0)
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

bbbbb
As the Burj Khalifa tower opens, we check out what’s actually in there, floor by floor…

So, the Burj Dubai – the world’s tallest tower – is finally flinging open its doors today. There are going to be fireworks and everything.

We’ve done some detective work and found out what exactly is in there, floor by floor, from the top down. Here it goes…..

160 upwards
This is the technical bit, or the spike. The bit that actually makes our Dubai tower the biggest in the world – so there.

156-159
This is the bit that houses the communication and broadcast centre of the tower – the floors where the magic happens, so to speak.

155
This is kind of the mechanical epicentre of the tower. It’s also the highest mechanical point of the tower.

139-154
These floors comprise the posh bits, or the ‘Corporate Suites’, as they’re officially known. You might even be lucky enough to work here in the future.

136-138
These floors are full of more mechanical bits and pieces.

125-135
More of those posh ‘Corporate Suites’ we were on about earlier. Nice.

124
This is the official top bit. It’s called ‘At The Top’ even though it’s not. We’re not exactly sure why.

123
This floor is the tallest Sky Lobby. Prepare for the best views of Dubai you will ever see.

122
This floor is home to Atmosphere. Another place you’re going to want to know about in the coming months.

111-121
More Corporate Suites

109-110
More mechanical stuff

77-108
These floors are where a few lucky, lucky people will be able to live. We’re not jealous, much.

76
This floor houses another Sky Lobby to look out of. Perfect if you’re not brave enough to go further up.

73-75
More mechanical stuff

44-72
More residential suites for the lucky few

43
Another Sky Lobby

40-42
More mechanical stuff

38-39
These floors belong to the Armani Hotel suites

19-37
More residential suites for the lucky few

17-18
More mechanical stuff

9-16
The Armani Residences

1-8
The Armani Hotel

Ground
The Armani Hotel

Concourse
The Armani Hotel

B1-B2
Parking, Mechanical

Revealed: Height of World’s Tallest Building

04.01.10 / News / Author: / Comments: (0)
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

burj_dubai_2
The opening of the world’s tallest building has taken place in Dubai as the official height was revealed – 828 metres (2717ft).

At a ceremony, the Burj Dubai was renamed Burj Khalifa by Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum.

The new name is after Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan – the president of the UAE and the ruler of the neighbouring emirate of Abu Dhabi.

The Burj Khalifa towers over its nearest rival, the Taipei 101 in Taiwan, which rises 508m (1,667ft).

That makes it about twice the height of the Empire State Building.

At the opening, thousands of residents and tourists crowded around the half-mile high tower, which stands at least 160 storeys high.

Dubai’s ruler unveiled a plaque at the skyscraper’s base, kicking off inaugural festivities.

They included traditional Gulf Arab dance performances and skydivers landing parachutes emblazoned with the colours of the United Arab Emirates flag near the tower’s base.

The top of the building can be seen from 60 miles away and the exterior is covered in about 26,000 glass panels.

The building boasts the most storeys and highest occupied floor of any building in the world, and ranks as the world’s tallest structure, beating a television mast in North Dakota.

“We weren’t sure how high we could go,” said Bill Baker, the building’s structural engineer, who is in Dubai for the inauguration. “It was kind of an exploration … a learning experience”

The Burj’s opening comes at a tough time for Dubai’s economy with property prices in newer parts of the sheikhdom down by nearly half over the past year.

The city-state turned to its richer neighbour Abu Dhabi for a series of bailouts in 2009 to help cover debts amassed by a network of state-linked companies.

Dubai inaugurates world’s tallest building

04.01.10 / News / Author: / Comments: (0)
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

1burj-dubai
With the onset of the New Year, Dubai is all set to open the world’s tallest building amid tight security on Jan4, 2010. The world might be facing recession not the aspirations of the Dubai world. Dubai though recently was in the news but for all the wrong reasons. However, the latest news about the tallest building is the reminder of the aspirations of Dubai administration to keep promises by making Dubai one of the proudest places in the world.

However, the final height was not clear, yet the Burj Dubai as it is called for Dubai tower, turned out to be a closely guarded secret on the eve of its opening. The present height is already claiming to be the highest 800 meters, the height long ago left behind its nearest rival the Taipei 101 in Taiwan.

Bill Baker, the real architect of the buildings structure is in Dubai for the inauguration said the engineers weren’t sure how high they could go, and more than anything else, the process was a great learning experiences. On the other hand, the Burj’s developer, Emaar Properties, kept pushing the better design notwithstanding of the construction started ultimately, putting it roughly, 984 feet taller than its nearest competitor, Baker said. He at present is not forthwith about the correct height of the building.

« Older Entries