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Burj Khalifa

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Coordinates: 25°11′50.0″N 055°16′26.6″E / 25.197222°N 55.274056°E / 25.197222; 55.274056
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Template:Building under construction

Burj Dubai
File:Burj Dubai.jpg
Map
General information
Estimated completion30 December 2008[1]
OpeningSeptember 2009 (est.)
Height
Antenna spire~818 m (2,684 ft) (estimate)
Roof~643.3 m (2,110.6 ft)
Top floor~624.1 m (2,047.6 ft) (estimate)
Technical details
Floor count160+ (estimate) above,
2 underground
Floor area344,000 m2 (3,702,785 sq ft)
Design and construction
Architect(s)Skidmore, Owings and Merrill
DeveloperEmaar

The Burj Dubai (Arabic: برج دبي "Dubai Tower") is a supertall skyscraper currently under construction in the "New Downtown" of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Although not yet complete, it is currently the tallest high-rise building in the world. Upon its completion, it will be the tallest man-made structure, of any kind, in the world by a significant margin. Projected to be completed and occupied by 2009, the building is part of a huge development located at the "First Interchange" (aka "Defense round-about") along Sheikh Zayed Road at Doha Street. Skidmore, Owings and Merrill LLP (SOM) of Chicago is the lead architect, structural engineer and mechanical engineer of the Burj. George Efstathiou of SOM is the Managing Partner on the project, while Adrian Smith, formerly of SOM, was the Design Partner. Third Party Peer Review has been performed by CBM Engineers Inc.

Height

Current height

File:Burj Dubai March07.jpg
The Burj Dubai under construction

As of July 21, 2007, the tower's height is reported by its developers to be Template:M to ft, totaling 141 completed floors,[2] indicating that the Burj Dubai has surpassed Taipei 101 (509.2 m (1,671 ft)) becoming the tallest high-rise building in the world. [3]

In February 2007, the Burj Dubai surpassed the Sears Tower as the building with the most floors in the world.

On July 20, 2007, the head of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), Antony Wood, has confirmed that it "has now surpassed the height of Taipei 101 structurally (concrete)." [4] However, he also added "We will not classify it as a building until it is complete, clad and at least partially open for business to avoid things like the Ryungyong project. Taipei 101 is thus officially the world's tallest until that happens."


Current records

  • Building with most floors: 141 (previously Sears Tower - 110)
  • Tallest skyscraper to highest occupied floor: 512.1 m (1,680.1 ft) (previously Taipei 101 - 439.2 m (1,440.9 ft)
  • Tallest skyscraper to top of roof: 512.1 m (1,680.1 ft) (previously Taipei 101 - 449.2 m (1,473.8 ft)
  • Tallest skyscraper to architectural top: 512.1 m (1,680.1 ft) (previously Taipei 101 - 509.2 m (1,670.6 ft)
  • Vertical concrete pumping (for a building): 512.1 m (1,680.1 ft) (previously Taipei 101 - 439.2 m (1,440.9 ft)

Projected height

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 The projected final height of the Burj Dubai is officially being kept a secret due to competition; however, figures released by a contractor on the project have suggested a height of around 808 m (2,651 ft)[5]. Based on this height, the total number of habitable floors is expected to be around 162. However, on the project's official website, an interior graphic of an elevator panel shows not know[vague] the origin of that figure, and confirmed only that the height would be greater than 200 m (656 ft). When pressed for a more precise figure, he merely repeated that he was able only to guarantee that the final height would be higher than 700 m (2,297 ft), and it would be the world's tallest free-standing structure when completed. In fact, at more than 700 m (2,297 ft) the Burj Dubai would be the tallest land-based structure of any kind to have ever been built.

History of height increases

Though unconfirmed, Burj Dubai has been rumored to have undergone several height increases since its inception. Originally proposed as a virtual clone of the 560 m (1,837 ft) Grollo Tower proposal for Melbourne, the tower was quickly redesigned with an original design by Skidmore Owings and Merrill (SOM) seen above and discussed below. This design should put it at approximately 705 m (2,313 ft). Contradictory information abounds regarding the official height of the building, which is to be expected considering the building seeks to acquire the designation as the world's tallest structure upon completion in 2009. One website[6] mentions a rumored final height of 916 m (3,005 ft) in a September 28, 2006 posting, but this is contradicted by a September 20, 2006 article listing a height over 940 m (3,084 ft).[7][8]

The former SOM architect, Adrian Smith, felt that the upper-most section of the building did not culminate elegantly, so he sought and received approval to increase it to the currently planned height. It has been explicitly stated that this change did not include any added floors,[9], which is fitting with Smith's attempts to make the crown more slender. However, the top of the tower, from the 156th floor onward or from 585.7 m (1,921.6 ft) to the top, will be a steel frame structure, unlike the lower portion's reinforced concrete. The developer, Emaar, has stated this steel section may be extended to beat any other tower to the title of tallest; however, once the tower is complete the height cannot be changed.

The competition

File:32393164 a13451dbf2.jpg
Supertall height comparisons

Several other mega-projects in various states of planning and construction may vie for the title of "tallest structure". One of Burj Dubai's main competitors is planned for a location only Template:Km to mi from the Burj Dubai site. Al Burj ("The Tower"), is being developed by Nakheel Properties who are also keeping the project's final height tightly under wraps. meed.com recently reported that this tower's projected height is around 1,200 m (3,937 ft) with at least 200 floors.

Another proposed supertall skyscraper, the Murjan Tower in Manama, Bahrain is planned to be 1,022 m (3,353 ft) tall with 200 floors. The Murjan Tower is being designed by Danish firm Henning Larsens Tegnestue A/S.

Also potentially competing with the Burj Dubai is the proposed 1,001 m (3,284 ft) Mubarak al-Kabir Tower to be erected in Kuwait as part of a massive development project called Madinat al-Hareer ("City of Silk") that also includes an Olympic stadium, residences, hotels, and retail facilities. However, the project may take 25 years to complete.[10]


Architecture and design

The tower is designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, who also designed the Sears Tower in Chicago and the Freedom Tower in New York City, among numerous other famous high-rises. The building resembles the bundled tube form of the Sears Tower, but is not a tube structure. The design of the Burj Dubai is reminiscent of the Frank Lloyd Wright vision for The Illinois, a mile high skyscraper designed for Chicago, Illinois. The Burj Dubai is expected to rise to 150% of the height of the Sears Tower.

Supertall cross-section comparisons

The design of Burj Dubai is ostensibly derived from the patterning systems embodied in Islamic architecture, with the triple-lobed footprint of the building based on an abstracted desert flower native to the region. The tower is composed of three elements arranged around a central core. As the tower rises from the flat desert base, setbacks occur at each element in an upward spiraling pattern, decreasing the cross section of the tower as it reaches toward the sky. At the top, the central core emerges and is sculpted to form a finishing spire. A Y-shaped floor plan maximizes views of the Persian Gulf. Viewed from above or from the base, the form also evokes the onion domes of Islamic architecture.

The exterior cladding of the Burj Dubai will consist of reflective glazing with aluminum and textured stainless steel spandrel panels with vertical tubular fins of stainless steel. The cladding system is designed to withstand Dubai's extreme summer temperatures.

The interior will be decorated by Giorgio Armani. An Armani Hotel (the first of its kind) will occupy the lower 37 floors. Floors 45 through 108 will have 700 private apartments on 64 floors (which, according to the developer, sold out within eight hours of going on sale). Corporate offices and suites will fill most of the remaining floors, except for a 123rd floor lobby and 124th floor indoor/outdoor observation deck. The spire will also hold communications equipment. An outdoor zero-entry swimming pool will be located on the 78th floor of the tower.

It will also feature the world's fastest elevator, rising and descending at 18 m/s (65 km/h, 40 mph).[11] The world's current fastest elevator is in the Taipei 101 office tower in Taipei, travels at 16.83 m/s (60.6 km/h, 37.5 mph). Engineers had considered installing the world's first triple-decker elevators, but the final design calls for double-decker elevators.[12]

Engineers rotated the building 120 degrees from its original layout to reduce stress from prevailing winds. Over 45,000 cubic metres (59,000 cubic yards) of concrete, weighing more than 110,000 tonnes (120,000 short tons) were used to construct the concrete and steel foundation, which features 192 piles buried more than 50 m (164 ft) deep.[12]

Purpose

The Burj Dubai has been designed to be the centerpiece of a large-scale, mixed-use development that will include 30,000 homes, nine hotels such as the Burj Dubai Lake Hotel & Serviced Apartments, 2.5 hectares (6.2 acres) of parkland, at least 19 residential towers, the Dubai Mall, and the 12 ha (30 acres) man-made Burj Dubai Lake. The complete 200 hectares (494 acres) development will cost about US$20 billion.

The silvery glass-sheathed concrete building will restore the title of Earth's tallest structure to the Middle East — a title not held by the region since Lincoln Cathedral upset the four millennial reign of Egypt's Great Pyramid of Giza in 1311 AD.

The decision to build Burj Dubai and other skyscrapers is reportedly based on the government's decision to diversify from a trade-based economy to one that is service- and tourism-oriented. Currently, Dubai has a population of 1.5 million crowded into less than 10% of the city's land. Desert covers over 90% of Dubai's 4,114 km2 (1,588 sq mi) land.[13] According to officials, it is necessary for projects like Burj Dubai to be built in the city to garner more international recognition, and hence investment. "He (Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum) wanted to put Dubai on the map with something really sensational," said Jacqui Josephson, a tourism and VIP delegations executive at Nakheel Properties.[14]

Labour controversy

Burj Dubai is being built primarily by immigrant engineers and workers from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, China and the Philippines. Press reports indicate that skilled carpenters at the site earn US$7.60 (£4.34)/day, and laborers earn US$4.00 (£2.84).[15][16] Unions were forbidden in the United Arab Emirates up until recently, when the government announced steps to allow construction unions.[17] On March 21, 2006, workers upset over low wages and poor working conditions rioted, damaging cars, offices, computers, and construction equipment. A Dubai Interior Ministry official said the rioters caused approximately $1m (USD) in damage. Most workers returned the following day but refused to work. Workers building a new terminal at Dubai International Airport also joined that day's work stoppage.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Burj Dubai Skyscraper (Photos)". Retrieved 2007-07-08.
  2. ^ "Dubai boasts world's tallest building". ABC News. Retrieved 2007-07-21.
  3. ^ "Dubai skyscraper world's tallest". BBC News. 2007-07-22. Retrieved 2007-07-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  4. ^ "Burj Dubai Height Overtakes Taipei 101". skyscrapernews.com. Retrieved 2007-07-22.
  5. ^ Project information, doka- The Formwork Experts, retrieved 2006-05-04
  6. ^ burjdubaiskyscraper.com
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference gowealthy was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "Builder: Dubai High-Rise World's Tallest". AP News. Retrieved 2007-07-22. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  9. ^ Cityscape Daily News, Cityscape, 2005-09-18, retrieved 2006-05-05
  10. ^ "Architects plan kilometre-high skyscraper", by Will Knight, NewScientist.com, December 9, 2005, retrieved 2006-03-25
  11. ^ Burj Dubai will have world's highest elevator installation, by Moushumi Das Chaudhry, BurjDubaiSkyscraper, 2006-03-12, retrieved 2006-03-25
  12. ^ a b "Burj Dubai, Dubai, at emporis.com". Retrieved 2007-05-23.
  13. ^ Dubai - Global Talent Magnet, by John Hagel, Edge Perspectives, December 11, 2005, retrieved April 10, 2006
  14. ^ "In Dubai, the Sky's No Limit", by Megan K. Stack, Los Angeles Times, 2005-10-13, retrieved 2006-03-26
  15. ^ "Workers Riot at Site of Dubai Skyscraper", Jim Krane, breitbart.com, 2006-03-22, retrieved March 24, 2006
  16. ^ Riot by migrant workers halts construction of Dubai skyscraper, by Brian Whitaker and agencies, The Guardian, 2006-03-23, retrieved 2006-03-25
  17. ^ "UAE to allow construction unions", BBC News, 2006-03-30, retrieved 2006-04-20
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Burj Khalifa.

25°11′50.0″N 055°16′26.6″E / 25.197222°N 55.274056°E / 25.197222; 55.274056

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