The 'Burj Dubai' ( "Dubai Tower") is a
supertall skyscraper currently under construction in
Dubai,
United Arab Emirates. When it is completed in late 2008, it will be the
tallest man-made structure in the world, as well as the tallest building by any measure. Scheduled for occupancy in September 2009, the building is part of a development called 'Downtown Dubai' and is located at the "First Interchange" (aka "Defence
Roundabout") along
Sheikh Zayed Road at Doha Street. The building was designed by
Adrian Smith before he left
Skidmore, Owings and Merrill LLP (SOM) of
Chicago to start his own independent practice,
Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture in October 2006.
[3] SOM continues to lead the
architectural,
structural engineering and
mechanical engineering of the Burj Dubai. The total budget for the Burj Dubai project is about $4.1 billion US dollars and for the entire new 'Downtown Dubai', $20 billion US Dollars.
Height
Current height and timeline of events
As of
September 9 2007, the tower's developers reported the Burj Dubai's height to be 1803 ft, with 148 completed stories.
[4]
Burj Dubai's next milestone is to be the tallest freestanding structure, surpassing the
CN Tower in
Toronto,
Canada at .
[ Dubai skyscraper world's tallest ]
★
September 21 2004Emaar contractors begin construction on the Burj Dubai.
★
February 2007Burj Dubai surpasses the
Sears Tower as the
building with the most floors.
★
May 13 2007Burj Dubai sets record for vertical concrete pumping on any building at , surpassing the to which concrete was pumped during the construction of
Taipei 101.
[5] The record for vertical concrete pumping on any structure was set during the construction of the Riva del Garda Hydroelectric Power Plant in
1994, when concrete was pumped to a height of .
[6]
★
July 21 2007Burj Dubai becomes the tallest building on Earth surpassing Taipei 101 which stands at a height of .
[7] The previous day, the head of the
Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), Antony Wood, had confirmed that it "surpassed the height of Taipei 101 structurally (concrete)."
[8] 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 [''
sic''] project.
Taipei 101 is thus officially the world's tallest until that happens."
★
August 12 2007Burj Dubai surpassed the height of the Sears' Tower antenna which stands at a height of .
★
September 03 2007Burj Dubai becomes the second tallest freestanding structure on land, surpassing the
Ostankino Tower in
Moscow,
Russia.
Current records
★ Building with most floors: 148 (previously
Sears Tower /
World Trade Center - 110)
★ Vertical concrete pumping (for a building): (previously Taipei 101 - )
★ Vertical concrete pumping (for any construction): . (previously
Riva del Garda Hydroelectric Power Plant - )
Projected height
Projected height of the completed Burj Dubai, compared to the height of some other well known tall buildings.
The projected final height of the Burj Dubai is officially being kept a secret due to competition from other buildings under construction or proposed; however, figures released by a contractor on the project have suggested a height of around .
[9] Based on this height, the total number of habitable floors is expected to be around 160. However, when pressed for a more precise figure, the project manager merely repeated that he was able only to guarantee that the final height would be higher than , and it would be the world's tallest free-standing structure when completed. In fact, at more than the Burj Dubai would be the tallest land-based structure to have ever been built.
A recent article from "Builder Online" posted on the web concerning the appointment of Richard Rodrigues to the positions of CEO of Emaar Dubai,
[10]
seems to paraphrase Larry Webb, the CEO of John Laing Homes, the parent company of Emaar Dubai, as stating indirectly that the final number of floors will be 170. The paragraph is as follows:
""He's going to do a great job in Dubai," adds Webb, pointing out that as part of his duties, Rodriguez will now be in charge of completing the 170-story Burj Dubai, billed as the world's tallest building."
History of height increases
Though unconfirmed, Burj Dubai has been rumoured to have undergone several height increases since its inception. Originally proposed as a virtual clone of the
Grollo Tower proposal for
Melbourne, the tower was redesigned with an original design by Skidmore Owings and Merrill (SOM) seen above and discussed below. This design should put it at approximately . 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
[11] mentions a rumoured final height of in a
September 28,
2006 posting, but this is contradicted by a
September 20,
2006 article listing a height over .
[12]
The design 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,
[13], which is fitting with Smith's attempts to make the crown more slender. However, the top of the tower, from the 156
th floor onward or from 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.
Competition with other projects
Several other mega-projects in various states of planning and construction may vie for the title of "tallest structure". One of Burj Dubai's potential competitors is a proposed tower only 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 would be around with at least 200 floors. However luckily for the Burj Dubai's owners the Al Burj project has been scaled back and is likely to not be a competitor for the world's tallest building.
Another proposed supertall skyscraper, the
Murjan Tower in
Manama,
Bahrain is planned to be 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
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.
[14]
Architecture and design
The tower is being constructed by
Samsung Engineering & Construction [15] and 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. Emaar has also engaged GHD
[16] , an international multidisciplinary consulting firm, to assist with the design, review and assessment involved in the construction process.
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 version of the desert flower
hymenocallis
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 spiralling 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 .
[17] The world's current fastest elevator (in the
Taipei 101 office tower in
Taipei) travels at . Engineers had considered installing the world's first triple-decker elevators, but the final design calls for double-decker elevators.
[18] A total of 56 elevators will be installed that can carry 42 people at a time.
[19]
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 deep.
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, of parkland, at least 19 residential towers, the
Dubai Mall, and the man-made Burj Dubai Lake. The Burj Dubai Tower will cost
US$ 800 million to build and the entire, complete development will cost around 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 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 of land, with
desert covering the rest.
[20] 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.
[21]
Construction
The Burj Dubai is made from
reinforced concrete. As construction of the tower progresses, it becomes increasingly difficult to vertically pump the thousands of litres of concrete that are required. The previous record for pumping concrete on any project, was set during the extension of the Riva del Garda Hydroelectric Power Plant in
Italy in 1994, when concrete was pumped to a height of . The Burj Dubai now holds this record as of August 19th as it has a height of , to hold the record for concrete pumping on any project.
Labour controversy
Burj Dubai is being built primarily by
immigrant engineers and workers from
Pakistan,
India,
Bangladesh,
China and the
Philippines22. Press reports indicate that skilled
carpenters at the site earn US
$7.60 (
£4.34)/day, and laborers earn US$4.00 (£2.84).
[22][23] Unions were forbidden in the United Arab Emirates up until recently, when the government announced steps to allow construction unions.
[24]
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 US$1m (£488k) 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
strike action.
Gallery
See also
★
Supertall
★
Skyscraper
★
List of tallest buildings and structures in the world
★
List of buildings with 100 floors or more
★
List of tallest buildings in Dubai
★
Skyscraper design and construction
★
List of tallest towers in Southwest Asia
★ 'Planned supertall buildings (> 500 m)'
★
★
Al Burj
★
★
Al Habtoor Tower
★
★
Busan Lotte Tower
★
★
Chicago Spire
★
★
Crown Las Vegas
★
★
Doha Convention Center Tower
★
★
Incheon Towers
★
★
Jinling Fuguang
★
★
Madinat Al-Hareer
★
★
One Mile High Tower
★
★
Pentominium
★
★
Russia Tower
References
1. Burj Dubai becomes the world tallest building
2. Burj Dubai Skyscraper (Photos)
3. Architect Magazine: Adrian Smith Leaves SOM, Longtime Skidmore partner bucks retirement to start new firm
4. Current height as reported at www.burjdubai.com/
5. Burj Dubai:Unimix sets record for concrete pumping
6. Putzmeister AG. Company facts - History
7. Burj Dubai official site
8. Burj Dubai Height Overtakes Taipei 101
9. Project information, ''doka- The Formwork Experts'', retrieved 2006-05-04
10. Richard Rodrigues to be CEO of Emaar Dubai, ''Laing's Ops Man To Head Emaar Dubai'', retrieved 2007-08-25
11. burjdubaiskyscraper.com
12. Builder: Dubai High-Rise World's Tallest
13. , ''Cityscape'', 2005-09-18, retrieved 2006-05-05
14. "Architects plan kilometre-high skyscraper", by Will Knight, ''NewScientist.com'', December 9, 2005, retrieved 2006-03-25
15. Samsung E&C
16. GHD Projects
17. Burj Dubai will have world's highest elevator installation, by Moushumi Das Chaudhry, ''BurjDubaiSkyscraper'', 2006-03-12, retrieved 2006-03-25
18. Burj Dubai, Dubai, at emporis.com
19. Burj Dubai reaches a record high. ''EMAAR'', 2007-07-21, retrieved 2007-07-23
20. Dubai - Global Talent Magnet, by John Hagel, ''Edge Perspectives'', December 11, 2005, retrieved April 10, 2006
21. "In Dubai, the Sky's No Limit", by Megan K. Stack, ''Los Angeles Times'', 2005-10-13, retrieved 2006-03-26
22. "Workers Riot at Site of Dubai Skyscraper", Jim Krane, ''breitbart.com'', 2006-03-22, retrieved March 24, 2006
23. Riot by migrant workers halts construction of Dubai skyscraper, by Brian Whitaker and agencies, ''The Guardian'', 2006-03-23, retrieved 2006-03-25
24. "UAE to allow construction unions", ''BBC News'', 2006-03-30, retrieved 2006-04-20
External links
★
Official website
★
Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture - official website
★
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP - official website
★
Burj Dubai Skyscraper—Construction photos & Information
★
Burj Dubai (Downtown Dubai) - The tower and its surroundings
★
Burj Dubai—Project Information from Design Build Network
★
Emporis page on Burj Dubai
★
SkyscraperPage Burj Dubai
★ (Irwin, Baker, June 2006)
STRUCTURE magazine
★ (Erwin, etal, November 2006)
STRUCTURE magazine
★
Otis Worldwide, Signature Projects—Information on the project's elevators at the Otis Elevator Company
★
Wind and Other Studies performed by
RWDI
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