This is a supertall skyscraper under construction in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and is the tallest man-made structure ever built, at 818 m (2,684 ft). Construction began on 21 September 2004, and the tower is expected to be completed and ready for occupancy on 4 January 2010.[1][2]
The building is part of the 2 km2 (0.8 sq mi) flagship development called "Downtown Burj Dubai" at the "First Interchange" along Sheikh Zayed Road, near Dubai's main business district. The tower's architect is Adrian Smith, who worked with Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM) until 2006.[6][7] The Chicago-based architecture and engineering firm SOM was in charge of the project design.[6] The primary builder is a joint venture of South Korean Samsung C&T, who also built the Taipei 101 and Petronas Twin Towers.[8], Besix and Arabtec. Turner Construction Company was chosen as the construction project manager [9]. Under UAE law, the Contractor and the Engineer of Record are jointly and severally liable for the performance of Burj Dubai. Therefore, by adoption of SOM’s design and by being appointed as Architect and Engineer of Record, Hyder Consulting is legally the Design Consultant for the tower.
The total budget for the Burj Dubai project is about US $4.1 billion; and for the entire new "Downtown Dubai", US $20 billion.[10] Mohamed Ali Alabbar, the CEO of Emaar Properties, speaking at the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat 8th World Congress, said that the price of office space at Burj Dubai had reached US $4,000 per sq ft (over US $43,000 per m2) and that the Armani Residences, also in Burj Dubai, were selling for US $3,500 per sq ft (over US $37,500 per m
Amidst the crisis, Dubai is keeping its date to create history by opening the Burj Dubai, the world’s tallest building, on Monday, even as it is keeping the whole world guessing about the final height of the magnificent tower whose parent is fighting for survival.
Though the final height of the super-scraper is not known, the £1 billion Burj Dubai is at least 2,683 ft from its base to the tip of its spire — equivalent of three-and-a-half Canary Wharf towers or two Empire State Buildings stacked up.
Its final height is being
building have hinted it could break the 2,700-ft mark. The tower is more than 1,000 ft higher than its nearest inhabited rival, Taiwan’s 1,671-ft Taipei 101.
The Burj Dubai, which is not just the tallest building on the planet but also the world’s tallest m
ban-made structure, surpassing even the 2,063-ft KVLY-TV mast in North Dakota, America, will be opened by the Emirate ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum on Monday.Meanwhile, online news site ArabianBusiness.com said the “inauguration of the Burj Dubai, developed by Emaar Properties, (it parent Dubai World is fighting a $59 billion debit crisis) will feature a spectacular display of sound, light, water and fireworks.”
A combination of 10,000 fireworks, light beams, choreographed water displays, and sound and music effects on Monday will describe the evolution of the world’s most iconic new building.
The 169-floor building passes through different climatic zones as the temperature at the top is up to 10°C cooler than that at the bottom.
It has the highest swimming pool in the world, on the 76th floor, and the most elevated place of worship with plans for a mosque on the 158th floor
However, after the economic downturn ripped through Dubai, critics are already dismissing the tower as a gaudy memorial to a lost decade of uncontrolled speculation.
There are 900 studios and one- to four-bedroom flats and 144 apartments in the Burj Dubai, designed by Giorgio Armani.
The tower also houses the Italian designer’s first hotel.
The building has, however, received flak from various sectors. Human rights groups and workers’ organisations say the tower has been built using “slave labour”, the Sunday Times said, adding that construction workers, mainly from India and Pakistan, toiled round the clock for just $5 a day.
Besides, environmentalists have criticised the building’s power consumption. Its air-conditioning system is the equivalent of melting 12,500 tonnes of ice a day, and it will consume millions of gall
f melting 12,500 tonnes of ice a day, and it will consume millions of gallons of desalinated water — in a city that already has the world’s highest per capita carbon footprint.
