Burj Dubai

The Burj Dubai is a super-tall skyscraper currently under construction in Dubai. The Burj is an Arabic word which means Tower. Burj has also a very important role to play in Islamic architecture. The symbol of Dubai, "Burj Al Arab Hotel" is also named after the same word. The Burj Dubai Projected to be completed and occupied in 2008, the building is part of a huge development located at the "Defense round-about" along Sheikh Zayed Road at Doha Street Dubai. The main architect of this mega structure is Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM) of Chicago. they are also  structural engineer and mechanical engineer of the Burj. On completion, Burj Dubai will likely be the tallest structure in the world of any kind which may need many years to see a comparison.

The competition

Several other mega-projects 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 50 km (31 miles) from the Burj Dubai site. Al Burj ("The Tower"), is being developed by Nakheel Properties which is also keeping its final height tightly under wraps. meed.com recently reported that this tower's projected height is around 1,200 m (3,937 feet) with at least 200 floors

Another proposed supertall skyscraper, the Murjan Tower in Manama, Bahrain is planned to be 1,022 meters (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 meter-high (3,284 feet) 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.

Architecture and design

Cross-section plan of the Burj from the architectural firm SOM.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 a mile high skyscraper designed for Chicago, Illinois. The Burj Dubai is expected to rise 50% the height of the Sears or more.

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 to 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).[9] 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.

Engineers rotated the building 120 degrees from its original layout to reduce stress from prevailing winds. Over 45,000 cubic meters of concrete, weighing more than 110,000 tons were used to construct the concrete and steel foundation, which features 192 piles buried more than 50 meters (164 feet) deep.

Purpose of Burj Dubai

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 acres) of parkland, at least 19 residential towers, the Dubai Mall, and the 12 hectare man-made Burj Dubai Lake. The complete 500 acre development will cost about US$20 billion. Once completed, the tower will cover a total of two million m² (22 million ft²) of development.

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 country's land. Desert covers over 90% of Dubai's 4,114 km² (1,517 mile²) country. . 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.

Travel & Culture Services
P.O Box 22099 Sharjah
United Arab Emirates

For hotel reservation & Luxury Tours: +971-567-15-90-25
Fax: +971-6-5536001

Home | Contact Details | Dubai Desert Safari | Hotel Reservations | Dubai dubai Escorted Tour Packages | Dubai Dhow Cruise