Posted on 04/06/2008 1:15:21 PM PDT by yankeedame
Last updated at 15:21pm on 6th April 2008
It is the tallest man-made structure in the world and it is still growing.
When complete next year the Burj Dubai will stretch half a mile into the sky over the United Arab Emirates, taller than three Canary Wharf towers balanced on top of each other.
Already 2,200ft tall, and the result of 22million man hours of labour, the Burj is the pinnacle of skyscraper engineering.
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When complete next year the Burj Dubai will be taller than three Canary Wharf towers
balanced on top of each other
This £2 billion marvel, designed by American architect Adrian Smith, is packed with technological innovations, including double-decker lifts that can carry 42 people at a record-breaking 40mph to the observation platforms, robotic window-cleaning platforms and a system of pipes to collect condensation from the windows.
It will provide about 15million gallons of water per year equivalent to nearly 20 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
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The Burj will be the height of luxury. Some of the space will be used for offices but the lower
37 floors will house the world's first Armani Hotel
The water will be pumped into the site's irrigation system for use on the landscaped areas.
Because of its size more than 6,000 miles of girders, enough to stretch a quarter of the way round the world, have gone into making its 160 floors evacuation in a fire could be too slow.
Therefore pressurised air-conditioned refuges to allow heat or fumes to escape are situated on every 25th floor, the stairwells are fireproofed and there is a special lift for firefighting equipment.
The Burj will be the height of luxury. Some of the space will be used for offices but the lower 37 floors will house the world's first Armani Hotel.
There are also 700 private apartments, and residents will be able to swim in an outdoor pool on the side roof of the 78th floor.
The Y-shape plan of the tower, copied from Islamic designs on mosque roofs, maximises views of the Persian Gulf.
Walid bin Talal is the second richest royal in the world (King Abdullah is first). I heard awhile ago the Saudis had plans to build the tallest tower as well...looks like they might go through with them.
Dubai originally built the tallest flagpole for the largest flag, but Jordan built a larger one awhile ago and theirs still stands as the tallest in the world. Architecture races in the Middle East...gotta love it. (Also, the more $$$ they spend on stuff like this is less $$$ they can spend on terror. I say let ‘em have all the competitions they want).
More money than brains.
“I sure hope some loony American religious group like Praise The Lord Club aided by the outlaw government of Dick Cheney and George W Bush doesnt send people to Dubai dressed as normal Arabians and fly fully loaded passenger planes into that building in a desparate suicidal attempt to show the Mid East that it is evil and corrupt in the eyes of Jesus Christ.”
And when we do, it won’t be our fault. It will be as a result of Dubai’s corrupt foreign policy.
We have the same thought about this building spree. It might be some decades away, but it will end and the region revert to its natural state.
Perhaps that's why it's being built in a Muslim country, instead of somewhere like New York...
It looks like science fiction special effects.
What floor is the Bill Clinton suite going to be on?
There comes a point where architecture ceases to be architecture and becomes mere showmanship. This tower, with all its engineering feets, looks like a bunch of tall boys stacked upon one another. It’s not a thing of beauty, and it’s not something to inspire any meaningful aspect of the imagination outside of shere awe due to its looming shadow.
When you compare it to the Chrysler Building in New York or the TransAmerica Building in San Francisco.... well, let’s just say I’m fond of a building that inspires beauty and manages to stand out, all the while complementing its surroundings.
I can read this one.
Yep. And thanks to our idiotic Democrats, no oil revenues are flowing into Alaska, North Dakota, etc.
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You know what I think would be far more impressive than a mile high tower? An array of say 16 or maybe more canary warf sized towers connected with walkways every 5 or 10 floors. If I were king of some oil rich dictatorship, that’s what I’d build.
All on a "Mine's bigger than yours" theme.
“What floor is the Bill Clinton suite going to be on?”
Bill gets the top 5 floors.
Directly be-low is the “BimboSweet”. :-)
I guess this Muzzl'em wants one loooong one rather than 16 short ones. I do agree the latter would be better with the 72 virgins, though. But if he had 18, he could do 1/4 of them at once.
Just in case some Christians fly a few planes into it.
Liberals are in charge.
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