THINKING BIG

Posted by Mike Rigby

Burj Dubai is already the tallest building in the world.

When complete next year it 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. It will stand a whopping 189 stories high (Manchester’s tallest building, the Beetham Tower is a mere 47 stories).

The statistics are staggering. It cost £2 billion. Designed by American architect Adrian Smith it includes lifts that can carry 42 people at a time, traveling at 40mph. According to the official website, at peak cooling times it will require 10,000 tons of cooling per hour. This is equivalent to the capacity provided by 10.2 million kg of melting ice, in one day.

Here’s a snap from my Google Earth. It casts an ominous shadow.

This is how it compares to the worlds other tallest buildings. The Empire State Building is currently the 9th tallest in the world (it was the tallest for 41 years). The World Trade Center would have been 8th if still standing.

And finally, this short video captures the vastness of the structure

Official website here http://www.burjdubai.com/

Posted on Wednesday, December 17th, 2008 at 6:24 pm by Mike Rigby. Filed under ARCHITECTURE. Follow responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.