Sunday, February 24, 2008

Twice as high as Burj Dubai

Twice as high as Burj Dubai

A Middle Eastern real estate company have asked British firm Hyder Consulting to design a structure that will be twice as tall as the Burj Dubai - making it the world's tallest tower.

Speaking at a construction forum in Abu Dhabi last week, Andy Davids, Hyder Consulting's director of structures, told weekly magazine MEED that the tower would be located in the Middle East region.

Contacted by ArabianBusiness.com on Thursday, Hyder Consulting's design and structures team did not provide any further details on the project.
Hyder has been working on Emaar Properties' Burj Dubai, currently the world's tallest structure being built in Dubai and scheduled to be completed by the end of 2008.

Burj Dubai, which is the world's tallest structure, has now reached a height of 604.9 metres (1985 feet) with 159 floors completed, with a final rumoured height to be 818 metres. Burj Dubai is currently taller than the world's tallest completed building, Taiwan's Taipei 101 and more than 40 metres higher than the world's tallest free-standing structure, Toronto's CN Tower.

Three proposed sky-scraper projects in the Gulf are taking am at Burj Dubai's crown as the world's tallest.

In Saudi Arabia, Kingdom Holding has proposed the Mile High Tower in Jeddah, which would rise to 1,600 metres if completed.

Burj Mubarak Al-Kabir in Kuwait's City of Silk is proposed to be 1,001 metres and Nakheel's Al Burj in Dubai is planned to reach 1,200 metres.

ArabianBusiness.com on February 14 published the first aerial films and photos of Burj Dubai's breakthrough the 600-metre mark.

The aerial footage of the landmark building was taken via a helicopter ride over Dubai on February 2, a day after developer Emaar confirmed the 600 metre-mark had been breached.

The newswire is presenting the spectacular films and photographs as part of a landmark special report, The World Exclusive, commemorating the completion of The World islands in Dubai after nearly five years in development.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Hyder Consulting designing a 1000+ meter tall structure

The UK's Hyder Consulting is designing a structure that will be twice as tall as the Burj Dubai, according to a consultant involved with the project - making it by far the tallest tower in the world.

Speaking at MEED's Arabian World Construction Summit in Abu Dhabi, Andy Davids, Hyder Consulting's director of structures, confirmed that the tower would be located in the Middle East region, but would not give any further details.

Hyder has been working on Emaar Properties' Burj Dubai, which is under construction in Dubai and due to be completed at the end of 2008.

Burj Dubai reached 598.5m and 158 floors last month, over 90m higher than the world's tallest building, Taiwan's Taipei 101 and more than 40m higher than the world's tallest free-standing structure, Toronto's CN Tower. Its final height is rumoured to be 818m.

Kingdom Holding Company has proposed a skyscraper in Saudi Arabia's Jeddah, the Mile High Tower, which would rise to 1,600m if completed.

Other super-tall buildings planned in the Gulf are Burj Mubarak Al-Kabir in Kuwait's City of Silk, which is expected to hit 1,001m, and Al Burj in Dubai, which is planned to reach 1,200m

Sunday, February 3, 2008

Al Burj piling work has started

The piling test used will be the same as the Pentominium, and the foundations of Al Burj will be 148.65 -151.55m deep. You will notice the rebar cages are square instead of circular. This is because they are going to build slurrywalls around the foundation.




Saturday, February 2, 2008

Dubai's real estate ambitions soar higher

DUBAI - Even as this west Asian metropolis awaits the completion of the Burj Dubai, the world’s tallest building, towards the end of this year, work on its rival, also in Dubai, has started. French firm Solantache Bachy has started work on the building, tentatively named Al Burj or “Tall Tower”, being developed by the Dubai government-owned real estate giant Nakheel, according to local media reports.

When completed, the Al Burj will be over a kilometre tall and will compete with Emaar Properties’ Burj Dubai, which is unofficially the tallest manmade structure in the world as of now. Though Emaar has kept the Burj Dubai’s final height a closely guarded secret, it is expected to be 900 metres tall when completed.

Although the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat officially recognizes the height of a building only when it is completed, the Burj Dubai, being built at a cost of $4.2 billion, surpassed the CN Tower in Toronto, Canada, as the world’s largest free-standing structure in September last year. A spokesman for Nakheel told Construction Week magazine that Solantache Bachy has started testing work on the site of the Al Burj.

Previous reports suggested that Nakheel would officially unveil the project by announcing the award of the contract in March, but another Nakheel official told the Arabian Business website that a more realistic date would be towards the end of the first half of this year. Initial designs show the Al Burj as having all of 228 floors with a four-level basement and one service sub-level. According to Construction Week, the total built up area will be 1.49 million square metres, with 492,000 square metres of usable space. The development will house offices, apartments and hotels.

The highest habitable floor will be at 850 metres, which will be topped by a 200-metre central spire with a three-level function area and three service floors.Though the super-tall structure was originally proposed to be built in the Dubai Waterfront area, the location has now been moved to between Jumeirah Lake Towers and Ibn Battuta Mall on Sheikh Zayed Road, an area marked by a large number of skyscrapers.

Meanwhile, head of Nakheel’s building division Robeert Lee told local media in an interview that the Al Burj would be a combination of offices and residential apartments.

Friday, February 1, 2008

Nakheel tight-lipped on Burj Dubai rival

TALLEST TOWER: An initial artist's impression of Nakheel's Al Burj.Dubai-owned developer Nakheel on Wednesday remained tight-lipped about details of its rival to the Burj Dubai, refusing to reveal the building’s final height, when it will be finished or even its name. Work has now begun on the site of the building, commonly called Al Burj or the Tall Tower, intensifying speculation over whether Nakheel is planning to take the Burj Dubai's crown as the tallest building in the world.

According to initial designs that put Al Burj at over a kilometre high, the building would easily overtake Emaar Properties' Burj Dubai as the world's tallest. The Burj Dubai is expected to be around 900 metres upon completion at the end of this year, although the final height remains a closely guarded secret. A spokesperson for Nakheel said the company was still finalising details for the structure and was unable to reveal its height or when it would be completed. "They're [the details of the project] not yet available," the spokesperson told ArabianBusiness.com. On the name of the building, the spokesperson said Al Burj was a "working title".

Previous reports have stated the project will be officially unveiled in March, but the spokesperson said that date was unrealistic and a launch would more likely take place "sometime toward the end of the first half of this year".

The Al Burj project has been under development for some time, first announced back in 2006. The tower was initially planned to form part of the Dubai Waterfront development, but the location was moved to between Jumeirah Lake Towers and Ibn Battuta Mall on Sheikh Zayed Road. Magazine Construction Week on Tuesday revealed French company Soletanche Bachy was tipped to win the piling and foundations contract for Al Burj, citing sources close to the project.

RELATED: Work begins on Nakheel's Al Burj

Initial designs for the tower indicate there will be 228 floors, a four level basement and one service sub-level. The total built up area will be 1.49 million square metres, with 492,000 square metres of usable space. The development will house offices, apartments and hotels. The top habitable floor will be at 850 metres, topped by a 200-metre central spire with a three level function area and three service floors.