Tall Order: Super Skyscraper Plan

It will be more than 1km high, have 150 lifts and will take over 10 years to construct, say the developers of what could become the world's tallest building.

The Islamic design-inspired Nakheel Tower will be the centre piece of a multi-billion pound inner-city harbour development in Dubai.

Its makers claim it will be so tall that the tower will experience five different microclimatic conditions above its height.

And high speed shuttle lifts will mean people will be able to see the sunset twice - from the bottom and again from the top of the building.

Nakheel - the company that created man-made islands in the shapes of a palm tree and the world - is behind the build.

Its chief executive officer, Christopher O'Donnell, cautiously told a news conference: "From our perspective, we are building a tower that's going to be over 1km in height.

"This is a complete iconic development. It may be the tallest. Someone may build something taller."

But "tallest building" claims are notoriously difficult to make. Debates about what counts as a candidate include whether buildings under construction should be considered and whether roof-top antennas count.

What is certain is that the tower will climb above the current holder of the "world's tallest building" position - the Emirate's own Burj Dubai.

Asked if the firm was worried about embarking on such a development during a global financial crisis, Mr O'Donnell said: "It was always going to be a project that would take 10 years-plus.

"When you go about trying to fund a project like this, you have to take account of the economic cycles."

The company would not comment on how much the tower will cost to build.

Also:

Nakheel is to trump rival Emaar Properties in the contest to build the world's tallest building, with the Dubai-owned developer on Sunday unveiling plans for a tower that will dwarf the Burj Dubai.

Nakheel is poised to build a tower that will be more than one kilometre high, as part of a 140 billion-dirham ($38.12 billion) project that will include the world’s first inner city harbour, company executives said.

Emaar's Burj Dubai, currently the tallest man made structure in the world at over 630 metres, is expected to be up to 900 metres tall upon completion in early 2009. The company has refused to reveal its final height.

Latest Al Burj Tall Tower render

Here is the latest render of what the Al Burj tower might look like. The tower is suppose to be 1400 meters, 1.4 km tall when completed. But if you put the renders in photoshop and count pixels it only comes out to about 1200 meters...

Dubai Vertical City,2.4KM (1.5 Miles) Tall

Dubai - Stretching its six intertwining building components into a tower 2.4 kilometres high, Dubai City Tower is expected to be the latest architectural vision to capture the attention of citizens. The ‘Vertical City’, as it is described, is an architect’s proposal that began circulating in emails and at a skycraper forum last week, but its origins are yet to be determined The professional project pitch details 400 habitable stories, topped by a 400m energy-producing spire, making it 2.4km high. By comparison, Emaar’s Burj Dubai is largely predicted to be around 800m high and 160 floors. A “mile-high tower” in Jeddah has been planned by Kingdom Holdings, while Nakheel is building Al Burj, which, according to project sources, will have a final height of 1.28km, although the developer is keeping the details under wraps.


But neither an architect nor a developer detailed on the plans for the Dubai City Tower. Major developers Emaar, Nakheel, Dubai Properties and Damac categorically denied to Khaleej Times any involvement or awareness of the project. However, the proposal of such an engineering feat is indicative of the environment of possibilities Dubai has created for tall towers, according to Steven Oehme, Regional Director of Value Management and Sustainability at Hyder Consulting Middle East. “It is certainly possible,” Oehme said. “You can’t just use today’s technology, but it can be planned and the possibilities are there. Fifteen years ago, there was nothing even half the height of the Burj Dubai.” The time frame from drawing board to construction and completion for such developments, in this case termed a super-tall skyscraper, often banks on future technologies.


A “Mega-city Pyramid” proposed for Tokyo Bay in Japan needs a structure of incredibly strong, light materials still being developed. While Burj Dubai is expected to be completed in September 2009, five years after the construction started, the one-kilometre-high tower Mubarak Al Kabir in Kuwait is estimated to take 25 years to complete since its announcement was made last year. Oehme said the flurry of architect proposals, and buildings under construction, could speed up technology and encourage more investment in tall towers. “People didn’t really see the significance of building that tall,” he said. “There wasn’t an environment that supported a building that tall. The Petronas Towers in Malaysia changed all that.” They held the mantle for nearly a decade.”


Now, in the Gulf region, Burj Dubai is a year from completion. Khaleej Times has learnt Al Burj plans are being finalised and recently Timelinks announced plans for the Ziggurat, a 1.2-kilometre-high pyramid city to house one million people. Oehme said the feasibility of a project like Dubai City Tower was highly technical and wondered how many of the proposals would materialise. “It’s not just a matter of scaling things up. Every factor has to be considered. In ten years there could be two or three tall towers in the region or there could be 20 or 30. But now, our understanding of tall towers is enormous,” Oehme said.

Al Burj Photo update September 6th 2008

Here is two photos of the current cunstruction at the Al Burj aka Tall Tower site. You can now clearly see the future circle shaped floorplate, they put steelframes in the holes just like they did with the Chicago Spire.

Contest for tallest tower in the Gulf heats up

Dubai: Competition to build the world's tallest tower is hotting up in the Gulf as developers continue to battle it out with their increasingly ambitious designs and dizzying heights.

A report by Middle East Economic Digest (MEED) last week had said Nakheel was planning to increase the height of its Al Burj project to 1.4 kilometres, making it almost double the height of Emaar's Burj Dubai, which is said to be around 750 to 815 metres long. However, Nakheel has denied the report. A spokesperson for Nakheel said yesterday that the design of the project was still being finalised, but height won't necessarily be the focus of the tower.

"Although the project will be a significant architectural structure, it's worth noting that an iconic building doesn't necessarily have to be the tallest. For example, Sydney Opera House is an iconic building admired around the world and its worldwide appeal is not based on height," the spokesperson said. The Al Burj project had originally been planned at Dubai waterfront with an initial height of 1,050 metres. The project will now come up near Ibn Battuta Mall, a source told Gulf News.

Mall development

According to the MEED report, Ibn Battuta is increasing its retail space to 250,000 square metres, with entertainment attractions, including a roller coaster on top of the mall itself. Nakheel said further details on the tower are expected to be released by the end of this year. Meanwhile, there are rumours that the proposed Saudi Arabian mile-high tower will fall short of the hyped mile.

According to sources, the tower could reach 5,250 feet, four times the size of the Empire State Building in New York, with a development value of £5 billion. Unless you suffer from vertigo and if you can take the heady heights, from the top of the tower you'll be rewarded with an unparalleled view of the Middle East, North Africa and the Indian Ocean.

The project is being overseen by Saudi Prince Al Walid Bin Talal Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, under his company, Kingdom Holdings, in a joint venture with London firms Hyder Consulting and Arup. Graham Whitehead, head of corporate communications at Hyder Consulting headquarters in London, told Gulf News that a confidentiality agreement had been signed between the parties involved and hence no details could be released. Although the height and design specifications can't be released until Kingdom Holdings gives permission, a spokesperson for Hyder Consulting in Dubai said: "They are aiming for the tallest building in the world."