CONSTRUCTION & TECHNOLOGY

The Burj Khalifa, formerly known as the Burj Dubai, was unveiled January 4 and now stands as the world’s tallest building at 2,716.5 feet. Developed by Emaar Properties, glass was a dominant element in the design and construction of the tower.

Even with the limited amount we know about the project, it is impossible to conceive of how it could mirror the success of the Burj Khalifa, and thereby pay for itself. As anyone who has been to Jeddah will tell you, the idea of a Jeddah Mall, with starry-eyed tourists lining up to have their photos taken in front of the world’s tallest tower is not just implausible, it’s laughable.

Despite having a modest role to play in the completion of buildings, the paints and coatings industry is one of the biggest industries in the Middle East construction sector today. For the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, as much as 122,000kg of powder coatings and 487,000 litres of paint were required, and even after the recession, the industry continues to thrive.

Google has used the latest imaging systems to present 360-degree images of Burj Khalifa, which is the tallest building in the world. The virtual tour of Burj Khalifa can be experienced by visiting Google site maps at www.google.ae/streetview

Dubai’s Burj Khalifa has become the latest building available via the Lego Architecture series. The Skidmore, Owings & Merrill-designed tower, officially the world’s tallest building, has been reproduced in Lego bricks by Adam Reed Tucker.

Plans call for a 3,200-foot-tall building that would eclipse the Burj Khalifa in Dubai as the world's tallest. Miapolis would include an amusement park, a trade center, an observatory, a shopping mall, restaurants, condominiums, office space, a hotel and a marina.

Downtown, The Dubai Mall and The Address Hotel are all part of the Burj Khalifa's masterplan and are the real money makers. In an interview on American television just after it was announced that Smith had won the contract for Kingdom Tower, he explained the thinking behind such structures.

Dubai: It resembled a scene from Mission: Impossible. Men clad in black descended a fog-shrouded Burj Khalifa, taking their lives into their hands dangling from the end of a series of ropes.

Commissioned by SOM and EMAAR Properties, ‘World Voices' is explained by Plensa as such: "The residential lobby area of Burj Khalifa is a meeting place of diverse cultures and nationalities - a metaphor of the diversity of our global society. World Voices is homage to this diversity and a celebration of life."

The world's tallest building, Burj Khalifa, is scheduled to unlock its doors in early 2010 as the centrepiece of the Downtown Burj Khalifa area. This will include the world's first Armani Hotel, designed, featuring 160 guestrooms and suites, an Armani Spa, a private members' club, two gourmet restaurants and a nightclub. It will also boast 144 exquisite Armani Residences all furnished in the designer's ‘homes' brand, Armani Casa.