The world’s tallest skyscraper, the Burj Khalifa, will lose its crown before 2020. Property developer Emaar’s chairman announced Sunday that a new viewing tower will be built which stands a “notch” taller than the Burj Khalifa, hoping to present it as a “gift” before Dubai’s hosting of the world expo trading fair. The viewing tower, designed by Spanish-Swiss architect Santiago Calatrava Valls, will cost around $1 billion and have observation decks, as well as 18 to 20 mixed-use floors that will host restaurants and a boutique hotel.
The Burj Khalifa opened in 2010, is 828 meters high, and cost $1.5 billion. The tower has been featured in blockbusters such as Mission Impossible (most memorably), and has been used by experienced BASE jumpers as a part of record-breaking jumps. Dubai, as a whole, has an established reputation for building dozens of futuristic skyscrapers, which have transformed its skyline.
The new tower will be slender in form, evoking the image of a minaret, and will be anchored to the ground with sturdy cables. Alabbar described the new structure as an “elegant monument” which would add value to property being developed by the company along the city’s creek. This isn’t the only attempt at breaking the Burj Khalifa’s record in the works, though, as Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom Holding is also building a tower in Jeddah that will surpass Burj Khalifa, rising more than a kilometer.
Striving for such an architectural heights has always been a drive in humanity since the rise of the skyscraper and the famous battle for the title of tallest in world, with successes like the Eiffel Tower and the Empire State Building, as well as failures like the Soviet Union’s Tatlin’s Tower, and the Frank-Lloyd Wright-envisioned 1,730 meter high tower, The Illinois. This Dubai project aims to join the list of successful projects, obviously.
This story was written in-house, with supporting materials from the AFP.
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