October 8, 2008 It looks like Dubai is running out of countries to compete with in the architectural stakes, so they’ve started outdoing themselves. State-owned builder Nakheel has unveiled plans to build what would be the world’s tallest building before the Gulf city state’s previous claimant to the title, the Burj Dubai Tower, has even finished construction. Nakheel plans to build a tower measuring over 1 kilometer (0.62 miles), high in an area between two of the city’s artificial palm shaped islands which the company also created. Nakheel has not revealed the exact height or cost of the tower but said it would have “more than 200 floors” and be part of “a multi-billion pound development”, which includes a man made inland harbor and 40 additional towers ranging from 20 to 90 floors high.
The Nakheel Tower will take more than a decade to complete and will be composed of four separate towers joined at various levels and centered on an open atrium. The company said the tower, which was inspired by Islamic design and drew inspiration from such sites as the Alhambra in Spain and the harbor of Alexandria in Egypt, would be the center-piece of the planned inner-city harbor which will become the emirate’s unofficial capital. The building will contain around 150 elevators to carry employees and workers to the tower’s more than 200 floors, while the entire development will be home to more than 55,000 people and a workplace for more than 45,000.
The Burj Dubai Tower, which is being built by Nakheel’s chief competitor, Emaar Properties and reached a new record height of 688 meters, (0.43 miles), at the start of September (it is due to be finished September 2009), better make the most of it’s world’s tallest title while it can.
