Burj Dubai April 12th 2008 photo update 2

Burj Dubai April 12th 2008 photo update 2, here is some up close photos of the top of the Burj Dubai. the other photos show the cladding progress and the skyline of Dubai.

Burj Dubai April 12th 2008 photo update

Burj Dubai April 12th 2008 photo update, here is some random photos of the Burj Dubai and the skyline of Dubai.

Seven architectural wonders chosen

NEW YORK (AP) - From the tall tower in Dubai to the new addition at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, noteworthy architecture is springing up around the globe. Conde Nast Traveler's April issue picks seven designs as the "new seven wonders of the architecture world." They are:

* Burj Dubai, the world's tallest building, which is under construction in the Middle East and is already more than 1,700 feet (518 metres) tall. The final height is a secret but its developer, Emaar Properties, has previously said it will stop somewhere above 2,275 feet (693 metres) and will exceed 160 floors.

* The Crystal, the controversial new entryway and exhibit space at the Royal Ontario Museum, whose sharp, jagged angles have not been universally loved by the locals. It was designed by Daniel Libeskind.

* Cumulus, an exhibit hall at Danfoss Universe, a science and technology museum in Nordborg, Denmark. The building has an irregular roof, all curves and angles, like a bite taken out of a cloud.

* London's new Wembley Stadium, which seats 90,000 with no obstructed sight lines. A massive 133-metre-tall, 300-metre-long single arch braces the retractable roof. The stadium will be a centrepiece of the 2012 Olympics.

* New Museum of Contemporary Art, designed to resemble an off-kilter stack of silvery rectangles, located on the Bowery on Manhattan's once-seedy, now-trendy Lower East Side.

* Kogod Courtyard, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C., a curved roof made from a patterned grid of glass and steel above shallow pools in the courtyard of the Old Patent Office Building, also known as the Reynolds Center and home to the American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery.

* Red Ribbon, Tanghe River Park, in Qinhuangdao, China, about 290 kilometres east of Beijing, a steel bench that runs half a kilometre through a riverbank garden and ecological oasis.

Burj Dubai April 11th 2008 photo update

Burj Dubai April 11th 2008 photo update, with over 160 storeys now, the most number of liveable floors in any building in the world, Burj Dubai is already pushing the frontiers in architecture, construction and engineering excellence.

Mile-high tower: Saudi prince promises £5bn desert spire TWICE as tall as nearest rival being built

On a clear day, the view from the top will take in the Middle East, North Africa and the Indian Ocean - providing you've a head for heights. Plans for a mile-high tower in the Saudi Arabian desert have been unveiled by the billionaire owner of London's Savoy Hotel.

At 5,250ft, the £5billion project, masterminded by two British engineering consultancies, will be twice as high as its nearest rivals, skyscrapers under construction in Dubai and Kuwait, and almost seven times as high as the Canary Wharf tower in London's Docklands.

It is being planned for a new city near the Red Sea port of Jeddah. Behind the scheme is 51-year-old Prince al-Walid bin Talal, who bought the Savoy for £1.25billion in 2005. The plan gives the Middle East a clear lead over Asian countries and the U.S., who have vied in the past to construct the world's tallest buildings.

None of the other skyscrapers under construction, including New York's Freedom Tower on the World Trade Centre site, will exceed 2,296ft. The prince's company, Riyadh-based Kingdom Holdings, has set up a joint venture with the London firms Hyder Consulting and Arup.

Experts say the technical challenges are enormous. Much of the lifting will be carried out by helicopters, which will also be used as commuter transport for builders. The tower will have to be capable of withstanding a wide range of temperatures, with its top baking in the desert sun by day but dropping to well below freezing at night.

To resist the strong winds prevalent in the area and stop it swaying, giving its occupants a form of high-rise seasickness, it will be fitted with a giant computer-operated damper. Two "mini-towers" - both taller than Canary Wharf - will be built on either side of the main tower. Linked to it by elevated walkways, they will anchor it and act as stabilisers.

Until recently, the still-under-construction Dubai Tower was expected to be the world's tallest building. Plans have changed several times to make it higher, but the final version is expected to be 2,300ft with 160 storeys.