The Burj Dubai then and now

Here is two photos taken from similar angles of downtown Dubai, the Burj Dubai is the tallest structure by far. :D The first photo was taken in November 2007 and the second photo today.. You can see the change that has taken place over the past six months not only to the Burj Dubai but also to many other parts of the city skyline. To me the change that has taken place in only six short months is beyond amazing! and this is just from one single angle.. In 5, 10, 20 years from now we can only imagine what this city will look like and be.

Burj Dubai May 17th 2008 photo update

Burj Dubai May 17th 2008 photo update, here is some photos from around the city of the Burj Dubai. you can see the Burj Dubai from just about any place you go in Dubai now as the building is so tall its above normal obstructions.

Burj Dubai and Burj Al Arab Hotel

Someone ask if I could post a photo of the Burj Dubai and Burj Al Arab hotel in the same photo. Here is one such photo, there are many more on this blog the only thing is your going to have to go through and find them as ive not done a good job in describing every building in each scene.



A little about the Burj Al Arab Hotel

The Burj Al Arab (Arabic: برج العرب, literally, Tower of the Arabs) is a luxury hotel located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Burj Al Arab is managed by the Jumeirah Group. It was designed by British architect Tom Wright of WS Atkins PLC[verification needed] with the design and construction managed by Canadian engineer Rick Gregory of WS Atkins. At 321 metres (1,053 ft), it is the tallest building used exclusively as a hotel. However, the Rose Tower, also in Dubai, which has already topped Burj Al Arab's height at 333 m (1,090 ft), will take away this title upon its opening in April 2008. The Burj Al Arab stands on an artificial island 280 metres (919 ft) out from Jumeirah beach, and is connected to the mainland by a private curving bridge. It is an iconic structure, designed to symbolize Dubai's urban transformation and to mimic the sail of a boat.

Several features of the hotel required complex engineering feats to achieve. The hotel rests on an artificial island constructed 280 meters offshore. To secure a foundation, the builders drove 230 40-meter long concrete piles into the sand. The foundation is held in place not by bedrock, but by the friction of the sand and silt along the length of the piles.

Engineers created a surface layer of large rocks, which is circled with a concrete honey-comb pattern, which serves to protect the foundation from erosion. It took three years to reclaim the land from the sea, but less than three years to construct the building itself. The building contains over 70,000 cubic meters of concrete and 9,000 tons of steel.

Inside the building, the atrium is 180 meters (590 ft) tall. During the construction phase, to lower the interior temperature, the building was cooled by one degree per day over 6 months. This was to prevent large amounts of "condensation or in fact even a rain cloud from forming in the hotel during the period of construction." This task was accomplished by several cold air nozzles, which point down from the top of the ceiling, and blast a 1 meter cold air pocket down the inside of the sail. This creates a buffer zone, which controls the interior temperature without massive energy costs.

Burj Al Arab characterizes itself as the world's only "7-star" property, a designation considered by travel professionals to be hyperbole. All major travel guides and hotel rating systems have a 5-star maximum, which some hotels attempt to out-do by ascribing themselves "6-star" status. Yet according to the Burj Al Arab's official site, the hotel is a "5-star deluxe hotel". It is the world's tallest structure with a membrane façade and the world's tallest hotel (not including buildings with mixed use) and was the first 5-star hotel to surpass 1,000 ft (305 m) in height.

The building design features a steel exoskeleton wrapped around a reinforced concrete tower. Notably the building is shaped like the sail of a dhow, with two "wings" spread in a V to form a vast "mast". The space between the wings is enclosed by a Teflon-coated fibreglass sail, curving across the front of the building and creating an atrium inside. The sail is made of a material called Dyneon, spanning over 161,000 square feet (15,000 m²), consists of two layers, and is divided into twelve panels and installed vertically. The fabric is coated with DuPont Teflon to protect it from harsh desert heat, wind, and dirt; as a result, "the fabricators estimate that it will hold up for up to 50 years. The whole design in itself was orginally put forward to the design committee by Edah Yllib, a Scandanavian designer. It took great mathematical thinking by this designer, but in the end proved very successful."

During the day, the white fabric allows a soft, milky light inside the hotel, whereas a clear glass front would produce blinding amounts of glare and a constantly increasing temperature. At night, both inside and outside, the fabric is lit by color-changing lights. During the period of mourning following the death of Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum in January 2006, the light show and some water features were turned off.

Near the top of the building is a suspended helipad supported by a cantilever. The helipad has featured some of the hotel's notable publicity events. Irish singer Ronan Keating shot his music video Iris on the helipad. In March 2004, professional golfer Tiger Woods hit several golf balls from the helipad into the Persian Gulf, while in February 2005, professional tennis players Roger Federer and Andre Agassi played an unranked game on the helipad, which was temporarily converted into a grass tennis court, at a height of 211 meters. The helipad has no borders or fences on the edges and if a player hit a winner the tennis balls would plunge down to the ground.

Burj Dubai May 16th 2008 photo update

Burj Dubai May 16th 2008 photo update, here is three very nice photos of the Burj dubai and the second two photos show just how much construction is going on in Dubai. We need to look past these photos and at the cranes! that is the future of Dubai, it's in the cranes. As amazing as all the current photos are, they will never be the same as they are just a record of that moment in time. Tomorrow the scene will change and Dubai will be a little different, in its march to becoming one of the greatest city's in the world.

Burj Dubai at the Cityscape Abu Dhabi 2008

Burj Dubai at the Cityscape Abu Dhabi 2008 the rad models are wind tunnel models to test the behaviour of the wind on the towers. They are packed full with electronics and other stuff so therefore really expensive.

Burj Dubai May 13th 2008 photo update

Burj Dubai May 13th 2008 photo update, here is two very nice aerial photos of the Burj Dubai and the surrounding city of Dubai.

Burj Dubai sets new global record in glass panel installation

Dubai, UAE; May 12, 2008: Setting new global records in practical engineering and architecture, Burj Dubai, the iconic tower developed by Emaar Properties, has recorded another global first with the installation of glass panels at a height of 512 metres (1,679.76 ft). Arabian Aluminium Company set the new record today (May 12, 2008) by laying out the high-performance cladding system on Level 141. The cladding system uses reflective glazing, aluminum & textured steel spandrels and vertical stainless steel tubular fins as the primary materials.

Mr Ahmad Al Matrooshi, UAE Managing Director, Emaar Properties, said: “Burj Dubai is setting a new world record in all aspects of high-rise construction. With cladding undertaken on Level 141 of the tower, we have pushed the frontiers of engineering high-rises one-notch higher. Every aspect of the tower now serves as a referral source on the practicalities of developing skyscrapers.” Mr Bashar Kayali, General Manager, Arabian Aluminium Company - a member of Al Ghurair Construction Industries LLC, said: “Cladding work of Burj Dubai is being undertaken on a fast-track basis. Installing glass panel at high altitudes is a very challenging task that demands the integration of several work-flow systems. With the completion of glass panel installation on Level 141, we are now entering a new realm in executing cladding works.”

At 636 metres (2,063.6 ft) and more than 160 storeys high, Burj Dubai is now the world’s tallest building and tallest man-made structure having recently surpassed the height of the KVLY-TV mast in North Dakota, USA - 628.8 metres (2,063 ft). Burj Dubai is taller than Taipei 101 (508 metres; 1667 ft) in Taiwan and CN Tower (553.33 metres; 1815.5 ft) in Toronto, Canada. When completed, Burj Dubai will meet all four criteria listed by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), which classifies the world’s tallest structures. CTBUH measures the height of buildings to the structural top, the highest occupied floor, the top of the roof and the tip of the spire, pinnacle, antenna, mast or flag pole.

Burj Dubai anchors Downtown Burj Dubai, an AED 73 billion (US$20 billion) mixed-use mega project, already a bustling community described as the new ‘heart of the city.’ The tower features residences, commercial space and retail space and hospitality elements including the world’s first Armani Hotel and Armani Residences.

Burj Dubai May 12th 2008 photo update

Burj Dubai May 12th 2008 photo update, the cladding is simply amazing.. The steel workers will need to hurry up or the cladding workers will soon catch them. :) In the first photo you can see a section of steel being lifted (top right) level nine of the steel work is almost complete, In a couple days the Burj Dubai will truly be in a class of its own when the 1st piece of steel is set for the 10th level.

Burj Dubai May 11th 2008 photo update

Burj Dubai May 11th 2008 photo update, more shots of Dubai and in the second photo just to the right of the Burj Dubai is the worlds largest shopping mall under construction. Oh btw just incase your wondering the cranes are now over 700 meters in height. the shortest crane has a 55m long arm. the cabin is located 10m above highest steel so its 708 meters high the tallest crane is 715 meters high.

Render of Dubai and completed Burj Dubai

Here is a render of what the city of Dubai will look like when the Burj Dubai is completed.

Burj Dubai May 10th 2008 photo update

Burj Dubai May 10th 2008 photo update, the Burj Dubai current height is 643 meters and at level 167 steel work on level 10 should begin very soon now and the Burj Dubai will be the tallest man made structure.

Burj Dubai May 9th 2008 photo update #2

Burj Dubai May 9th 2008 photo update, 1st Mechanical, setbacks 1 & 2 cladding completed.. 2nd Mechanical floor cladding has now started. The 9th floor steel is progressing as well.

Burj Dubai May 9th 2008 photo update

We have now passed 40,000,000 manhours on the Burj Dubai, and over 7000 workers have worked on the project.

Also probably within a week the first column of the first section of tier 19 will be set and the Burj Dubai will become the tallest manmade structure in history at 649.7 meters. from grade (to the top of the column). The first section of tier 19 will have a terrace facing North (tier 18 roof or setback ).

It will be interesting to see the next 3 setbacks as the following 3 face the same direction - namely 0, 120, and 240 degrees. Up untill now the following round of 3 have been 60 degrees different from the previous 3 since tier 12.

Burj Dubai photos from a helicopter

Here is some absolutely amazing photos of the Burj Dubai and the city of Dubai taken from a helicopter today. Now we can see the Burj Dubai from the top down and have a idea what the view will be like for the lucky tenants who occupy the top floors of the worlds tallest structure.

Burj Dubai May 8th 2008 photo update

Burj Dubai May 8th 2008 photo update, a banner of the city of Dubai. This banner shows the skyline of Dubai and ofcourse the Burj Dubai the new worlds tallest building.

Burj Dubai May 7th 2008 photo update

Burj Dubai May 7th 2008 photo update, a wonderful shot of the Burj Dubai and the skyline of Dubai. the second photo is of the Burj Dubai at dusk.

Burj Dubai May 6th 2008 photo update

Burj Dubai May 6th 2008 photo update, these photos were taken today of the Burj Dubai. Steel work is progressing on level 9, as soon as the first piece of steel is set on level 10 the Burj Dubai will become the tallest structure even build by humans.