Burj Dubai

BURJ DUBAI Burj Dubai (Arabic: ‫" برج دبي‬Dubai Tower") is a supertall skyscraper currently under construction in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. When it is completed in 2009, it is predicted to be the tallest man-made structure in the world. Scheduled for occupancy in September 2009, the building is part of a 2 km² (0.8 sq mi) development called 'Downtown Dubai' and is located at the "First Interchange" (aka "Defence Roundabout") along Sheikh Zayed Road at Doha Street. The tower's architect is Adrian Smith who worked with Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM) until 2006. SOM is the architecture and engineering firm in charge of the project. The primary builder is Samsung Engineering & Construction, along with Besix and Arabtec. Turner Construction Company was chosen as the construction manager. The total budget for the Burj Dubai project is about $4.1 billion USD and for the entire new 'Downtown Dubai', $20 billion USD.

Architecture and Design The tower is being constructed by a South Korean company, Samsung Engineering & Construction which also built the Petronas Twin Towers and the Taipei 101. The tower is designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, who also designed the Sears Tower in Chicago and the Freedom Tower in New York City. The design of Burj Dubai is ostensibly derived from the patterning systems embodied in Islamic architecture, with the triple-lobed footprint of the building based on an abstracted version of the desert flower hymenocallis native to the region. The tower is composed of three elements arranged around a central core. As the tower rises from the flat desert base, setbacks occur at each element in an upward spiralling pattern, decreasing the cross

section of the tower as it reaches toward the sky. At the top, the central core emerges and is sculpted to form a finishing spire. A Y-shaped floor plan maximizes views of the Persian Gulf. The exterior cladding of Burj Dubai will consist of 142,000 m² of reflective glazing, and aluminium and textured stainless steel spandrel panels with vertical tubular fins.The interior will be decorated by Giorgio Armani. An Armani Hotel will occupy the lower 37 floors. Floors 45 through 108 will have 700 private apartments on 64 floors .An outdoor zero-entry swimming pool will be located on the 78th floor of the tower. Corporate offices and suites will fill most of the remaining floors. Over 45,000 m³ of concrete, weighing more than 110,000 tonnes were used to construct the concrete and steel foundation, which features 192 piles buried more than 50 m deep. When completed, Burj Dubai's construction will have used 330,000 m of concrete & 39,000 tonnes of steel rebar (enough to extend over a quarter of the way around the world if laid end-to-end) and construction will have taken 22 million man hours.

TIME LINE OF EVENTS 

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September 21,2004-Emaar contractors begin construction of Burj Dubai. February 2007-Burj Dubai surpasses the Sears Tower as the building with the most floors. May 13, 2007-Burj Dubai sets record for vertical concrete pumping on any building at 452 m. July 21, 2007-Burj Dubai becomes the tallest building on Earth surpassing Taipei 101 which stands at a height of 509.2 m. September 12, 2007-At 555.3 m,Burj Dubai becomes the world's tallest freestanding structure on land, surpassing the CN Tower in Toronto.

Information Status Under construction Groundbreaking 21 September 2004 Estimated 2009 completion Opening September 2009 Height Antenna/Spire ~818 m Roof ~643.3 m Top floor ~624.1 m Technical details Floor count 162 Floor area 334,000 m² Companies Architect Skidmore, Owings and Merrill Developer Emaar