History Rising: Now 129 Levels Tall

Any day now Burj Dubai will overtake Taipei 101 and become the world's tallest building. It's already significantly higher than the Chicago Sears Tower (not counting the spire), and is quickly approaching the title of the highest concrete free-standing structure. Skyscraperpage forum has been quick to announce: "Ladies and Gentleman, the next tallest structure EVER built by the humans race !!!!!", and judging by the following pictures of construction progress, it will be a matter of only a few days.






(images credit: Nakheel Properties)

Construction update:

- Designed by Chicago architects Skidmore, Owings & Merrill for Emaar Properties.
- Will house hotel and condominiums, be largely residential.
- Completion date: June 30, 2009
- 959 meters high, 189 - 200 floors?
- An observation deck will be located on the 124th floor.
- The top residential level will only be 8 meters wide.
- Will have the fastest elevators in the world with a speed of 700m/min (42.3 kmh / 26.1 mph)
- When finished, It will be almost 40% taller than the the current tallest building, the Taipei 101.


(images credit: Hatim Saleh)



Full-grown palm trees are being planted in boulevards around the building:



Activity at the top:



The Unimix company has just set a new world record for the highest single-stage pumping of concrete - 452 meters, and counting.



First sections of glass are installed:



(images credit: Imre Solt, Dubai Construction Update and Webshots - Dkysum)

Current size comparison with the Chicago's Sears Tower:


Current stage in the construction process:

image courtesy R. Braddish, Nakheel Properties

It will be interesting to see the planned construction crane, perched on top of the last concrete level - the highest crane location in the world.

"The construction is getting close to uncharted territories.
Now is a good time to start being scared." (Skyscraperpage forum)

But the buyers are not scared:
- A 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment has just been sold by EMAAR on floor 188 for $11,686,980 AED ($3,155,174 USD)
- The whole of floor 200 has just been sold to a private bidder for $16,766,575 AED ($4,527,975 USD, which is not so expensive, considering the hype. However, keep in mind that top floor is going to be only 8 meters wide) It also gives a hint that the building might exceed the 200 floor limit.

The building will be resistant to earthquakes, because of its relatively narrow "footprint". "It is actually the case that smaller buildings are more at risk if an earthquake happens. It is all to do with what we call the frequency. If you imagine a block on top of rows of marble, the taller the block is the more rigid it is." (source) The swing at the very top, however, can be quite substantial.