I have been waiting for this building to be completed and opened to public for so many years. I began to hear about it around five years ago, when I am still a teenager, interested in architecture, and amazed by this structure.

Year by year passes, now year 2009 almost coming to an end, and the beginning of year 2010 will be the beginning of operation of Burj Dubai too. Yes…Burj Dubai will be officially opened on 4th January 2010 to all visitors around the world. The building will be actually opening in stages, date of full opening is not confirmed yet…

The construction began few years back, and I have watched the pace, the progress of the construction of the building from zero metre high till now, over 800m tall. I love to see how this giant structure came out, slowly reaching to the sky, by its incredible height, thanks to the current technological achievements. I have never seen any other man made structure in this world with such a height.

Really wish to get there, and look at the exterior and interior architecture of the building in deep. Then, hoping to travel around the building, exploring every spaces. Finally, wishing to go to the Observatory, called as At The Top, Burj Dubai, at level 124, over 440m above ground, becoming the world second tallest observatory.

This building obtained a lot of records, mainly; world tallest building, world tallest man made structure, world tallest service elevator, world highest number of stories, world highest number of occupied floors, world highest concrete pumping, etc…Amazing, isn’t it?

It must be very expensive to get into the observatory..but really wished to get there, buy souvenirs, enjoy the facts provided, and enjoy the panoramic view of the surrounding at such a height above ground, which is never attempted before. The highest observatory that I have gone before is only Taipei 101 observatory at height level of around 380 to 390m. Current world tallest observatory is at Shanghai World Financial Center at a height of around 470m.

Wondering why they don’t want to locate the observatory space higher, to claim another title of world tallest observatory, there are so many floors above, used for corporate suites, mechanical, boradcasting and other purposes.

After some changes to the measurement of height of buildings, the official height of Burj Dubai is now changed from 818m to 825m, an increase by 7m due to the latest measurement from lowest level of pedestrian entrance to top of architectural structure (not including antenna but includes spire or pinnacle). It has 162 occupied floors and few mechanical floors above. The height of the building can be increased if it is in need too.

Check out the updated official website of Burj Dubai, www.burjdubai.com and the website containing latest information on Burj Dubai, www.burjdubaiskyscraper.com

Wondering is the official opening confirmed on 4th January 2010..?? The developers have delayed the date several times, due to delay in interior construction. The exterior has been completed with final cladding, touch-up and even lighting system ready few months ago. Will the opening be a grand ceremony, with carnivals, concerts, fireworks, etc? The opening should be grand, so that it suits this impressive structure, the Burj Dubai!

MARINA BAY/SINGAPORE: Dubai is known for its superlatives – Tallest towers, Biggest Islands, Largest or Bestest whatever. All built on the aim of reconstructing an economy without resources. It was also a vision of Emaars’ Chairman Mohd Al Abbar who worked in Singapore in the 1980s  managing Wisma Atria on Orchard Road. Dubai had initial success in the late 90s and early this decade when all we hear of the desert oasis was its expatriate population exceeding its citizens and their airport shopping was fantastic with an airline to match. But somewhere down the line of this noble vision, somehow it got carried away.

Banks were eager to lend, from buying Ports (P&O) to Barneys (no, not that monster)NY. Expatriates flocked to tax free living and beach frolicks. It wanted to emulate Singapore(but they won’t admit it) in certain ways in triple quick time. So when push came to shove, their PR machinery failed last week and sent confusion around the world about their debt.

Take a closer look and see that beneath the gleaming towers and sweeping beaches, there is lack a soul to the place, only beautiful cold buildings and western style living. The expatriates left in droves without batting an eyelid and leaving a wake of expensive cars at the airport with ‘Sorry’ notes stuck to the windshield. In retrospect, they did not even leave their feelings behind.

I am sure that Dubai debt crisis will pass with the GCC states imposing a lot of conditions with respect to its assets. While all this is happening, they should think of reviving the Joie De Voir or a certain Spirit of the Middle East to lure the next generation of foreigners. Now listen up Marina Bay people, don’t be complacent!! – SCOOP

Highest Point in the World: Top of Burj Dubai’s Spire

The Burj Dubai (set to be the tallest tower in the world, while the tallest structure as of now), is almost finished.
Located in Dubai, it´s the centerpiece of a mixed-use development that will include 30,000 homes, 9 hotels, 19 residential towers, and a 12ha artificial lake.

Now love it or hate it (some have called it the modern Babel), this damn thing is a feat of modern engineering. it is now being fitted and furnished with it’s first residents expected in July 2010. I have to got to the observation deck (160th floor) in this thing at least once before i die.

And this is footage from the very top. RIDICULOUS!!!
You can see the curvature of the Earth from up there.

I’m a bit of a Guinness World Record and Science geek, so I squealed  when I saw photos of the worlds tallest building being struck numerous times by lightning.

But first, a few facts about the Burj Dubai:

Tower by Day

Lightning

Video

Voici des images prises tout en haut de  la tour Burj Dubaï située aux Émirats arabes Unis.

Il s’agit de la plus haute construction faite par l’homme. La tour culmine à 818 mètres.

Ça commence à être haut, 818 mètres.

Dans le vidéo que vous allez voir, le bonhomme est  juste là:

Vous rappelez vous au secondaire dans les cours d’éduc quand le prof nous faisait courir la @$%?& de piste de marathon?? C’était long, hein?? Ben la tour Burj Dubaï, c’est deux tours de pistes.

Bref, pour vous donner une échelle de comparaison,  la tour du stade olympique mesure 175 mètres…

Voilà. Elle ouvre officiellement en janvier 2010.

(Commentaire gratuit) C’est pas comme à Montréal. Quand ils disent: ”on ouvre en janvier 2010”, ils font pas des tables de concertations pour voir si tous les regroupements et associations sont d’accord…

Ceux qui veulent plus d’infos sur la tour vous pouvez en trouver ici et ici

Je vous laisse, moi je vais aller vomir.

confesso que me caguei só de ver o vídeo, imagina la

O prédio tem mais de 818 METROS DE ALTURA, quase 1 km :| , e não custou nada mais nada menos que 4,1 bilhões de dolares, consegue ser mais caro que a “disney” da ferrari ali do lado em abu dhabi

bom, veja o vídeo e se você gosta de altura vai achar bem louco, se não morra!

mas de boa, tem MUITA areia nessa porra, o dia que eles construirem uma reserva florestal em volta de dubai, AÍ SIM SEREMOS SURPREEDIDOS NOVAMENTE , e aí sim eu vou me render a essas construções dos alibabas. vai comer feijoada la, nem precisa de farofa/farinha, é só abrir a janela hahaheaha.. nem precisa passar ovo e rafinha pra fazer bife a milanesa, só jogar no chão do quintal (okok parei de fazer piadas)

ISTAMBUL, 31 de outubro de 2009 (CDN) – um blogueiro que defendia a fé cristã na Internet está começando seu segundo ano de prisão sem processo e está sendo pressionado para se converter em muçulmano, em troca da sua liberdade, disse seu advogado.

Email para um amigo ou divulgue no Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine

No dia 3 de outubro de 2008, o blogueiro Hani Nazeer de 28 anos e que também é um assistente social escolar na cidade de Qina, no Egito e autor do blog “Karz El Hob” (“Cerejas do Amor”), foi preso pela polícia de segurança do Estado e enviado para a prisão de Burj Al-Arab. O Sr. Gamel Eid, diretor executivo da Rede Árabe pelos Direitos Humanos, disse que Nazeer causou irritação às autoridades muçulmanas ao criticar a islamização radical crescente no Egito. Os policiais detiveram ilegalmente dois irmãos de Nazeer e alguns dias depois, voltaram à sua casa e prenderam suas duas irmãs.

Os familiares de Nazeer ficaram presos numa delegacia de polícia e ameaçaram mantê-los presos até que o blogueiro se entregasse. Nazeer foi até a delegacia de polícia em outubro de 2008 e até agora está preso sem acusação ou processo.

Em setembro de 2009, Nazeer conseguiu informar às organizações de direitos humanos que como ele se recusava a se tornar muçulmano, os oficiais da prisão começaram a torturá-lo junto com outros presos.

Outros dois blogueiros egípcios estão presos, um deles Karim Amer, já cumpriu dois terços de sua pena mas o Ministério do Interior do Egito não vai libertá-lo mediante sursis.

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A homage to a similar crane that probably first began work on the Burj Dubai itself. The building, now the tallest in the world, stands behind it like a shadow bowing to the might of the crane itself. The Burj has been captured from almost every angle, but this one I hope serves a fresh reminder that before the building itself, there was the crane. These are the true source of Dubai’s real estate growth (now in the slumps).

munky is a little underwhelmed by Dubai's opulence but lack of foresight!

Burj Dubai El Burj Dubai es el rascacielos mas alto del mundo, actualmente esta en construccion.

Esta comenzo en Septiembre del 2004 y esta prevista su inauguracion el 2 de diciembre de este año.

La altura final de este rascacielos sera de 818 metros.

Este edificio cuenta con 162 pisos; 53 ascensores y ocupa un area de 344.000 m2 .

El costo de esta estructura sera de 1,800 millones de dolares.

Pertama kali di kasih tugas blog tentang Dubai oleh guru komputer saya.seru seh bisa tahu banyak mengenai Dubai.dan mang udh pernah mendengar dubai tetapi tidak tahu kalau dia mengalami perubahan yang sangat pesat.apalagi saat guru komputer saya memberikan video-video tentang Dubai.agak tercengang aj,kota kecil gitu bisa maju dengan pesat.padahal Dubai merupakan kota kecil tetapi ia mampu membuat 3 pulau yang sangat menakjubkan.

al-Arab yang sangat megah dan tinggi sekali.Burj al-Arab merupakan hotel mewah yang terletak di Dubai.Dibangun pada tahun1949-1999.memiliki 60 lantai dan area lantai 111.500 m2.Bangunan tersebut di desain oleh Tom Wright,mencapai ketinggian 321 meter.Bangunan ini berada di pulau buatan yang berada di 280 m lepas pantai teluk Persia.hotel ini sering disebut hotel bintang tujuh.hal in merupakan hiperbola dari bidang pariwisata saja.situs resmi Burj al-arab mengatakan bahwa hotel deluks bintang lima.perbandingan dengan menara yang lain.

Ok, as you can see I am a little obsessed with this 7 star hotel. A pleasantry to photograph and not many opportunities to get this close at night. I fixed my tripod in the sand sat down and listened to the small waves fall into shore. An amazing fixture built on a man made island with a presence of solely being independent. The Burj Al Arab stands second to the tallest building used as a hotel. This 27 floor wonder is a sight for all eyes to see!

I Dubai går bygget av Burj Dubai nu mot sitt slut. Burj Dubai (arabiska برج دبي هو Dubaitornet) är en skyskrapa i Dubai, Förenade Arabemiraten. Den nådde sin slutgiltiga höjd på 818 meter den 17 januari 2009. Första designen var 705 meter hög men byggnaden genomgick under uppbyggandet en höjdökning till 818 meter. Skyskrapan förväntas öppnas 24 september 2009. Byggnaden ska användas som hotell, kontor och för bostäder. Våning 123 och 124 ska vara utsiktsplats för allmänheten, där man även kan vara utomhus. I byggnaden finns totalt 4 stora swimmingpooler och 334.000  m2 golvytor. (Wikipedia)

okay, wenn auch nur von Außen! Die letzten Meter des 818 Meter und 206 Stockwerken (davon 162 bewohnbar) hohen Turmes werden in diesen Tagen mit der Alu-Fassade versehen. Der Innenausbau geht – trotz Finanzkrise – zügig voran und schon Ende des Jahres soll die Eröffnung gefeiert werden… Und ich seh ihn hoffentlich in zwei Jahren in echt wieder – wenn nicht eher!

And when you have No money, your problems become Notorious, hence, enter Dubai stage left. I was lucky enough to go to this somewhat magical place albeit only for a couple of days but in that time you see and learn so much, and whilst I make myself increasingly infertile due to radiant heat from ones laptop I thought i’d share a few thoughts I had about the place. Not being able to sleep on an overnight flight plays with your mind somewhat you see. Also, I’ll try not to sound like a complete prick whilst writing this but lets face it, thats going to happen.

What you see in the travel brochures and see in the media about Dubai is true, Its epic in scale, magnificent in form, however ridiculous in nature. When you arrive you’re immediately taken aback by just how modern everything is and how everything functions seamlessly together making everything thing rather efficent, which is something I’m sure James May would approve of. Everyone’s very polite, Everyone speaks English, infact its pretty much just a ‘mash-up’ of London and New York whilst at the same time combining their temperatures and humidity’s to make one super hot, super sticky metropolis. 90% of the shops in the Worlds Biggest Shopping Centre, The Dubai Mall, are western, with only a select traditional Arabic dress shops on the Lower ground for to cater for the locals. That combined with every single sign post displayed in Dual languages (English and Arabic), you start to question whether this country is denying its roots and history in order to widen its appeal to the west. If your looking for Arabic culture then this place is not overly for you, there are other places that would be considered better, such as the suburbs of Paris for example, but as one of the modern wonders of the modern world, it really has to be seen to be believed. It could be considered quite ‘gimmicky’ with everything having to be the best, hence the Dubai Mall, as well as the worlds largest indoor ski slope which will just eclipse Great Blakenham’s own when that thing is built. Our hotel was opposite the worlds biggest building, the Burj Dubai, and at 800 meters tall it really does introduce Vertebrae to one and other, but one does feel that it could become a white elephant in current economic times.

Burj Dubai (Metres 400 to 800 incl. 3 cracked Vertibrae)

Burj Dubai (Meters 0 to 400)

Speaking of the economy, an interesting thing was seen at the Airport which was that of automobiles parked up, rather expensive ones too, an BMW M5 was even scouted. Anyhow, with this M5, the keys were still in the ignition and a note was placed upon the dash reading something along the lines of “This is Car I haven’t paid for, I can’t pay for it, I never will. I’m out of the place, and never coming back. It seems the place that was devised in a dream has broken that of many. However, its not a bad place and its intentions are good. Their Government seems to have have the right idea, they are strongly supported and not a critical word is said against them. Crime is pretty much non-existent and it just seems that Americans 6000 miles away have ruined it for everyone. I do feel that they will sort it out though, the people that run it are far to smart and something will get sorted. Still go there though, its very beautiful, just avoid all the building sites and 20% of the worlds cranes and you’ll be fine.

Quadbikers in the Arabian Desert

O.K. Maybe I will never make it as a Travel Correspondent but those were some of my brief thoughts on the place.  So yes, back to work it is. Now i do enjoy working even if its as a Sales Assistant as its nice to talk to different people each day and find out a little bit about themselves and such as I think its a good place to get Ideas. You get a few which arn’t that fantastic, who think you should drop everything espeically for them and make your day a bit more stressed than it should of been but on the whole it is good. The financial benefit is also worthwhile. Aside from this home is good, I mean i get to see the closest people to me that I hardly get to see for the rest of the year and get up to notoriously dodgy schemes which often end with hilarious concequence. I also see it as a good chance to re-charge some batteries, take up Tennis which I’m awful at before heading back South in a month which has come round ever so quickly. I do miss the whole Uni scene as i’ve met some lovely people this year that I cherish dearly and when Poker Face carreared into my playlist it brought back some happy memories. Can’t wait to be back…however causing less mischeif.

Finally, I’d just like to show some mad love to Felipe Massa who has just been released from hospital thank god after his horrific accident at the weekend. He is a very talented sportsman and seems like a top bloke, and i wish him the best of recovery. So here is the lad.

Ciao xxx

For years, we’ve been building green, efficient buildings. Whether it be the solar panels on the roof, or the materials they’re made from, they all help the environment, trying to reduce our rapidly growing carbon footprint. In the 1970s, Foster and Partners (or as it was then called, Foster Associates), began to experiment with sustainable building methods and materials, long before global warming and environmental issues were a major topic in architecture.

Today, a lot of architecture revolves around sustainability, and helping the environment to clean up. Below I have listed three of the newest most effective buildings that are already, or are being, built.

To be completed in 2010, David Fisher’s Dynamic Dubai Tower moves architecture into a new age. No longer are buildings restricted to inactivity, this unique building has the ability to move. Every floor can move separately, from either choice of the resident, or the owners. You can follow the sun in its path across the sky without ever moving, from a height of 80 storeys in the sky. Each floor can completely rotate thanks to the central column at the heart of every level. Each storey is connected to the column, and revolves around it either clockwise or anti-clockwise, at different speeds.

But here’s the clever part, between every floor lies a horizontal turbine, which, when combined together create electricity for not only the tower, but the surrounding buildings too! And to boost its efficiency even more, each floor is made in an Italian factory, then, once it’s ready, it’s shipped to the site and is hoisted up to position on its designated floor.

http://www.dynamicarchitecture.net/

The Bahrain World Trade Center was completed in 2008, and was the world’s first skyscraper to incorporate turbines into its design. Not only is it a mark on the timeline for the integration of green, renewable energy being created in sky high towers, but a mark for the complete design of a major building, established around the integration of green technology. At a hight of over 240 meters, with 50 storeys, the building offers fantastic views over the arabian gulf and the Manama cityscape.

The amazing structure contains not only room for workspace, but also a shopping mall, leisure centre, restaurant and hotel, all linked at ground floor and through the three central bridges containing the turbines. The extraordinary design pushes air from the north inwards towards to turbines, and behind the towers efficiently and quietly.

http://www.bahrainwtc.com/

Another development taking place in Dubai is the Burj Dubai tower, a giant at standing 818 metres off the ground, and soon to be the world’s tallest man-made structure. It will hold the world’s tallest elevator shafts and the first ever elevators, programmed for mass evacuation.

Between windows on every floor, 4,000 photovoltaic panels will absorb Dubai’s large amount of sunlight, transforming it into energy, and creating clean electricity. The brakes in the elevators also harness the kinetic energy they withstand, further extending the building’s green electricity output. The Burj Dubai’s design is incredible, truly amazing. It’s estimated to be complete towards the end of this year, but I won’t be surprised if its delayed to next year.

http://www.burjdubai.com/

In this satellite picture of Dubai, you can see all three Palm Tree islands.

 Dubai is a city in UAE, United Arab Emirates on the Arabian Peninsula.  It is a fast growing city mainly due to riches in oil. One of the recent construction feats is the bulding of the Burj Dubai. Even though this skyskraper isn’t complete it is now the tallest building in the world.

Recently just check out on the world largest and world tallest fountain show at Dubai, United Arab Emirates…

It is located in the center of a giant development region called as Donwtown Burj Dubai, surrounded by Burj Dubai (world tallest man made structure), Dubai Mall (expanding to become world biggest mall), The Address Hotel (five star hotel) and a Park.

The fountain show is choreographed with combination of light, music and water. It is no doubt that it is the world grandest fountain show too…

When I first looked at these videos, I felt very exciting and awesome on the performance of the fountain..it is great, really incredible..wished i was there watching it…

This one taken from the Address Hotel showing the top view of the fountain show: (u can see the pattern clearly here)

It is believed that the fountain can shoot water over 150 metres in height (equivalent to a typical 40 to 50 floors building) and is over 275 metres in length…Over 6 600 lights and 50 colour projectors create a visual spectrum  of over 1000 different water expressions. Different combinations of water-forms perform to selected musical pieces – chosen from a range of classical to contemporary Arabic and world music.

The sound of water shooting up and falling back are great, similar to sound of fireworks exploding…boom…Conclusion is that, this is really cool…