 |
Burj Dubai Tower: World's Tallest BuildingIt has now reached the stage of a 50-metre-deep (165ft) foundation being laid for what is planned as the world's tallest building Dubai Tower.
The silver and steel tower, whose height is a secret, is a shining symbol of the new self-confidence of booming Dubai.
Chicago-based architect Adrian Smith, who designed the building, says he has tried to bridge the gap between Islamic tradition and ultra-modern Western architecture.
"Spirals come up in many forms in Islamic architecture," he says.
"The tower goes up in steps in a spiralling way. In Islamic architecture, this symbolises ascending towards the heavens."
A showroom model in the middle of the dusty 120-hectare (300-acre) desert site shows what the metropolis, complete with artificial lake, will look like.
In the middle, the silver tower looks like a gigantic arrow reaching halfway to the heavens.
"You know that the exact height is a secret," says Mr Smith.
"But it is going to be substantially taller than the highest building, taller than 600 metres."
The world's tallest building is currently Taiwan's Taipei 101 at 509 metres, but its glory is about to be eclipsed by mainland China.
The ground pattern of the Dubai Tower, known by its Arabic name as Burj Dubai, is shaped like the flower of the hymenocallis, a white lily native to the
more: news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4... (1,726)
August 13, 2005 | Viewed 28,571 time(s)
|
|
