Al Burj

Essential Architecture- Dubai Al Burj
architect	Woods Bagot Engineer WSP Cantor Seinuk Developer Al Nakheel
location	Dubai Marina in Dubai, United Arab Emirates
date	2010
style	Modern
construction	Height to tip 1,050 m (3,445 ft) varies Height to roof 850 m (2,789 ft) varies Height to top floor 850 m (2,789 ft) varies Floors 228 Total Built-up area 1,490,000 m² (16,038,200 sq ft) Usable Space 492,000 m² (5,295,800 sq ft)
type	Mixed Use
	Some or all of this information may be speculative, and the content may change as building construction begins.
Al Burj is a supertall skyscraper proposed in Dubai, United Arab Emirates by developer Al Nakheel. Nakheel is in talks with several potential contractors which include South Korean Samsung Group who is also building the Burj Dubai, Japanese Shimizu Corporation and Australian Grocon. An article posted on Construction UAE and MEED.com [3] on 16 March 2007 indicates that construction on the tower is slated to begin later this year and that the final height of the tower will be 1,200 m (3,937 ft), reduced from an initial height of 1,600 m (5,249 ft) or just under one mile. However, more recent indications are that the project has been considerably downgraded. Location The tower was originally proposed in 2004 as the centrepiece of Palm Jumeirah, one of the world's largest man-made islands. It was to be named "The Pinnacle" and rise from the centre of a canal on the trunk of the island. The height was to be 750 m (2,461 ft) tall and consist of 120 floors of luxury apartments but it was replaced by the Trump International Hotel and Tower and moved to the Dubai Waterfront. Although ground leveling and land reclamation has begun on the Dubai Waterfront, construction of the tower never started because of the proximity to the Jebel Ali Airport, which is currently under construction. [2] The location has now been changed again to a plot near Jumeirah Lake Towers and Dubai Marina, and soil testing has begun. Design To date very little has been revealed about the exact design but Nakheel keeps stressing that it will become one of the tallest towers in the world and become a new icon for Dubai. The original design conceived by Pei Partnership Architects was to have 631,000 m² (6,792,000 sq ft) of floorspace taken up by ultra-luxury apartments, restaurants, a large health club, and an observation deck. The building actually consists of three separate towers built around a hollow interior and joined together by several sky bridges that function as sky lobbies. Above each sky bridge is a sky garden. One of the towers is shorter than the other two and has a large outdoor pool on the roof while the other two are topped with large spires. In the latest redesigns the basic shape has remained the same, three towers connected by sky bridges with two twin spires and one tower shorter than the others. What has changed is the number of sky bridges: the original design showed only 4, but later renderings show 6, while an even more recent one suggests this has been increased again to about 9 or 10. The building is also to be mixed-use rather than wholly residential. There appears to be a new architect on the project, with Woods Bagot replacing Pei Partnership. This was indicated by an August 10 article in MEED.com which does not mention Pei but refers to Woods Bagot as one of the consultants on the project. [5] Height According to officials at Al Nakheel, the tower was originally designed to be at least 700 m (2,297 ft) tall and have more than 160 floors but no specific figures have been disclosed. This is very much the same strategy as that employed by Emaar with the Burj Dubai which, currently under construction, is now the worlds tallest structure and is on its way in becoming the world's tallest building ever built, upon completion. The secrecy behind Al Burj's height originally suggested that it will also try to compete for this title and rumours even suggest it will break the 1,000 m (3,281 ft) mark. There is indeed evidence from the latest renditions that height increases have been made. One of these renders even shows the tower with more than 200 floors. The 16 March, 2007 article by Construction UAE referenced above states that the tower will indeed begin construction later this year and that it will be 1,200 m (3,937 ft) tall. However, in an article from Construction Week,[6] Al Nakheel CEO Chris O'Donnell said that "height isn't everything" and that iconic buildings were more important. This may indicate that building Al Burj to be taller than the Burj Dubai has been deemed financially infeasible by Nakheel, the project has been significantly scaled back, and that this building is no longer a competitor for tallest building in the world.[6] Only a week later, an article in MEED.com claims that the tower will be taller than 1 kilometre.
links	Dubai Waterfront website Al Nakheel Properties Dubai Development & Investment Authority Al Burj Photos and Renders SkyscraperCity discussion topic Emporis.com database entry for Al Burj "Burj Dubai gets a rival" - article