it's a little bit over a year old, but i hadn't seen anything about it before...

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn6781

Quote :

"The construction of what will be the world's tallest building is set to begin in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The building contract was awarded to a consortium led by the South Korean Samsung Corporation on Thursday. The Burj Dubai tower will stand 800 metres tall - just 5 metres shy of half a mile - once completed in 2008. That will be nearly 300 metres taller than the tallest floored building in the world today, the Taipei Tower in Taiwan. "

but then....

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn8445&feedId=online-news_rss20

Quote :

"Architects plan kilometre-high skyscraper unveiled Eric Kuhne & Associates Arup Architects' Journal Blueprints for a kilometre-tall skyscraper have been drawn up by UK architects, who hope to see the record-breaking structure commissioned in Kuwait. At 1001 metres, the enormous tower would be almost twice the height of the world's tallest building today, the Taipei 101 in Taiwan, which stands at 509 metres. The new building would also dwarf the Burj Dubai, a building under construction in Dubai that is expected to stand 700-800 metres tall once completed in 2008."

1001 meters! dear god.



[Edited on December 12, 2005 at 10:11 PM. Reason : .]

12/12/2005 10:11:04 PM

Black gold!

Damn I need to go to Dubai sometime. That place is fuckin crazy.

12/12/2005 10:12:29 PM

until then, the sears tower still has the tallest roof

usa #1

12/12/2005 10:14:10 PM

not the tallest roof, taipei 101 beats it.

but to the top of the antenna, yes.

12/12/2005 10:16:45 PM

an even more spectacular crash when terrorists blow it up!

12/12/2005 10:17:49 PM

Really? I thought the Sears Tower was slightly taller.

12/12/2005 10:23:31 PM

nah, i dont know if this picture will show up or not



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World's_tallest_structures

Quote :

"Date (Event) 1. Height to the architectural top Taipei 101 2. Height to the highest occupied floor Taipei 101 3. Height to the top of the roof Taipei 101 4. Height to the top of antenna Sears Tower "

[Edited on December 12, 2005 at 10:28 PM. Reason : V...perhaps]

12/12/2005 10:24:44 PM

Quote :

"The skyscraper could house 7000 people, but would cost an estimated £84bn to construct and could take 25 years to complete."

In 25 years there are probably going to taller and better skyscrapers as the world becomes overpopulated making this one obsolete.

12/12/2005 10:26:20 PM

So I guess that piece at the top isn't part of the spire oops

12/12/2005 10:30:57 PM

why doesnt someone go ahead and superimpose this over raleigh

this is nuts though especially the 2nd one. 1km boggles the mind. wont people in the top need some kind of oxygen supply? and imagine the pressure explosion if somehow the elevator shaft or something created an opening from the bottom to the top.

12/12/2005 10:46:13 PM

the pressure difference at 3000 or so feet isn't THAT drastic

[Edited on December 12, 2005 at 10:50 PM. Reason : .]

12/12/2005 10:49:49 PM

is the CN tower still the tallest free standing structure?

12/12/2005 10:54:31 PM

12/12/2005 11:01:58 PM

SIM CITY!

12/12/2005 11:11:02 PM

preasure explosion? you must have some special crack there mister. Besides, on a building of that height you would have express elevators to 1 or mroe mid floor lobbhies
aka you go form 1 to 100, change elevators, 100-200, ect. With high and mid rise cars serving tthe floors in each block from central lobbys.

12/12/2005 11:28:53 PM

Quote :

"why doesnt someone go ahead and superimpose this over raleigh this is nuts though especially the 2nd one. 1km boggles the mind. wont people in the top need some kind of oxygen supply? and imagine the pressure explosion if somehow the elevator shaft or something created an opening from the bottom to the top."

you can never post again

12/12/2005 11:40:23 PM

Socrates, take that fucking hemlock already

12/12/2005 11:43:27 PM

12/12/2005 11:52:07 PM

they had one of those VH1 we're richer then you specials about this. The entire thing was decoraded by gucci I think and its a whole city inside; hotel, offices, restaurants, apartments, etc

12/13/2005 12:13:32 AM

1 km is pretty freaking crazy. I somehow doubt that one will go through though.

The first one sounds more reasonable.

12/13/2005 12:14:42 AM

Shit, I'd be too scared to work that high up.

12/13/2005 12:16:09 AM

Quote :

"The entire thing was decoraded by gucci I think and its a whole city inside; hotel, offices, restaurants, apartments, etc "

What? It's not even built yet

12/13/2005 1:07:31 AM

Frank LLoyd Wright's Mile High Illinois

In 1956, Frank Lloyd Wright sketched out plans for The Illinois, a mile-high skyscraper that would accommodate 100,000 people, parking for 15,000 cars and enough office space to house the entire state government.

too bad that was never built

[Edited on December 13, 2005 at 1:51 PM. Reason : .]

12/13/2005 1:50:36 PM

12/13/2005 2:27:18 PM

Quote :

"The entire thing was decoraded by gucci I think and its a whole city inside; hotel, offices, restaurants, apartments, etc "

it was Armani

12/13/2005 2:45:48 PM

Isn't the skyscraper that is designed to look like a ship's sail also in Dubai?

Ah yes. The Burj Al Arab. http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=107803

[Edited on December 13, 2005 at 2:57 PM. Reason : y]

12/13/2005 2:49:43 PM

I guess the terrorists need somewhere to practice

12/13/2005 2:50:36 PM

i think all the apartments in Burj Dubai are already sold out

12/13/2005 2:51:18 PM

Quote :

"Isn't the skyscraper that is designed to look like a ship's sail also in Dubai?"

Yes, and that is a world record as well: World's Tallest Hotel (it is a hotel)

It is also self-billed as the world's only 7-star hotel.

The hotel has another world record: Largest fleet of Rolls Royces.

Go to http://realestate.theemiratesnetwork.com/developments/ to see the craziness that is Dubai.

Here is a taste:

The World

The World Islands are a collection of man-made islands shaped into the continents of the world. It will consist of over 250 to 300 small private artifical islands divided into four categories - private homes, estate homes, dream resorts, and community islands. Each island will range from 250,000 to 900,000 square feet in size, with 50 to 100 metres of water between each island. It will cover a total area of 9 kilometers (5.4 miles) in length and 6 kilometers (3.6 miles) in width, surrounded by an oval shaped breakwater. The only means of transportation between the islands will be by marine transport.

The World Islands will be located 4 kilometers off the shore of Jumeirah, close to the Palm Jumeirah, between Burj Al Arab and Port Rashid. Each island will be sold to selected private developers and are expected to have pricing beginning at AED 25 million (US$ 6.85 million), for the AED 6.6 billion (US$ 1.8 billion) project.





The Palm

The Palm Islands, also referred to as The Palm Dubai and The Palms, are the three largest man-made islands in the world, which are being built on the coast of the emirate of Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Its concept was announced in May 2002 and the three resort islands are expected to maintain Dubai's position as a premium tourist destination. The Palm Islands is also the self-declared 'Eighth Wonder of the World'.

Each of the islands (Palm Jumeirah, Palm Jebel Ali, and Palm Deira) are being built in the shape of a date palm tree and consist of a trunk, a crown with fronds, and are surrounded by a crescent island that acts as a breakwater. The islands will support luxury hotels, freehold residential villas, unqiue water homes, shoreline apartments, marinas, water theme parks, restaurants, shopping malls, sports facilities, health spas, cinemas and various diving sites.












Burj Dubai

Burj Dubai is set to be the world's tallest building and the centerpiece of the Gulf regions most prestigious urban development, entitled Downtown Dubai. The Arabic meaning for the word Burj is 'tower', which gives Burj Dubai a meaning of 'Dubai Tower' or 'Tower of Dubai'. Its exact height hasn't been disclosed but it has been confirmed that it will be over 700 meters tall and its design was influenced by the six petal desert flower.





Dubai Waterfront

Dubai Waterfront is a stunning new development comprised of canals and islands containing luxury hotels and homes. Its 70 kilometer (42 miles) Arabian Canal runs through the desert, while its arc shaped man-made islands produce a shelter around the Palm Jebel Ali. The harbour provides sea access for trade and entertainment, while its surroundings are divided into a series of commercial, residential, resort and amenity areas.

Dubai Waterfront will extend Dubai coastal line by 820 kilometers (492 miles), which is 12 times the current length of Dubai's coastline, and will cover an area of over 81 million squared meters (266 million squared feet). It is intended to be the world's largest beachfront development and the largest man-made development. It will be larger than Manhattan or Beirut and is being built to be Dubai's premium luxury district. The development will feature over 100 different waterfront developments and over 150 planned communities. The various key development areas of Dubai Waterfront can be seen the aerial map below.





Falcon City of Wonders

Falcon City of Wonders, also known as FalconCity, is a 100 acre (405 thousand square meter) development being built within Dubailand. The AED 5.5 billion (US$ 1.5 billion) project will be a multi-faceted residential, tourist, entertianment and recreational destination that will contain residential apartments, villas, shopping malls, hotels, restaurants, health clubs and spas, schools and parks.

Falcon City of Wonders will be a unique tourist attraction, as it will capture the spirit of ancient civilizations and contain architectural marvels of the world, combined with modern facilites. It will be a city shaped like a falcon and contain life-size replicas of seven wonders of the world - the Great Pyramid in Giza, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Lighthouse at Alexandria, Taj Mahal, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Eiffel Tower and the Great Wall of China.

The Great Pyramid in Giza will contain residential flats, offices and retail outlets and the Babylonian Gardens will comprise luxury apartments, restaurants and coffee shops. The Light House of Alexandria will consist of hotels and retail outlets and the Taj Mahal will comprise hotels and restaurants. Luxury apartments and retail outlets will be the main features of the Eiffel Tower, while the Great Wall of China will encircle the Pharaohs Theme Park located within the fun city. The residential villas (The Villas) will constitute the wings of the falcon and will come as detached, semi-detached and townhouse villas.

12/13/2005 2:57:29 PM

omg i ::heart:: pixel art

(ie: JohnnyTHM's post)

-ZiP!-

12/13/2005 3:02:16 PM

Quote :

"Damn I need to go to Dubai sometime. That place is fuckin crazy. "

12/13/2005 3:05:21 PM

I went to Dubai last year for christmas and new years......it was totally awesome......they have huge malls, the best in the world and then the resorts are amazing....I saw the nakheel projects and borj al-arab....they were all really eye catching.....and the weather was like 90 degrees in late december.....we were walking around in tank tops and flip flops......it was addicting...seriously, I wanted to transfer to school there, but my parents kind of put an end to that!!

12/13/2005 4:31:57 PM

omg i ::heart:: pixel art

(ie: JohnnyTHM's post)

-ZiP!-

12/13/2005 5:07:10 PM

also: is the only Dubai in UAE? I'm pretty sure a cousin of mine visited a city named "Dubai" but I thought he was only in India...

-ZiP!-

12/13/2005 5:24:53 PM

90 degrees is too hot.

12/13/2005 5:32:07 PM

man are they going to be screwed when the oil runs dry

12/13/2005 5:34:40 PM

i think the idea to create 'the world' is pretty stupid

i can think of much better ways to spend billions of dollars, even if it is for tourism/real estate

12/13/2005 5:40:31 PM

I'm sure they'll MAKE money off of it. How is that stupid?

12/13/2005 5:42:11 PM

I saw a show about the Palm

that is some crazy shit. They built a palm-shaped island out of sand. It's really amazing

here's a satellite image, it's quite big so I won't post it

http://blog.temple-du-argh.net/uploads/Dubai_Palm_Island.jpg

12/13/2005 5:47:11 PM

i think its stupid to build a bunch of man made islands and place them 100 meters away from eachother a few kms in the middle of the sea

just because you CAN do it, doesnt mean it's smart

and the only people that will buy these 'islands' are foolish celebrities

12/13/2005 5:51:49 PM

The point of all that spending by Dubai is that the bitch won't be forgotten when the oil is gone. While many of the other middle-eastern countries are squandering their wealth that they have on crap, the government of Dubai plans to spend all of this money from the oil now in an investment in tourism and real estate. That way they can lure the affluential there with something you will not be able to find anywhere in the world (extreme luxury tourism) and then they will keep the money there even when the oil wells run dry. While the other countries revert to sand covered lands with little left to make money off of, Dubai hopes to rake it in for MANY years from this.

I bet they land pretty close to the mark. Its certainly somewhere I'd like to go. How can you resist the lure of seeing some of the largest things man has ever made like the islands, the tower, stay at arguably the best hotel in the world, and be entertained and shop at some of the most exclusive shopping ever. Its a damn good dream and I hope they make it work.

12/13/2005 6:02:48 PM

^ Exactly. The show said that several celebrities like David Beckham have already purchased islands in The World, and it's not even finished yet. The Palm sold out in like a week. There is no shortage of people who want to spend money there.

12/13/2005 6:06:50 PM

Besides, you act like fucking celebrities are the ones with money. Hell no. Most of those jets and stuff they fly on are owned by their movie companies or agents. This shit will take off, trust me. This isn't some American thing, its built to cater to the whole damn world. All the richs Asians, all the rich Eurotrash, haha, all the American pigs, all of them.

One thing I wonder is, what sort of security will Dubai implement around this? They had better be seriously considering that. They themselves may be very peaceful, but they are going to be painting a big fat bullseye on this area with tons of tourists around and some already angry neighbors around. Imagine 100 years down the road if they are sitting fat on these projects and more while the other countries around them are facing almost starvation because the oil is gone for them. It will be a bad scene and I bet a little bit of envy will be thrown their way.

12/13/2005 6:13:20 PM

Wow looking on the site looks like you gotta make serious bank to afford to live there. They are renting 1 bedroom apartments at about 20k year and you can buy a 1 bedroom apartment for a mere 324 grand!

12/13/2005 6:19:31 PM

^cheaper than manhattan

-ZiP!-

12/14/2005 2:55:16 PM

Yea I was going to say the same thing. Rent for a COLLEGE APARTMENT (1BR) at NYU Law or NY Law is 1345/month. That comes out to over $16,000/yr. It is less then 500 sq ft.

12/14/2005 2:56:43 PM

I agree with UJustWait84 in that I think it's kinda dumb to be spending all this money on a project of this nature, but it's Dubai's money, not mine. Plus, I guess it is a good idea for them to invest in something else long term so that they're not screwed when the oil runs out.

What I want to know is, how the hell do they make these artificial islands? And aren't they gonna have to worry about erosion and stuff? How will these islands be maintained should the ocean or the weather start chipping away at it?

12/14/2005 4:14:24 PM

from what i saw on the science channel they are dredging a particular type of sand from the ocean floor nearby, and shooting it off the boats using GPS to make the islands. Only problem is they are running out of that sand (can't use just regular of sand, it'll settle too much and everything will sink)

12/14/2005 4:32:01 PM

Quote :

"In 25 years there are probably going to taller and better skyscrapers as the world becomes overpopulated making this one obsolete."

i dont agree, if the tallest now is like 509 and they are thinking of building one twice as big as the tallest one now, they are probably planning on being number 1 for a while

you cant build eleventy billion 1000 meter buildings, there isnt the man power to completely fill them all

12/14/2005 4:49:32 PM

sure there is. plus, tons of buildings are completed before all the floors are filled with tenants

12/15/2005 4:47:50 PM