Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Burj Dubai, World's Tallest Building Ever Made


Burj Dubai (Arabic: برج دبي‎ "Dubai Tower") is a supertall skyscraper under construction in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and is the tallest man-made structure ever built, at 818 m (2,684 ft). Construction began on 21 September 2004, and the tower is expected to be completed and ready for occupancy on 4 January 2010

The building is part of the 2 km2 (0.8 sq mi) flagship development called "Downtown Burj Dubai" at the "First Interchange" along Sheikh Zayed Road, near Dubai's main business district. The tower's architect is Adrian Smith, who worked with Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM) until 2006.

Chicago-based architecture and engineering firm SOM is in charge of the project.The primary builder is South Korean Samsung Engineering & Construction, who also built the Taipei 101 and Petronas Twin Towers.Turner Construction Company was chosen as the construction manager, and Hyder Consulting for structural and MEP (mechanical, electrical and plumbing) engineering capability. Under UAE law, the Contractor and the Engineer of Record are jointly and severally liable for the performance of Burj Dubai. Therefore, by adoption of SOM’s design and as Architect and Engineer of Record, Hyder is legally the Design Consultant for the tower.

The total budget for the Burj Dubai project is about US$4.1 billion, and for the entire new "Downtown Dubai", US$20 billion.Mohamed Ali Alabbar, the CEO of Emaar Properties, speaking at the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat 8th World Congress, said that the price of office space at Burj Dubai had reached US$4,000 per sq ft (over US$43,000 per m2) and that the Armani Residences, also in Burj Dubai, were selling for US$3,500 per sq ft (over US$37,500 per m2).



 Timeline
  • 21 September 2004: Emaar contractors begin construction.
  • January 2004:Excavation of Burj Dubai started.
  • February 2004:Piling started.
  • March 2005: Structure of Burj Dubai starts rising.
  • June 2006:Level 50 reached
  • January 2007:Level 100 reached
  • February 2007: Surpasses the Sears Tower as the building with the most floors.
  • April 2007:Level 120 reached
  • 13 May 2007: Sets record for vertical concrete pumping on any building at 452 m (1,483 ft), surpassing the 449.2 m (1,474 ft) to which concrete was pumped during the construction of Taipei 101, while Burj dubai reached 130 floor
  • 21 July 2007: Surpasses Taipei 101, whose height of 509.2 m (1,671 ft) made it the world’s tallest building, and level 141 reached
  • 12 August 2007: Surpasses the Sears Tower antenna, which stands 527.3 m (1,730 ft).
  • 12 September 2007: At 555.3 m (1,822 ft), becomes the world's tallest freestanding structure, surpassing the CN Tower in Toronto, and level 150 reached
  • 7 April 2008: At 629 m (2,064 ft), surpasses the KVLY-TV Mast to become the tallest man-made structure, level 160 reached
  • 17 June 2008: Emaar announces that Burj Dubai's height is over 636 m (2,087 ft) and that its final height will not be given until it is completed in September 2009.
  • 1 September 2008: Height tops 688 m (2,257 ft), making it the tallest man-made structure ever built, surpassing the previous record-holder, the Warsaw Radio Mast in Konstantynów, Poland.
  • 17 January 2009: Topped out at 818 m (2,684 ft).
  • 1 October 2009: Emaar announces that the exterior of the building is completed.
  • 4 January 2010: Burj Dubai's Official launch ceremony will be held 



 

 

 

 

 





 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 




 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Construction Data
  Project data:
  • Type of building: Hotel, residence, office tower
  • Location: Dubai / UAE
  • Total construction time: ~ 40 months
  • Construction time cores: ~ 30 months
  • Building data:
  • Height: ~ 705 - 950 m
  • Method: Cores ahead
  • Step height: 3,20 m / 3,50 m / 3,70 m / 4,00 m
  • Floors: 154-189
  • Additional info:
  • 1 central core, 3 wing walls
  • SKE100, 4 concrete placing pump
  • reinforcement platform
  • Contractor:
  • Joint Venture: Samsung, Besix, Arabtec
  • Contact: Kim, Ivan Bruyninckx, (Robin), Kang

Burj Dubai Amenities:
  • Exclusive corporate suites
  • Residential suites
  • A cigar club
  • Four pools
  • Observation platform
  • Restaurants
  • Library
  • Exclusive residents’ lounge
  • 15,000 square-foot fitness area

Tower usage:
  • 172 hotel guestrooms
  • 492 hotel residences
  • 354 residences
  • 232 luxury residences
  • Total number of units: 1,250
  • 37 boutique offices
  • Four communications floors
  • One observatory platform
  • 3,000 parking spaces

Cost: US$800,000,000.00
Developer: Emaar Properties
Designed by: Skidmore, Owings, & Merrill
Type: Skyscraper
Location: No. 1, Burj Dubai Boulevard, Dubai, United Arab Emirates







Burj Dubai Current records

Note: The following records for tallest skyscraper are considered unofficial. On 20 July 2007, the Executive Director of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), Antony Wood, said "We will not classify it as a building until it is complete, clad and at least partially open for business to avoid things like the Ryungyong [sic] project. Taipei 101 is thus officially the world's tallest until that happens."
  • Tallest structure ever built: 818 m (2,684 ft) (previously Warsaw radio mast - 646.38 m (2,121 ft))
  • Tallest structure: 818 m (2,684 ft) (previously KVLY-TV mast - 628.8 m (2,063 ft))
  • Tallest freestanding structure: 818 m (2,684 ft) (previously CN Tower - 553.3 m (1,815 ft))
  • Building with most floors: 160 (previously both 1 & 2 World Trade Center - 110)
  • World's highest elevator installation
  • Worlds fastest elevators at speed of 64 km/h (40 mph) or 18 m/s (59 ft/s) (previously Taipei 101 – 16.83 m/s)
  • Highest vertical concrete pumping (for a building): 601 m (1,972 ft) (previously Taipei 101 - 449.2 m (1,474 ft))
  • Highest vertical concrete pumping (for any construction): 601 m (1,972 ft) (previously Riva del Garda Hydroelectric Power Plant - 532 m (1,745 ft))
  • The first world's tallest structure in history to include residential space
  • Highest outdoor observation deck in the world
  • Elevator with the longest travel distance in the world
  • Tallest service elevator in the world
  • Worlds highest installation of an aluminium and glass façade, at a height of 512 metres.
 Burj Dubai diagrams


 Towers over the height of 300m in Dubai World's tallest and second tallest tower, Burj Dubai and Shanghai Tower


 
 Tallest towers in Dubai
 Al Burj & Burj Dubai model comparison
Burj Dubai construction status - 2007.04.23



Floor plans
The following is a breakdown of floors as noted by Burj Dubai.com

Floors Use
  • 160-206 Mechanical
  • 156-159 Communication and Broadcast
  • 155 Mechanical
  • 139-154 The Corporate Suites
  • 136-138 Mechanical
  • 125-135 The Corporate Suites
  • 124 Observatory
  • 123 Sky Lobby
  • 122 At.mosphere, Burj Dubai
  • 111-121 The Coporate Suites
  • 109-110 Mechanical
  • 77-108 Residential
  • 76 Sky Lobby
  • 44-72 Residential
  • 43 Sky Lobby
  • 40-42 Mechanical
  • 38-39 Armani Hotel suites
  • 19-37 The Residences
  • 17-18 Mechanical
  • 9-16 Armani Residences
  • 1-8 Armani Hotel
  • Ground Armani Hotel
  • Concourse Armani Hotel
  • B1-B2 Parking, Mechanical

Labour controversy
Further information: Human rights in the United Arab Emirates
Burj Dubai is being built primarily by immigrants from South Asia. Press reports indicated in 2006 that skilled carpenters at the site earned UK£4.34 a day, and labourers earned UK£2.84.

On 21 March 2006, about 2,500 workers upset over buses that were delayed for the end of their shifts rioted, damaging cars, offices, computers, and construction equipment. A Dubai Interior Ministry official said the rioters caused almost UK£500,000 in damage. Most of the workers involved in the riot returned the following day but refused to work.

As of 17 June 2008 there are 7,500 skilled workers employed in the construction of Burj Dubai.

Purpose
Burj Dubai has been designed to be the centerpiece of a large-scale, mixed-use development that will include 30,000 homes, nine hotels such as the Burj Dubai Lake Hotel & Serviced Apartments, 3 hectares (7.4 acres) of parkland, at least 19 residential towers, the Dubai Mall, and the 12-hectare (30-acre) man-made Burj Dubai Lake.

The building has returned the title of Earth's tallest free-standing structure to the Middle East—a title not held by the region since 1311 when Lincoln Cathedral in England surpassed the height of the Great Pyramid of Giza, which had held the title for almost four millennia.

The decision to build Burj Dubai is reportedly based on the government's decision to diversify from an oil-based economy to one that is service- and tourism-oriented. According to officials, it is necessary for projects like Burj Dubai to be built in the city to garner more international recognition, and hence investment. "He [Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum] wanted to put Dubai on the map with something really sensational," said Jacqui Josephson, a tourism and VIP delegations executive at Nakheel Properties.


Year by Year



2004




2005




2006




2007





2008




2009


see video




Making of Burj Dubai (on Video)

Worlds Tallest Vehicular Bridge

The Millau Viaduct (French: le Viaduc de Millau) is a cable stayed road bridge that spans the valley of the River Tarn near Millau in southern France. It was formally opened on 14 December 2004 and opened to traffic on 16 December 2004. Designed by British master-architect Lord Foster in collaboration with French bridge engineer Michel Virlogeux, it is the tallest vehicular bridge in the world, with one piers summit at 1,118 ft (341 metres), slightly higher than the Eiffel Tower and only 132 ft (40 m) shorter than the Empire State Building.




 

Design

The Millau Viaduct consists of an eight-span steel roadway supported by seven concrete piers. The roadway weighs 36,000 metric tons and is 2,460 m (8,071 ft) long, measuring 32 m (105 ft) wide by 4.2 m (13.8 ft) deep. The six central spans each measure 342 m (1,122 ft) with the two outer spans measuring 204 m (670 ft). The roadway has a slight slope of 3% descending from south to north, and curves in plan section on a 20 km (12.4 mile) radius to give drivers better visibility. It carries two lanes of traffic in each direction.

 


 

 

 


This Cable-Stayed Bridge Project is on schedule to be completed January 2005.  (39 month construction contract).  This project is being financed privately.  This project has the highest bridge piers in world.  Thus the title of the Highest Bridge in the World. The tallest will be 240 meters high. Overall height an outstanding 336.4 meters. This project will consist of seven separate cable-stays.





Bridges are often considered to belong to the engineer's realm rather than the architect's. But the architecture of infrastructure has a powerful impact on the environment. The Millau Viaduct, designed in collaboration with engineers, illustrates how the architect can play an integral role in bridge design.

Located in southern France, the bridge will connect the motorway from Paris to Barcelona at the point where it is interrupted by the River Tarn, which runs through a wide gorge between two plateaus. A reading of the topography suggested two possible approaches: to cross the river, the geological generator of the landscape; or there was the challenge of spanning the 2.5 kilometers from one plateau to the other in the most economical manner.

The structural solution follows from the latter philosophical standpoint. The bridge has the optimum span between cable-stayed columns. It is delicate, transparent, and uses the minimum material, which makes it less costly to construct. Each of its sections spans 350 meters and its columns range in height from 75 meters to 235 meters - higher than the Eiffel Tower - with the masts rising a further 90 meters above the road deck. To accommodate the expansion and contraction of the concrete deck, each column splits into two thinner, more flexible columns below the roadway, forming an A-frame above deck level. This structure creates a dramatic silhouette - and crucially it makes the minimum intervention in the landscape.


Construction Date: 2001
Completion Date: 2005
Statistics: Length: 2.5 km
Height: 280 m

(Above information provided by Foster and Partners)

Architectural Design: Foster and Partners
Design Concept:  SETRA
Structural Engineering:  EEG Simecsol  and  Greisch
Contractor:  Eiffage Construction
Co-Contractor:  Eiffel Construction
Fabricator: Freyssinet (stay cables)
Launching Enerpac
Formwork: PERI Formwork and Scaffolding


see video