The days of Burj Khalifa as the world’s tallest building are already numbered. A new skyscraper designed to be 928 meters high is now in the works.
Called “The Tower”, it is being constructed on the Dubai Creek Harbor, a new tourism development in the area covering 6 square kilometers. Completion is set just before the Dubai Expo 2020 which kicks off in October that year.
Source: Emaar Properties
Being a skyscraper with such a height, there are special engineering provisions made in the design and construction of this building, especially in its foundation.
More than 145 barrette piles have been laid to depths of over 72 meters to secure the megastructure, under the supervision of foundation specialist Soletanche Bachy. These barrette piles have been tested to a world record test load of 360 MN or 36,000 tonnes.
The same cathodic protection system applied in Burj Khalifa is also provided for the corrosion protection of The Tower’s foundation.
Real estate giant Emaar Properties is the construction team behind this tower, the same company which built Burj Khalifa. It collaborated with Dubai Holding for this project.
HE Abdulla Al Habbai, Chairman of Dubai Holding, said that the new project raises the bar for major urban projects in term of competitiveness, not only regionally but also globally, given the innovative and creative ideas implemented.
“The Tower at Dubai Creek Harbor reflects the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to establish Dubai as a global hub for business and leisure that attracts visitors from across the world. With this iconic development, Dubai is once again demonstrating its ability to develop first-of-its-kind projects that surprise the world,” he added.
The Tower was designed by world-renowned Swiss-Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava Valls. In this building, there will be public vertical gardens, restaurants, shops, boutique hotel, homes and what is called to be The Pinnacle Room which offers 360-degree views of the emirate.
However, when it comes to the world’s tallest building record, the Dubai structure got some competition. The Jeddah Tower located in Saudi Arabia, which is also slated to finish in 2020, is said to be a kilometer high, beating The Tower in Dubai by 27 meters.
It’s not entirely bad news for the Dubai structure about claiming the record: it only needs to open its doors first if it wants to get the record even for a short while.
Source: Dubai Media Office | CNN
