World's Tallest Man-Made Structure

Dubai gets known worldwide not only due to its modern infrastructure, but also because of the marvelous building feats it periodically keeps on taking up. The world's first ever seven star hotel got erected upon and established only on Dubai's shores. One of the most exciting Marinas of today's time is also being developed across the same sea front these days; another feather in a long list of Dubai's landmarks. There is more to talk about nowadays though, as the world's tallest building is also getting shaped up at the same location now. The soaring tower, named Burj Dubai, has some amazing stats and facts to speak of. Some of these are being listed and discussed below.

The tower is about to be built in the middle of a man-made lake, which when filled with water will provide the architecture a picturesque setting. The building will carry some influences of the Islamic architecture as well so as to keep Dubai's heritage alive. For example the triple-lobed footprint of the building is stated to be based on an Arabian flower. At the same time, some onion shaped domes are also being made part of the building's exteriors. Developers are no doubt aiming to provide this latest of Dubai's landmarks with a blend of the modern and Islamic outlooks both.

According to the plans, a public observation area and a private club are expected to get located at the building's top. Initially designed to have three decker elevators, the building will now carry only two decker elevators when completed in 2008. The last of the residential apartments will be constructed at the floor number 109th, while an observation area will be made available to the public on 124th. The whole structure is to be rotated about 20 degrees so as to make it withstand the stress being caused due to the Arabian sea winds. The plinth of tower goes 50 meters below the earth's surface, with a staggering amount of steel and up to 45,000 cubic meters of concrete dumped in there.

Despite Burj Dubai's external similarities with that of the Sears Tower, it stands way different in the structural terms. The building's earlier plans involved getting designs borrowed from Grollo Tower, which was proposed several years back at Melbourne. However, it subsequently got replaced by Skidmore Owings & Merrill with the present structure. Burj Dubai will not only be the tallest building, but also the tallest man-made structure, when fully completed. The total number of floors expected are around 162. There is no word on the building's final height as of now, but it might stay around the 800 meters mark.

Dubai's economic clout has been rising rapidly in the recent years, and the projects like Burj Dubai are just a testimony to the same phenomenon. The world's tallest man-made structure, as they might call it, would only be an addition to the list of so many landmarks already built there. There seems to be no end of Dubai's dreams now, as its skyline gets crowded with each passing moment.