Amazing Burj Dubai.

The Burj Dubai is getting a lot closer to completion, It truly looks amazing.

Here are just a few of the milestones that have made it what it is today.

January, 2004 - Construction begins.
20 September, 2004 - The first concrete is poured for the foundation.
26 June, 2005 - Gulf News reports that the estimated total cost for the Burj Dubai complex rises to US$5,500,000,000.
16 July, 2005 - Construction Week magazine reports that the designers of the Burj Dubai are reconsidering their decision to use stainless steel on the exterior of the tower because prices have jumped from US$400 a ton to $2,200 in just two years.
March 23, 2006 - The Associated Press reports that 2,500 construction workers rioted because of low pay and poor treatment doing an estimated US$1,000,000 damage. Thousands of construction workers at other Dubai projects also went on a sympathy strike.
April 16, 2006 - AME Info reports that the Burj Dubai is going to be at least 200 stories tall.
September 1, 2006 - Construction reaches 70 stories.
October 1, 2006 - Construction reaches 75 stories.
October 31, 2006 - Construction reaches 80 stores and 850 feet / 259 meters. That height makes it taller than the tallest building in Europe.
October 1, 2006 - Construction reaches 75 stories.

November 11, 2006 - ITP Business reports that construction of the tower is being delayed by a shortage of exterior cladding material.
January 16, 2007 - Construction reaches 100 stories.
April 6, 2007 - The Burj Dubai reaches a record-breaking 120 stories.
August 29, 2007 - The Burj Dubai passes the CN Tower in height, making it the world’s tallest free-standing structure.
May 12, 2008 - This building reaches 2,063 feet and seven inches, making it the tallest man-made object on Earth.
September 11, 2008. Burj Dubai exceeds 700 meters.
December 30, 2008 - The original anticipated completion date.
September, 2009 - Anticipated completion date.

Dubai International Financial Center.

Another piece of remarkable architecture has been unveiled in Dubai, This new mega-structure is the Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC), It has been nicknamed ‘The Lighthouse.’ It will be a 66-story office tower.

The Lighthouse is said to have over 84,000 square meters of commercial space and will also include a convention center, Car parking, retail shops, and an environmental visitor center and park connected to the Dubai International Financial Center central spine.

A great deal of importance has been placed on the building’s future impact on local and global resources. It is still only in development but plans are in place for all materials in the tower to be selected from sustainable sources. The Lighthouse will serve as a working prototype for future low carbon towers in the region, promoting more sustainable developments.

The Lighthouse will strive to make low carbon commercial towers a reality in Dubai and it will reduce the total energy consumption by up to 65% and the water consumption by up to 40%. The height and shape of The Lighthouse play pivotal roles in its goals for low energy consumption, As the design allows for the installation of three enormous 225 KV wind turbines (29 meter diameter).

Its good to see that many of the architectures these days are making self sufficiency the way of the future of many new mega buildings around the world.

Queen Mary 2

The Queen Mary 2 is one of the world's largest passenger ships and the largest cruise ship to visit Auckland. It arrived here back in February for one day as part its inaugural voyage - and 80-day around the world trip. It was welcomed into the harbor by thousands of boats (including two former America's Cup yachts), several planes and helicopters, As well as ten of thousands of people viewing it from land. The Queen Mary is too tall to sail underneath the harbor bridge and too long to berth at the international cruise liner terminal so it had to berth at the container terminal and passengers transferred to the international terminal by bus. Unfortunately it was only here for a day and its departure was be marked by a large fireworks display.

Here are a few facts about one of the largest passenger ship in the world.

Length: 1,132 feet
Beam: 135 feet
Beam at Bridge Wings: 147.5 feet
Draft: 32 feet 10 inches
Height (Keel to Funnel): 236.2 feet
Gross Tonnage: Approximately 150,000 gross tons
Passengers: 2,620
Crew: 1,253
Top Speed: Approximately 30 knots (34.5 mph)
Power: 157,000 horsepower, environmentally friendly, gas turbine/diesel electric plant
Propulsion: Four pods of 21.5 MW each; 2 fixed and 2 azimuthing
Strength: Extra thick steel hull for strength and stability for Atlantic crossings
Stabilizers: Two sets
Cost: Estimated $800 million dollars

Since it is often difficult to picture the size of such a large vessel, here are some comparisons:

QM2 is five times longer than Cunard's first ship, Britannia (230 ft.)
QM2 is 113 feet longer than the original Queen Mary
QM2 is more than twice as long as the Washington Monument is tall (550 ft.)
QM2 is 147 feet longer than the Eiffel Tower is tall (984 ft.)
QM2 is more than 3 ½ times as long as Westminster Tower (Big Ben) is high (310 ft.)
QM2 is only 117 feet shorter than the Empire State Building is tall (1248 ft.)
QM2 is more than three times as long as St. Paul's Cathedral is tall (366 ft.)
QM2 is as long as 41 double-decker London buses (31 ½ ft. each)
QM2's whistle is audible for 10 miles

944 of the QM2's 1,310 staterooms have private balconies, and 66 have ocean views. The verandah cabins stretch over four and a half decks. There are also 300 inside cabins. The Queen's Room seats 1,100 and spans the full width of the vessel. Even crew have their own bars, restaurant, cinema, gym and a computer school. All crew cabins are equipped with en suite facilities and there are a maximum of two to a cabin.
It has five duplex apartments on Decks 8 and 9, They are all two stories high, and have private elevators and more than 1,650ft² in floor area. Overlooking the stern of the ship is a two-storey glass wall. Each apartment features walk-in closets, it's own gym, balcony and believe it or not it even comes with a butler and concierge service.

The ship has five swimming pools: two outdoor, two indoor and one with a retractable glass roof. There is also a British pub with its own on-board micro-brewery, a wine bar, a cocktail bar and a wood-panelled smoking room. In addition, there is a 5,200ft² shopping area.

On Decks 2 and 3 is a 570-seat cinema and a planetarium.

The vessel is powered by four Wärtsilä diesel engines, supplemented by two gas turbines. With a total output of 118MW, the power plant develops 157,000hp.

Propulsion is carried out by four 20MW MerMaid podded propulsion units, two fixed and two azimuthing through 360°. They incorporate an electric AC motor that directly drives a fixed-pitch propeller with highly skewed blades for low noise and vibration.

Gateway to the Olympics.

Beijing International Airports new terminal (terminal 3) opened back in march this year. This is another huge piece of architecture that has been built for the Olympic Games which start on the 8th of August.
This terminal is not just any ordinary airport terminal, It has been referred to as a small country rather than an airport, Its the worlds largest covered building in terms of area and cost $3.6 billion to construct, It is larger than all the terminals of London’s Heathrow airport put together, And was also designed by the same architect - Lord Norman Foster.

The terminal has taken just 4 years from conception to completion whereas most airport projects take a decade or more to complete and usually involve lengthy reviews, detailed assessments, planning committees, public hearings and environmental impact statements... but not so in China.

Approximately 45.5 million airline passengers visited Beijing last year which makes it the ninth busiest airport in the world and Beijing is expecting 60m visitors this year, thanks to the Olympics which is why terminal 3 had to be built (and quickly). The annual passenger capacity of Beijing International Airport has been increased from 35million with two terminals to 85million with all three.

But what use is the busiest airport and largest terminal without a massive baggage system. Beijing Airport has a new computerized system that can process 20,000 bags per hour. Passengers will apparently be able to pick up their baggage within 5 minutes of the plane unloading.

The structure is said to resemble a Chinese dragon divided into three sections and the triangular windows signify the dragon's scales. The terminal is two miles long and half a mile wide, And the center on Housing Rights and Evictions, says that 1.25 million people have been moved from their homes to make way for construction.

The next tallest building in the world.

With the Burj Dubai still under construction but nearing completion, Dubai have come up with yet another landmark of the future, This skyscraper is called the Al Burj, Its location was initially planned to be developed on the Palm Jumeirah's trunk, where Donald Trumps new international Hotel and Tower is being planned, but was later shifted to Dubai Waterfront the world's largest man-made waterfront development.

At the moment it is said that it will be at least 1,400 meters to the tip of the antenna,making it the tallest building in the world by around 600 meters, It will be a mixed use structure with a combination of offices and residences with 228 floors and just under 1.5 million square meters of floor area.

The laying of the foundations have already started even though final designs haven't yet been finalized. There are apparently more than ten massive skyscrapers planned for dubai at the moment. When will it stop? Hopefully never, This is one futuristic city i cant wait to see, Make sure you take a look at Read my mind post about Hydropolis, Dubai's amazing underwater hotel resort. to see more of Dubai's future.

Advanced tram system for Dubai.

There are plans for an advanced tram system for Dubai which will offer two synchronized services within one tram transportation system and will connect the world’s tallest building – the Burj Dubai – to the proposed Dubai Metro along Shaikh Zayed Road.

The shuttle network will link Downtown Burj Dubai neighborhood's 30,000 homes, more than 200 towers, nine hotels, the world’s largest mall and over 3.77 million sq ft of retail space. The line will be a driverless operation run from a central command centre located at the Burj Dubai.

The system will be up and running buy 2009 and will be constructed in two phases with the first, including a 1.1 km twin track running between the Burj Place interchange station with Dubai Metro and the Dubai Mall with an intermediate stop at a new hotel development, currently being planned. The one-way journey time will be 2-3 minutes with 1-2 minutes between trams. It is scheduled to be operational by end of 2009.

The second stage of the project – to be completed by 2010 -- will see a complete loop built around the fringe of 500-acre Burj Dubai neighborhood development and will be a monorail. The system will feature 10 stations and will take eight minutes to travel.

The new tram will be linked with the Dubai Metro to use the universal “smart cards” that will be made available by the RTA to ride everything from the metro to the bus in Dubai which will ensure that passengers may enjoy the convenience of seamless, integrated travel between the different modes of transport being developed in Dubai. The smart cards will be available at commercial outlets, petrol stations and vending machines.

The water cube.

About a month ago i posted about the ‘Bird’s Nest’ stadium, Now its time for the National aquatic center, Otherwise known as the ‘Water Cube’

The blue bubble wrapped National Aquatics Centre took four years to build. The 17000-seat venue will host swimming, diving, synchronised swimming and water polo during the August 8-24 Games and 42 gold medals will be awarded there. It has a 3m deep competition pool, a warm-up pool and a diving pool.

The building's structural design is based on the natural formation of soap bubbles and gives the venue its name, To bring the design to life, the individual bubbles are incorporated into a plastic film and tailored like a sewing pattern. An entire section is pieced together and then put into place within the structure. There are interior and exterior films, and the film is then inflated once it is in-situ. It will be continuously pumped thereafter.

This was a very ambitious project in terms of the construction technology, The eco-friendly structure’s translucent shell allows in sunlight, providing heat and light and cutting energy use by up to 30%.

Truly another icon to put Beijing on the map.

Bahrain's world trade center.

Not wanting to be left behind by Saudi Arabia and Dubai, Bahrain has been building an interesting skyscraper. The 50-story complex contains two identical towers that rise over 240 meters in height. The sail-shaped buildings offer a visually striking silhouette and it boasts one very unique feature — Three massive turbines supply clean power to the buildings. This comes as the world becomes alot more committed to a renewable energy source.

At first, the designers wanted to use solar panels but found that the extreme heat conditions of Bahrain made it an unfeasible proposition. The second option was for three 29 meter wind turbines, each supported by a 30-meter bridge spanning between the two towers.

The wing-like towers help to funnel and accelerate the wind velocity between them. Furthermore, the difference in the vertical shape of the towers should help reduce the pressure differences between the bridges, which, when combined with an increased wind speed at the higher levels, should provide an equal velocity amongst the turbines.

The Bahrain World Trade Center has already completed the installation of the three wind turbines, making it the first building in the world to incorporate this sort of technology at this scale.

The Birds nest.

The biggest event this year has to be the Olympic games to be held in Beijing, China. With the slogan One World, One Dream, the Games of the XXIX Olympiad will draw thousands of athletes from around the world to compete in 302 events in 28 sports.

I am looking forward to seeing the two new structures that are sure to become architectural icons, the new Beijing National Stadium, also known as the "Bird's Nest" because of its architecture, and the Beijing National Aquatic Center which i will write about in a future post.

The National Stadium is the main stadium of the 29th Olympic Games, It has a floor space of 258,000 sq meters with 91,000 seats, and cost over 420 million USD. This stadium will host the main track and field competitions as well as the opening and closing ceremonies.

Construction was supposed to be complete in march this year, but in January this year there were concerns about construction working conditions and it had been revealed that 10 construction workers died during the stadium's construction.

Futuristic Skyscrapers.

I came across an article today about futuristic skyscrapers, Apparently a Korean company called Heerim Architects have developed two skyscrapers of the future, Which are said to both be Hotels.

Their projects are Full Moon Bay and Caspian Plus, They are apparently going to be built in Baku, Azerbaijan. The inspiration for both of the skyscrapers came from the moon.


The Full Moon Hotel has a shape like a disc and it will be covered in hexagonal honeycombs, and it will feature a hole situated close to the top. The architects specified that the design could be changed because it’s very possible that the construction will need some reinforcements.

Full Moon will be a 35-storied luxury hotel reaching about 158 meters height which will feature nearly 400 rooms in about 104,000 square meters of space.

Hotel Crescent will be a part of the Caspian Plus and the name came from the fact that it looks like a crescent moon. The building will also be a luxury hotel but with three stores less and will feature nearly 130,000 square meters of space enough for over 200 rooms.


If anybody can give me more details on this article please leave me a comment.

30 St Marys Axe Also known as The Gherkin.

Another of the worlds technological marvels is the "Gherkin" in London, Its just another icon of the world that people will associate with a certain place, Here are a few facts about the "Gherkin".

Each floor rotates 5 degrees from the last but the spiraling atrium's were not fully realized. They stop every six floors for fire safety reasons.

The only curved piece of glass on the entire building is the very top piece that crowns it.

The advantages of the shape are numerous, at the bottom it tapers in creating more ground space and allowing a new public plaza to build whilst circular towers also create less downdraft. Tapering at the top into the crown reduces wind resistance further.

The lifts can carry a maximum of 378 people at any one time reaching speeds of 6 meters a second.

The floor to ceiling heights are 2.75 meters, three centimeters more than is needed to have accommodated the worlds tallest man ever.

The building contains the highest dining space in London at 163 meters. The entire top floors are occupied by the company restaurant for Swiss Re.

The building weighs 70,000 tonnes, contains 333 piles in the foundations, 35 kilometers of structural steel at 11,000 tonnes, and 24,000 square meters of glass cladding.

The building is the winner of the 2005 RIBA Stirling Prize for Architecture and has become an instant hit with the public appearing prominently in Olympic 2012 promotions.

Burj Dubai construction update.

I thought i would give you all a construction update on the Burj Dubai. I think this is the most amazing structure ever conceived to date.

Over 13,000 panels covering an area of well over 50,000 sq m has been installed on the tower, thats over 60 percent of the cladding now in place. They will need an estimated 22,000 panels to cover the entire skyscraper.

Burj Dubai is now around 620 meters tall and the final height and number of levels still have not been revealed. But is expected to be around 808 meters tall.



Construction is still said to be at completion in June 2009. I personally cant wait, That is a country i will definitely be visiting in late 2009.

Here are some construction facts for the Burj Dubai.

Architect: Adrian Smith (SOM).
Construction Company: Samsung E&C.
Cost : $8 billion compared to Petronas Tower 1.6 billion back in 1998.
Design company: Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill (SOM).
Elevators : 66 double decker's moving at the speed of 18m/s (40mph), making it the worlds fastest.
Facade: Ferro concrete, steel-frame.
Foundation: Concrete with 55 m(84 ft)tall piles attached into the ground.
Frame: Reflecting glazing to cool and save energy.
Gross Floor Space: 314,000 m² (3,378,137.6 sqft).
Height : Over 800 meters
Observation deck: Indoor and outdoor at the 124 th floor, 34 floors above the current leader Taipei 101.
Project size: 190 hectares including artificial lake and downtown Dubai.

Taipei 101 worlds tallest building.

Taipei 101 is currently the worlds tallest building that is complete and this was the first world's tallest building completed in the 21st century. On July the 21st 2007 Taipei 101 was overtaken in height by the Burj Dubai in Dubai, UAE, upon the completion of that building's 141st floor. Taipei 101 retains the official title until the Burj Dubai is completed in 2009. International architectural standards define a "building" as a structure that can be occupied. The name of the building reflects its location in Taipei's 101 business district along with its floor count.

Taipei 101 is the first and currently only building in the world to break the half-kilometer mark in height and it has an indoor observation area on the 89th floor, and an outdoor observation deck on the 91st floor.
An 800-ton tuned mass damper (pictured here) helps stabilize the tower in high winds and earthquakes. This damper is an enormous ball of welded steel plates hanging inside the top of the building, and is visible from the restaurant and bar which encircles the space around the ball.

The design is inspired by traditional Chinese architecture, with a shape resembling a pagoda. The sectioned tower is also inspired by the bamboo plant, which is a model of strength, resilience, and elegance.
The tower's design specifications are based on the number "8", a lucky number in traditional Chinese culture; it features 8 upward-flaring sections, and is supported by 8 supercolumns. The Jin Mao Tower in Shanghai also employs this numerology in its design.

The elevators were new technology at the time, They are fastest in the world, rising at 1008 meters per minute (60.48 km/hour) and descending at 610 m/min (36.6 km/hour). The top speeds are 34 percent faster than the previous world's fastest elevators in Yokohama Landmark Tower. This is one of the few buildings in the world equipped with double-deck elevators. Each elevator is designed with an aerodynamic body, pressurization and emergency braking systems, and the world's first triple-stage anti-overshooting system. The cost for each elevator is over $US 2 million.

The Colorado river bridge.

The Colorado River Bridge will bypass a major bottleneck: traffic crossing the Hoover Dam often backs up 24km and causes a five hour delay!


The massive canyon formed by the Colorado River where it joins Nevada and Arizona already boasts one iconic piece of engineering: the Hoover Dam. The new bridge, just half a kilometer downriver from the dam, will only add to the splendor of the area and give North America its first composite concrete deck arch bridge.

Currently, a narrow two-lane highway runs along the top of the dam. The approaches are winding and treacherous. Congestion is terrible and frequent, the crossing is on one of the area’s major routes - U.S. Highway 93 – and handles both through-traffic and Hoover Dam tourists. Security concerns since 9/11 have led to a lorry ban on the crossing which has increased disruption. The ambitious Hoover Dam Bypass scheme – with the new bridge at its centre – should ease these problems when it opens to traffic in 2008.

The bridge alone will cost $114m. At 580m long and rising almost 275m above the Colorado river, it has brought some difficult construction challenges. Workers have had to contend with temperatures reaching 46 degrees Centigrade, as well as strong and unpredictable winds and dangerous terrain with terrifying drops. In September 2006, strong winds sent two enormous construction cranes crashing into Highway 93 – amazingly, with no loss of life!

Worlds largest container ship.

The first ship was constructed more than 10,000 years ago, water-borne transportation has been a mainstay of trade around the world.


Despite advances in air-travel and communications, shipping remains one of the most essential gears in the global economy. The bulk of the world’s dry cargo is transported via container ships – their cargo being loaded in 12-meter long, 4-meter high, steel containers. The containers are specifically designed to be craned straight on and off the ship and onto the back of trains or trucks for quick and easy distribution. Built to carry upwards of 4,000 containers, container ships easily take the title of the largest vehicles ever built.

Operated by a crew of just 19 people, the biggest of them all is the OOCL Shenzhen from Hong Kong, whose propeller alone weighs 85 tons. At 323 meters long, it’s only a meter shorter than the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Weighing in at 100,000 tons, the Shenzhen’s engine is 1,000 times more powerful than the average family car, yet its propeller turns at a sedate 200 rpm – or 20 to 30 times slower than a car engine. It manages a top speed of 25 knots fully laden.

Take a peak at the worlds tallest structure - Burj Dubai

The Burj Dubai is now the world’s tallest structure, and fast becoming the icon for life in Dubai, the Burj Dubai tower offers a one of a kind living experience. With the final height a much guarded secret, and the current level of construction placing the tower over 620m and more than 165 stories, the project, when completed, will be the centerpiece of the entire Downtown Dubai development, surely Emaar’s greatest venture to date. The final height is being kept a secret until the completion of several other skyscrapers.

The Burj Dubai will feature both residential and commercial units, with luxury apartments and office space, as well as the world’s first hotel by designer Giorgio Armani. The hotel will be at the base of the tower and the remaining freehold space will occupy most of the other floors, with an observation deck located 442 meters above the ground, the highest public observation space on earth.

The complex will offer residents and visitors the finest features, with the world’s largest shopping mall, Dubai Mall, dining, cafes and leisure facilities, all surrounded by an artificial lake and waterways. Residential units will consist of studio, one bedroom, two bedroom, three bedroom and four bedroom apartments, as well as 144 units exclusively designed by Giorgio Armani.