Video: With Dramatic Fireworks, Burj Dubai Opens For Business

The world's tallest building surpasses former skyscraper king Taipei 101 with a height of 2,684 feet

By Jeremy Hsu Posted 01.04.2010 at 11:45 am 4 Comments

Dubai is looking forward to better times. What better way to ring in the New Year than by claiming the world's tallest building?

The 160-story Burj Dubai, now renamed the Burj Khalifa, stands at an estimated 2,684 feet tall, and soars far above former titleholder Taipei 101 at just 1,670 feet tall. The Wall Street Journal notes that one-bedroom apartments in the mega-skyscraper sold at $2,776 per square foot at the height of Dubai's property boom -- one of the most expensive apartments at the time sold for more than $3.5 million.

Building the best manmade rooms with a view requires some tricky engineering to withstand 120-mph winds, as we noted early on during the building's construction.

The surprisingly thin tower contains a six-sided concrete and steel core supported by more concrete walls holding up the three wings of the Y-shaped skyscraper, according to the Chicago Tribune. That design came courtesy of Chicago architects Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, as well as former design partner Adrian Smith.

Dubai is banking on the $1.5 billion tower and a related $20 billion development to help resurrect its status as a commercial megapolis that can host the biggest and best events around, including a huge airshow.

Whether or not the gamble pays off, the Burj Dubai has already succeeded in providing some of the scariest and shakiest YouTube footage to date at its pinnacle.

[via Chicago Tribune and Wall Street Journal

Previous Article: Looking Back at the Best Innovations of 2009

Next Article: Russia Wants to Launch Armageddon-Style Mission to Deflect Asteroid

4 Comments

Link to this comment

skillet

01/07/10 at 3:53 pm

Amazing

Link to this comment

genedoug

01/07/10 at 4:25 pm

I assume they've solved problems like, how to pump water to the top, and how long it takes for the elevator to reach the top.

Then, how to resist airplane crashes, of course, and how to get a person to an ambulance, or how to toss a drunk out of a club.

Link to this comment

quatra

01/18/10 at 10:56 pm

... or having to go back to the lobby because you forgot your key.

Link to this comment

cowboy82

01/20/10 at 6:07 pm

and, of course, things like world hunger, poverty, disease, war, and all those other pesky annoyances that pop up from time to time since the BILLIONS used here are obviously not needed elsewhere in the world.

Still.... that view is INSANE!!!!! If you fell from there you would have a very long time to wave bye-bye.