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| World's Tallest Building and Largest Shopping Mall |
2004 The construction of what will become the world's tallest building - the Burj Tower in Dubai - will commence in January, 2005, with plans for the 800 metre tall, 160 floor skyscraper to be completed by 2008. The building will also contain residential, commercial, hotel and entertainment facilities, including the largest shopping mall in the world. Located on Sheikh Zayed Road, the complex will contain a city within a city - a planned Old Town with intimate streets and architectural detail to create a special ambience with the mystery of yesterdays Arabia, in what is expected to be the centrepiece of the Gulf region's most prestigious urban development.
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Burj Dubai Tower was commissioned by Emaar Properties, as part of its US $8 billion Downtown Dubai development project. Built of glass, aluminium, concrete and steel, Burj Tower will be the tallest building in the world at 800 metres (2,640 feet), with a total floor space of 500,000 sq m (5.35 million sq ft). Taipei 101 in Taiwan (509 metres), Petronas Towers in Malaysia (452 metres) and the Chicago's Sears Tower (442 metres) are currently the world's highest man made towers. Recently China and the New York World Trade Centre redevelopment have announced plans to exceed these records, but the Burj Tower has anticipated challengers and will dig extra-deep foundations to enable more storeys to be added later if needed.
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Chicago-based Skidmore, Owings & Merrill architectural consultants have drawn their inspiration from the historical influences of the Gulf. The tower's base and geometry reflects the six-petal desert flower of the region as well as indigenous Islamic patterns. The base of the Burj Dubai blossoms to allow the tower a graceful transition from the ground and to maximise views, while the dome shaped plan profile accentuates a series of steps up the vertical height of the building. The top of the Tower will contain a public observation deck and a private club will be situated above that.
The Burj Dubai Tower will be constructed by South Korea's Samsung Corporation and should be completed by November, 2008.
Word's largest Mall
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In the shadow of the Burj Tower will be another ambitious development - the Dubai Mall - the largest shopping space in the world with over nine million feet of retail, residential and entertainment facilities, including the world's largest gold souq market and an ice rink. The mall will also host over 1,000 specialty shops located within the ten to fifteen distinct 'malls-within-a-mall'. It will offer an array of leisure pursuits, including a three storey aquarium featuring glass tunnels where you can slide right through and come face to face with sharks, sting rays and other exotic marine life. It will also feature an 850,000 square feet fashion island comprising high and mid-fashion that will pay homage to haute couture and host just about every major fashion brand in the world. When finished in 2006, Dubai Mall will be larger than 50 international soccer pitches and is expected to attract over 35 million visitors in the first year of operations.
The Burj Dubai Boulevard will open out at intervals in four main piazzas (named Piazza of Water, Wind, Fire and Earth) that leads to Tower Park, surrounding Dubai Tower. Tower Park will contain 15 hectares of land containing water cascades, manicured lawns and exotic plant terraces. There will also be 16,000 underground car parking spaces, with more parking above ground.
The Residences
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The Residences comprises 6 exclusive towers at the world's most prestigious address - the Burj Dubai. The Residences is an integrated development within the 20 acres of land embracing a spectacular man-made lake, the world's tallest tower and world's largest shopping centre. Construction is already underway and the Residences will feature one, two and three bedroom luxury apartments.
The homes at the Residences feature two distinct design themes, elegantly expressed in sculpted woodwork and rich finishes. The interiors of the Andalucia style bring a modern interpretation of Arabic culture through Islamic patterns and details. The cool refinement of the Metropolitan style is also offered in sleek contemporary fittings and designs. Those making the Residences their home will have immediate access to hotels, entertainment and shopping plus exceptional amenities - such as fitness centres, guest suites and exclusive resident concierge services.
Development in Dubai
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Real estate development in Dubai is rapidly transforming the Gulf state with innovative and breathtaking projects like 'The World", an artificial archipelago that replicates a scale model of the world with all major land masses, as well as replicas of lost cities from different parts of the ancient world. Two visionary artificial island environments have also been created just off the coast of Dubai - the "Palm, Jebel Ali" and the "Palm Jumeirah", both palm tree shaped land masses surrounded by hemispherical reefs, customised and developed for luxury living, with five star hotels and exclusive retail outlets dotted along the trunk of the palm. Together with the Burj Dubai Tower and the Dubai Mall, these ambitious urban redevelopments show the face of the United Aab Emirates is rapidly changing and leading the way in 21st century design and modern living.
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