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Burj Dubai - world's tallest building 1. The tower is designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill -Sta. Monica- Los Angeles, who also designed the Sears Tower in Chicago and the Freedom Tower in New York City, among numerous other famous high-rises.
The design of Burj Dubai is a combination of patterns embodied in
Islamic architecture and the abstracted version of the flower
Hymenocallis.
( footprint of the building ) As the tower rises from the base, setbacks occur at each element in an upward spiraling pattern, decreasing the cross section in steps as it reaches toward the sky. The Height of Burj Dubai is being kept private, and will not be told until it is complete. According to the developers, it will be the tallest building on earth. The tower, at its tallest point, sways a total of 1.2 m (3.9 ft) Building Uses: mixed use, communication, hotel, observation, office, residential, retail. WebShots Free Album:
Burj Dubi
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Chicago Spire - Santiago Calatrava 2. Designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava and is being developed by Shelbourne Development Group, Inc.
The Chicago Spire is the latest in a series of super-tall projects
proposed and erected since the mid 1990's. The tallest
building in the United States as well as the Western Hemisphere
As with many of his designs, Calatrava has been inspired by themes and designs from nature. For the design of the building, he created the structure of an imaginary smoke spiral coming up from a campfire near the Chicago River projecting to the sky in a spiral form of a snail shell.
The Chicago Spire tower will incorporate world-class sustainable
engineering aplications to meet the Gold standard of Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design certification.
Building Uses: mixed use, hotel, office, residential.
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Arina, first off I LOVE your Poinsettia holiday wallpaper. BEAUTIFUL (like YOU). This is a great topic on the tall buildings of the world and I love architecture discussion. It is like discussing art. I wonder if we will ever see dynamic architecture. It sounds like it could be an expensive proposition. Moving buildings. Wow. If anyone has the money it will be found in Dubai.
Arina, this is an interesting post. One of my favorite pastimes is to study and view skyscrapers. So I enjoyed this in particular. I am amazed at the height and sheer enormity of these structures. OSM is cerainly one of the most celebrated architetural firms and they have left their mark on skyline through out the world. Calatrava pushes the limits on design ans structure. The Spire will be an example of that. Chicagoans are not sure about it yet and it is not financed yet, so we may to wait while for that one.
As far as Dubai, that is easily one of the most ambitious development projects the world has ever seen. To build a city in the middle of nowhere is truly remarkable.
Bo
Arina, I also enjoy architecture and am so pleased that you put the photos and You Tube links in your post. Did you ever think that what is being done in Dubai today is very similar to what happened in Las Vegas in the 1930's?
Gary, The subject fascinates me too... After all the true avantguard in modern Architecture is to find new forms and expression of art. Where nature and circles of life find the perfect harmony. It is exciting to see that.
Bo, I see Dubai exp loading in an architectural tsunami when it comes to skyscrapers, mega developments and famous buildings... So far they don't feel the economy pinch as the rest of the world.and can afford it! Interesting to see how Spire Tower will deal with the financing.
Maria, It can be compared with the architectural explosion of Las Vegas... But I believe that is on larger scale and with more financial mussels. The biggest Architects of our time are now looking at the opportunities in Middle East and Far East.
Arina - fascinating projects. I heard that the Chicago spire is now on hold. What architecturally interesting projects, though.