Burj Dubai - The world's tallest building

Burj Dubai, a skyscraper currently under construction in the United Arab Emirates city of Dubai is officially the world’s tallest building measuring 512.1 metres (1,680 ft), its developer Emaar said. The Burj Dubai is now taller than Taipei 101 in Taiwan which at 508 metres has held the title for the tallest building in the world since opening in 2004.

Emaar wants the Burj Dubai to be the world's tallest building officially according to the four key criteria listed by the Chicago based council on tall buildings and urban habitat, which measures buildings to the structural top, the highest occupied floor, the top of the roof and the tip of the spire or flagpole.

The estimated cost of the Burj Dubai stands at $4.1 billion US. The Burj Dubai tower will be the centrepiece of a 20 billion dollar development for the downtown area that will include residential, commercial and retail property.

Design and Architecture

The interior will be decorated by Giorgio Armani. The first ever Armani Hotel of its kind will occupy the lower 37 floors. Floors 45 to 108 will have 700 private apartments on 64 floors. Offices and suites will take up most of the remaining floors

Burj Dubai is being constructed by the South Korean company, Samsung Engineering & Construction which built the Petronas Twin Towers and the Taipei101. The tower is designed by architectural firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, who also designed the Sears Tower in Chicago and the Freedom Tower in New York City Burj Dubai will feature the world's fastest elevator, climbing and descending at 40 mph. Currently the world's current fastest elevator in the Taipei 101 office tower travels at 37.6 mph. In total Burj Dubai will have 56 elevators each capable of carrying 42 persons at a time.

Dubai has been going to great lengths and expense to establish a strong local economy based on tourism and business and not relying solely on revenues from oil based economies. In recent years a great deal of press attention has been garnered on Dubai for projects such as The Palm, The World, Burj al Arab and tourist attractions such as Ski Dubai, one of the largest indoor ski resorts in the world. For the moment at least, Burj Dubai could be the crowning achievement for Dubai.