Dubai to open world’s tallest building in Jan

Burj Dubai is a mixed use building with residential,commercial and retail space. Most of its lower floors are dedicated to a 175-room Armani hotel,the first for the designer,as well as 144 apartments with designer home furnishings.

There are more than 800 apartments in the building. There is an observation deck on level 124. The views of the Dubai skyline are absolutely breathtaking from here with one side looking on to The World — the famous man-made islands where celebrities like David and Victoria Beckham have invested. The other side overlooks the other iconic building of Dubai,the Burj Al Arab. A nightclub will open 20 floors higher. There are a total of 138 floors.

Currently more than 15,000 workers are employed here,more than half of them Indian. Designed by a Chicago-based architecture firm SOM,Burj Dubai is conceptualised on a desert flower and is estimated to have cost the promoters,Emaar Properties $1.1 billion.

“We presold the entire building in 2004 itself when construction began,” says Greg Sang,Director of Properties for Emaar.

Industry estimates released in September this year suggest it is still the most expensive property in West Asia and the UAE with the rate of luxury apartments rising to an unprecedented $20,000 per sq m.

After 9/11,security was a major concern. “Unlike the Twin Towers that was largely steel,this is built using a lot more concrete that is more fire resistant,” says Sang. “We also have 37 fire exits and a very thorough evacuation plan and drill.”

(The writer was in Dubai at the invitation of Emaar)