Skyscrapers are heading upwards, becoming greener and the world's wealthy want a piece of the new high life.
Dubai has designs on overtaking Taipei as home to the world's tallest building. When completed next year, the Burj Dubai tower is expected to be more than 800m tall -- dwarfing the 509m Taipei 101 tower. For the moment final height is being kept secret.
"Burj Dubai has scaled over 110 levels and is already in the international spotlight," said Issam Galadari, managing director of developers Emaar International, at the MIPIM real estate conference in Cannes this week.
Burj Dubai will have some 162 floors with retail space, a 160 room hotel and upmarket residential space, highlighting a new trend for expensive homes with a view.
Dubai already has the world's highest hotel in the sail-shaped Burj Al Arab skyscraper, and the Gulf state has also set its sights on becoming home to the world's tallest residential tower.
The Dubai Pentominium tower of luxury units was unveiled in Cannes this week by its developers, Trident International. Each of the120 floors of the 516m building will house a single residential unit with penthouses on the top floors, Trident's Ayush Kukreti said.
A fleet of luxury cars, including a Rolls-Royce Phantom, will be available to residents as well as yachts, a spa, health clubs, a private theater and business center.
The apartments will cost from US$2.5 million for a lower level unit up to US$10 million for an upper penthouse, according to Kukreti, who said there were potential buyers from North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
Many of the skyscraper projects showcased at MIPIM combine retail and office space with apartments.
"Younger people are happier today about living in taller buildings as today's towers are much better designed and maintained than they were in the past," said Sally Warren, at international architecture practice Chapman Taylor LLP.
Many of the landmarks to go up over the next few years will become the homes, or second homes, of the rich and successful rather than the average citizen.
In Moscow, the strikingly modern 354m -- 448m with spire -- Federation Tower will house 200 luxury apartments as well as offices, restaurants and a fitness center. It will be Europe's tallest building when completed.
In keeping with international trends, many architects are concentrating on being eco-friendly.
New 300m bio-climatic towers planned for the La Defense business district west of Paris, including the Tour Generali and the Tour Phare, are to be built using new materials to reduce energy and water use.
"We are pioneers," said Bernard Bled, who heads up the La Defense Public Development Agency that plans to build the new towers. "We want to show how it's possible to build towers that are highly energy efficient and set new standards in sustainable development."
The Tour Phare (meaning lighthouse), designed by radical Californian architect Thom Mayne, is shaped like an irregular curved ship's funnel. A double-skinned facade will provide natural ventilation while windmills atop the tower will provide power to cool the building.
The higher cost of building eco-friendly towers does not appear to be putting off prospective investors.
Bled said there was interest from investors in Asia, Australia,North America and Europe.
Bahrain's wind-powered World Trade Center is another example of the move to sustainable building. Moscow's Russia Tower and others aim to conserve energy through triple glazing and recycling rainfall.
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