Dubai is reaching for the sky once again, with the developer of its world’s tallest building vowing on Sunday to build an even taller tower bedecked with rotating balconies and elevated landscaping inspired by the mythical hanging gardens of Babylon.
The company behind the project, Dubai-based Emaar Properties PJSC, hopes the new tower would entice a fresh wave of landmark view-seeking homeowners even as it raises numerous other promised skyscrapers and repairs a prominent one gutted by fire on New Year’s Eve.
Chairman Mohamed Alabbar said the new observation tower would be “a notch” taller than the 828m Burj Khalifa. Just how much taller he would not say.
Photo: AFP
Unlike the Burj Khalifa, the new tower would not be a traditional skyscraper, but more of a cable-supported spire containing “garden” observation decks graced with trees and other greenery.
Emaar said it would also contain a boutique hotel, restaurants and glass balconies that rotate outside the wall of the tower.
It would be the roughly US$1 billion centerpiece of a new 6km2 development on the edge of the Dubai Creek, near a protected wildlife sanctuary that regularly attracts flamingos and other water birds.
Alabbar likened the structure, designed by Spanish-Swiss architect Santiago Calatrava Valls, to a 21st- century Eiffel Tower that can act as a magnet not just for tourists, but also for property buyers willing to pay a premium for nearby apartments with a view. It is due to open by the time Dubai hosts the World Expo in 2020.
Emaar followed a similar strategy when it raised the Burj Khalifa, which opened in 2010. The silvery skyscraper is flanked by fancy low and high-rise apartment complexes, some of which are still being built, as well as hotels, restaurants and one of the world’s largest shopping malls.
Dubai police have blamed exposed wiring for sparking the blaze. Outside experts said the type of cladding used to sheath the building was likely a factor in fueling that fire and several others that have engulfed skyscrapers in the United Arab Emirates.
Emirati authorities have ordered a nationwide safety survey of existing buildings and promised to tighten regulations in the wake of the fire.
Asked about fire risks, Alabbar said it was important to learn from the accidents, but suggested there are limits to how much builders can do.
“Safety rules are good, but can you really eliminate all risk? I don’t think human beings are able to eliminate all risk,” he told reporters. “Risks are there as long as we are progressing ... These things do happen, and you have to go and fix them and make sure if they happen, they happen to a minimum.”
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