Springtime in Dubai. Sunny, smog-free (miraculously), sharp blue skies and even sharper architecture outlined and clearly defined as the sun descends to the horizon upon the Arabian Gulf. However from where I am standing the Gulf is far away, for I am positioned directly in front of the tallest tower in the world, in the middle of Dubai’s business and retail hub here in Downtown Dubai. I am dwarfed by the mighty Burj Khalifa…
Sun glares into my eyes, as it bounces harshly on the aluminum, steel and glass facades of Downtown Dubai’s extraordinary buildings. It’s always a must to wear sunglasses while in Dubai, but its especially necessary when faced with walls of silver and panes of glass…
The Armani Hotel occupies the concourse level to level 8 and levels 38 and 39 of the Burj Khalifa. With its own dedicated entrance to the tower, it is easily accessible within walking distance to the world’s largest mall. The views inside and out are breathtaking. It is clear the Mr. Giorgio Armani had a hand in every detail of this place.
Burj Khalifa was built mainly by South Korean company Samsung, along with the Belgian company Besix and the UAE company Arabtec. It was designed by American Adrian Smith before he left Skidmore, Owings and Merrill LLP (SOM) of Chicago to start his own independent practice, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture in October 2006. The total budget for the Burj project was about $4.1 billion and for the entire Downtown Burj Dubai, $20 billion.
The silvery glass-sheathed concrete building has bestowed the title of Earth’s tallest free-standing structure to the Middle East — a title not held by the region since 1311 AD when Lincoln Cathedral in England surpassed the height of the Great Pyramid of Giza, which had held the title for almost four millennia.
And finally, to put it all into perspective, here they are: the tall ships of the earth, in a row. Crane your neck skywards and literally feel the heights Burj Khalifa scales…
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