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The Burj Dubai (, Chicago which currently has the highest number of habitable floors (108). SIZE Expected to be completed in 2008 , the Burj Dubai is a formidable threat to other bids to the title of World's Tallest Structure . These include the 541 m (1,776 ft) Freedom Tower in New York City , the Shanghai World Financial Center (492 m), the planned Fordham Spire in Chicago, Illinois (610 m), and the current record holder, Taipei 101 (509 m). It will also upset the record for tallest free standing structure from Toronto 's CN Tower (553 m). The Burj Dubai's developer Emaar Properties has suggested that the Burj Dubai will become the tallest manmade structure of any kind in history. The tallest structure to date was the 645.4 m (2,120 ft) Warsaw Radio Mast which was built in 1974 and which collapsed during renovation work in 1991. The current tallest man-made structure on land is the KVLY-TV Mast in North Dakota at 628.8 m (2,063 ft). Once completed, the peak of the tower is said to be visible from a distance of 90 km (60 miles). ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN The tower is designed by Skidmore, Owings, And Merrill , who also designed the Sears Tower and the Freedom Tower. The design of Burj Dubai is derived from the geometries of the desert flower, which is indigenous to the region, and the patterning systems embodied in Islamic Architecture . The tower is composed of three elements arranged around a central core. As the tower rises from the flat desert base, setbacks occur at each element in an upward spiraling pattern, decreasing the cross section of the tower as it reaches toward the sky. At the top, the central core emerges and is sculpted to form a finishing spire. A Y-shaped floor plan maximizes views of the Persian Gulf . The interior will be decorated by Giorgio Armani . An Armani Hotel (the first of its kind) will occupy the lower 37 floors. Floors 45 through 108 will have 700 private Apartment s in 64 floors (which, according to the developer, sold out within eight hours of going on sale). Corporate offices and suites will fill most of the remaining floors, except for a 123rd floor lobby and 124th floor indoor/outdoor Observation Deck . The spire will also hold Communications equipment. An outdoor Zero-entry Swimming Pool will be located on the 78th floor of the tower. It will also feature the world's fastest office tower, Taipei , Taiwan , at 16.83 m/s (37.5 mph). PURPOSE The Burj Dubai has been designed to be the center of a large-scale, mixed-use development that will include 30,000 homes, 9 hotels, 6 acres of parkland, 19 residential towers, and 12 Hectare Burj Dubai Lake. The complete development will cost about US$ 8 billion. Once completed, the tower will cover a total of 2 million m&2 (22 million ft&2) of development. The Burj Dubai will be the latest feather in the cap of Dubai, also home to the world's tallest Hotel , the Burj Al-Arab , the (soon to be completed) world's largest man-made Marina , the Dubai Marina ; the (soon to be completed) world's largest Artificial Island , the Deira Palm Islands which surpasses its sister 'Palm Island' developments Palm Islands Jumeirah and Palm Islands Jebel Ali . There is also the (soon to be completed) Dubai Waterfront ; and the (soon to be built) world's largest mall, the Dubai Mall . In addition, there is the planned world's first underwater hotel The Hydropolis , as well as the exclusive island projects The World (archipelago) and The Lagoons . Developers say the silvery glass-sheathed concrete building will restore to the Middle East the honor of hosting the earth's tallest structure—a title lost circa 1300 when Lincoln Cathedral upset the 38-century reign of Egypt 's Great Pyramid Of Giza . The decision to build Burj Dubai and other skyscrapers is reportedly based on the government's decision to diversify from a trade-based (and oil-reliant) economy to one that is service- and tourism-oriented. While many champion Dubai's strides at changing its core economy, others have raised questions about the necessity of building the in the Burj Dubai will work around this law by selling "lifetime" leases -- reportedly up to 99 years in length. (As of Q1 2006, non-nationals are now permitted to own real-estate in Dubai) RACE FOR THE TOP Burj Dubai's main competitor now is actually proposed at a location 50 km (30 miles) away from the Burj Dubai site. This tower, , The Illinois (proposed in 1956 by Frank Lloyd Wright with a sketch that looks very similar to Burj Dubai), Sky City 1000 , and Millennium Tower . LABOR CONTROVERSY Burj Dubai is being built primarily by were forbidden in the United Arab Emirates previously, but the government recently announced steps to allow construction unions. "UAE to allow construction unions" , ''BBC News'', March 30, 2006, retrieved April 20, 2006 On March 21 , 2006, tensions boiled over at the construction site as workers employed by Al Naboodah who were building the Dubai Mall next to Burj Dubai, rioted over low wages and poor working conditions. They damaged cars, offices, computers, and construction tools. (''See also Dubai Mall '') At Dubai International Airport , construction workers staged a sympathy strike. News reports about the riots conflicted with each other in regards to whether or not the riots affected work at the Burj Dubai itself, with the majority of reports claiming that it did. However, the development manager for Samsung Corp., the South Korean conglomerate that is chief contractor on the Burj Dubai, said construction of the skyscraper was moving ahead, and not affected by the labour dispute, in which builders on adjacent towers are asking for better pay and employment conditions. "Labourers at Burj Dubai site halt work for second day" , ''Khaleej Times'', March 23, 2006, retrieved March 28, 2006 PICTURES |