Official opening of iconic Burj Dubai announced

The Burj Dubai will be opened on January 4, 2010, coinciding with the accession to power of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

The 160-plus storey structure is considered the world's tallest building.

Mohammad Ali Al Abbar, Chairman of Emaar real estate company said the company decided to launch the tower on this date as a gesture of gratitude towards Shaikh Mohammad, who is considered the builder of modern Dubai.

Burj Dubai became the tallest building in the world in just 1,276 days, with the help of more than 5,000 consultants and skilled construction workers.

Work on the Burj Dubai started in January 2004. The tower reached 100 levels in January 2007. A month later, it surpassed the Sears Tower in Chicago as the building with the most floors in the world.

Burj Dubai is now the world's tallest building and tallest man-made structure, having surpassed the height of the KVLY-TV mast in North Dakota, USA.

The Burj Dubai houses residences and commercial spaces, apart from Giorgio Armani's The Armani Hotel & Residences.

It also anchors Downtown Burj Dubai, a Dh73 billion mixed-use mega project, already a bustling community described as the new "heart of the city".

Source: Gulf News

Burj Dubai's exterior cladding work complete

Exterior cladding for the Burj Dubai, the world's tallest building, is now complete, the developer said.

"The tower has accomplished a world record for the highest installation of an aluminium and glass facade. The total weight of aluminium used on the Burj Dubai is equivalent to that of five A380 aircraft and the total length of stainless steel bull nose fins is 293 times the height of the Eiffel Tower in Paris," the statement said.

The last cladding panel numbered 24,348, weighing 750kg was placed at a height of more than 662 metres, thus accomplishing the mammoth task of cladding the world's tallest building.

Arabian Aluminium Company in association with Hong Kong based Far East Aluminium began exterior cladding of the Burj Dubai in May 2007, and the vast project has involved more than 380 skilled engineers and on-site technicians.

A mixed-use tower featuring residences, corporate suites, and the world's first Armani Hotel and Armani Residences, the Burj Dubai is on course to be completed this year with work on interiors progressing simultaneously.

With a total of 24,348 cladding panels over a total curtain wall area of 132,190 square metres, the Burj Dubai's shimmering exterior minimises heat transmission and saves energy.

The total 103,000 square metres of glass used in the cladding panels can cover 14 standard football pitches and the 15,500 square metres of embossed stainless steel used can cover 34 National Basketball Association specified basketball courts.

The total length of gaskets - 2,050,000 linear metres - if laid end to end is about the distance from Dubai to Damascus, Syria (2,052 km).

The cladding materials were specially made using advanced engineering techniques. The cladding accentuates the Burj Dubai's height while lending it a shimmering slenderness. Panels of more than 18 strength specifications and over 200 sizes have been used, all of them double-glazed and factory-sealed.

The world record for the highest aluminium façade installation was achieved by the Burj Dubai earlier in the year at a height of 512 metres, less than one year after work started.

Mohammad Al Abbar, Chairman of Emaar Properties, said that the completion of the cladding work was a milestone both for the Burj Dubai and the science of high-rise engineering.

The cladding work is the largest project of its kind undertaken by Arabian Aluminium Company (Aluminium Division of Al Ghurair Construction). Bashar Kayali, General Manager of the Arabian Aluminium Company, said that under the joint venture with Far East Aluminium, Arabian Aluminium undertook the cladding work at an accelerated pace right from the design stage where the cladding of the tower was divided into multiple zones.

Source: Gulf News