Al Burj
Encyclopedia
Nakheel Tower was a proposed skyscraper
in Dubai
, United Arab Emirates
by developer Nakheel
. The project was previously called Al Burj ( "The Tower").
In January 2009, it was announced that the project was put on hold due to financial problems. As a result of the Dubai World 2009 debt standstill, Nakheel Group's financial problems increased considerably and the tower was consequently cancelled in December 2009.
Nakheel was in talks with several potential contractors which include South Korea
's Samsung C&T (who also built Burj Khalifa), Japan
ese Shimizu Corporation
and Australia
n Grocon
. WSP
is Lead Consultant for the structure, heading a consortium that includes LERA of New York and VDM of Australia, and working with architects Woods Bagot
. The proposed tower would have been 1400 m (4,593.2 ft) tall.
, one of the world's largest man-made islands. It was to be named "The Pinnacle" and rise from the centre of a canal on the trunk of the island. The height was to be 750 m (2,460.6 ft) and the building was to consist of 120 floors of luxury apartments. It was replaced by the Trump International Hotel and Tower
and moved to the Dubai Waterfront
. Although ground leveling and land reclamation had begun on the Dubai Waterfront, construction of the tower never started because of the proximity to the Al Maktoum International Airport, which is currently under construction.
The location was changed to a plot near Jumeirah Lake Towers
and Dubai Marina
, and soil testing began. The tower would have been the focal point of Nakheel's plans for the Ibn Battuta Mall
development next to Jumeirah Islands
and Jumeirah Lake Towers. It would have been the center of the Nakheel Harbour and Tower complex
, which would have included about 20 smaller towers of up to 90 stories, a marina, and part of the Arabian Canal
. The development would have been next to the revamped shopping mall.
was to have 631000 m² (6,792,027.5 sq ft) of floorspace comprising ultra-luxury apartments, restaurants, a large health club, and an observation deck. The building actually consisted of three separate towers built around a hollow interior and joined together by several sky bridges functioning as sky lobbies. On top of each sky bridge was a sky garden. One of the towers was shorter than the other two with a large outdoor pool on the roof, while the other two were topped with large spires.
A later redesign had the basic shape remain the same - three towers connected by sky bridges with two twin spires and one tower shorter than the others. As for the number of sky bridges, the original design showed only 4, but later renderings showed at first 6, then 9 or 10. The building was also to be mixed-use rather than wholly residential.
With Woods Bagot
replacing Pei Partnership as the architectural partner, the latest released design had named the development Nakheel Harbour and Tower. Though in exterior appearance and function it would be a single tower over 1000 metres (3,280.8 ft) tall, this even grander incarnation would have been "made up of four towers with four individual cores forming an approximate 100 meters in diameter." Nakheel also claimed on their engineering page that the towers would be joined by four-level, full diameter sky bridges at approximately every twenty-five floors. The sky bridges would act to tie the buildings together structurally as well as to provide each part of the building with its own village centre in the sky. It is the four codependent foundations that would have provided the necessary structural support for such a great relative height increase over existing supertalls. The design included a distinctive crescent-shaped podium encircling the base of the tower.
The tower would have been serviced by 156 lifts at sufficient speeds and capacities to allow for travel from the ground floor to the observation deck in four minutes.
, the tower was originally designed to be at least 700 m (2,296.6 ft) tall and have more than 160 floors, although an early render showed the tower with more than 200 floors. Companies involved in the project reported an initial height expectation of 1600 m (5,249.3 ft) which was later reduced to 1200 m (3,937 ft). In July, 2007, Nakheel CEO Chris O'Donnell was reported to have said that "height isn't everything" and suggested that Al Burj might not be any taller than the Burj Khalifa, which is 828 m (2,716.5 ft). Yet only a week later, Nakheel reaffirmed that the tower would be taller than 1 kilometre. A report on 20 June 2008 claimed that the tower was planned to be 1400 metres (4,593 ft) tall.
Skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...
in Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
, United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
by developer Nakheel
Nakheel Properties
Nakheel is a real estate developer in Dubai and creator of several land reclamation projects, including the Palm Islands, the Dubai Waterfront, The World and The Universe Islands. Its residential projects include The Gardens, International City, Jumeirah Islands and Jumeirah Lake Towers. Its...
. The project was previously called Al Burj ( "The Tower").
In January 2009, it was announced that the project was put on hold due to financial problems. As a result of the Dubai World 2009 debt standstill, Nakheel Group's financial problems increased considerably and the tower was consequently cancelled in December 2009.
Nakheel was in talks with several potential contractors which include South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
's Samsung C&T (who also built Burj Khalifa), Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese Shimizu Corporation
Shimizu Corporation
is a leading architectural, engineering and general contracting firm, offering an integrated, comprehensive planning, design and build solutions for a broad range of construction and engineering projects worldwide...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n Grocon
Grocon
Grocon Pty Ltd is a large Australian construction company based in Melbourne, Australia. It is owned by the Grollo family.-History:Grocon grew from a small family concreting business established by Luigi Grollo in the 1950s, to a major building company in the 1980s with his sons Rino & Bruno...
. WSP
WSP Group
WSP Group plc is a British-based business providing management and consultancy services to the built and natural environment. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a former constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.-History:...
is Lead Consultant for the structure, heading a consortium that includes LERA of New York and VDM of Australia, and working with architects Woods Bagot
Woods Bagot
Woods Bagot is a global design studio specialising in the design and planning of facilities across three key sectors: education and science, lifestyle, and workplace....
. The proposed tower would have been 1400 m (4,593.2 ft) tall.
Location
The tower was proposed in 2003 as the centrepiece of Palm JumeirahPalm Jumeirah
The Palm Jumeirah is an artificial archipelago created using land reclamation by Nakheel, a company owned by the Dubai government in United Arab Emirates. It is one of three islands called the Palm Islands which extend into the Persian Gulf, increasing Dubai’s shoreline by a total of...
, one of the world's largest man-made islands. It was to be named "The Pinnacle" and rise from the centre of a canal on the trunk of the island. The height was to be 750 m (2,460.6 ft) and the building was to consist of 120 floors of luxury apartments. It was replaced by the Trump International Hotel and Tower
Trump International Hotel and Tower (Dubai)
Trump International Hotel & Tower was a proposed skyscraper hotel at the trunk of the Palm Jumeirah in Dubai. It was a joint venture between the Trump Organization and Dubai-based Nakheel, a government-owned company, and was announced on October 5, 2005. The hotel was expected to be a 300-room hotel...
and moved to the Dubai Waterfront
Dubai Waterfront
The Dubai Waterfront was expected to become the largest waterfront and largest man-made development in the world. The project is a conglomeration of canals and artificial archipelago; it will occupy the last remaining Persian Gulf coastline of Dubai, the most populous emirate of the United Arab...
. Although ground leveling and land reclamation had begun on the Dubai Waterfront, construction of the tower never started because of the proximity to the Al Maktoum International Airport, which is currently under construction.
The location was changed to a plot near Jumeirah Lake Towers
Jumeirah Lake Towers
The Jumeirah Lake Towers is a huge development in Dubai, United Arab Emirates which consists of a 79 towers being constructed along the edges of four artificial lakes as well as the JLT Embankment of 8 tower facing Jumeirah Islands. The lakes will be completely filled by end of 2009...
and Dubai Marina
Dubai Marina
Dubai Marina is a district in the heart of what has become known as "new Dubai" in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Dubai Marina is a canal city, carved along a two mile stretch of Persian Gulf shoreline. When the entire development is complete, it will accommodate more than 120,000 people in...
, and soil testing began. The tower would have been the focal point of Nakheel's plans for the Ibn Battuta Mall
Ibn Battuta Mall
The Ibn Battuta Mall is a large shopping mall on the Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai close to Interchange 6 for Jebel Ali Village. It is named after Berber Moroccan famous traveller and explorer Ibn Battuta. This project was completed by the Nakheel Properties group in early 2005...
development next to Jumeirah Islands
Jumeirah Islands
Jumeirah Islands is a housing development in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, developed by Nakheel Properties, one of Dubai's largest developers. Jumeirah Islands consists of small islands , each comprising 16 villas. They all sit in an artificial lake...
and Jumeirah Lake Towers. It would have been the center of the Nakheel Harbour and Tower complex
Nakheel Harbour and Tower
Nakheel Harbour and Tower was a multibillion dollar real estate project planned in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It was being built by the developer Nakheel, who once declared that the finished development will be the new, unofficial capital of Dubai...
, which would have included about 20 smaller towers of up to 90 stories, a marina, and part of the Arabian Canal
Arabian Canal
The Arabian Canal, upon completion, will be a 75 km man-made canal. The excavation of the Arabian Canal has begin near the Dubai Marina area and will go round the Al Maktoum International Airport and enter the sea again at the outer end of Palm jebel Ali. Dubai Waterfront forms the first phase...
. The development would have been next to the revamped shopping mall.
Design
The original design conceived by Pei Partnership ArchitectsPei Partnership Architects
Pei Partnership Architects is an architecture firm founded in 1992 by Chien Chung Pei and Li Chung Pei, sons of Chinese-American architect I. M. Pei....
was to have 631000 m² (6,792,027.5 sq ft) of floorspace comprising ultra-luxury apartments, restaurants, a large health club, and an observation deck. The building actually consisted of three separate towers built around a hollow interior and joined together by several sky bridges functioning as sky lobbies. On top of each sky bridge was a sky garden. One of the towers was shorter than the other two with a large outdoor pool on the roof, while the other two were topped with large spires.
A later redesign had the basic shape remain the same - three towers connected by sky bridges with two twin spires and one tower shorter than the others. As for the number of sky bridges, the original design showed only 4, but later renderings showed at first 6, then 9 or 10. The building was also to be mixed-use rather than wholly residential.
With Woods Bagot
Woods Bagot
Woods Bagot is a global design studio specialising in the design and planning of facilities across three key sectors: education and science, lifestyle, and workplace....
replacing Pei Partnership as the architectural partner, the latest released design had named the development Nakheel Harbour and Tower. Though in exterior appearance and function it would be a single tower over 1000 metres (3,280.8 ft) tall, this even grander incarnation would have been "made up of four towers with four individual cores forming an approximate 100 meters in diameter." Nakheel also claimed on their engineering page that the towers would be joined by four-level, full diameter sky bridges at approximately every twenty-five floors. The sky bridges would act to tie the buildings together structurally as well as to provide each part of the building with its own village centre in the sky. It is the four codependent foundations that would have provided the necessary structural support for such a great relative height increase over existing supertalls. The design included a distinctive crescent-shaped podium encircling the base of the tower.
The tower would have been serviced by 156 lifts at sufficient speeds and capacities to allow for travel from the ground floor to the observation deck in four minutes.
Height
Projections of Nakheel Tower's final height varied widely. Nakheel was believed to be engaging in a strategy of secrecy similar to that employed by Emaar with Burj Khalifa. According to officials at NakheelNakheel Properties
Nakheel is a real estate developer in Dubai and creator of several land reclamation projects, including the Palm Islands, the Dubai Waterfront, The World and The Universe Islands. Its residential projects include The Gardens, International City, Jumeirah Islands and Jumeirah Lake Towers. Its...
, the tower was originally designed to be at least 700 m (2,296.6 ft) tall and have more than 160 floors, although an early render showed the tower with more than 200 floors. Companies involved in the project reported an initial height expectation of 1600 m (5,249.3 ft) which was later reduced to 1200 m (3,937 ft). In July, 2007, Nakheel CEO Chris O'Donnell was reported to have said that "height isn't everything" and suggested that Al Burj might not be any taller than the Burj Khalifa, which is 828 m (2,716.5 ft). Yet only a week later, Nakheel reaffirmed that the tower would be taller than 1 kilometre. A report on 20 June 2008 claimed that the tower was planned to be 1400 metres (4,593 ft) tall.
Name
During the history of the project it was known by three different names: Al Burj, Tall Tower, and Nakheel Tower. Initially named Al Burj, the project was renamed Tall Tower for a few months, until being changed to Nakheel Tower.See also
- Nakheel Harbour and TowerNakheel Harbour and TowerNakheel Harbour and Tower was a multibillion dollar real estate project planned in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It was being built by the developer Nakheel, who once declared that the finished development will be the new, unofficial capital of Dubai...
- Developments in DubaiDevelopments in DubaiThe Dubai government's decision to diversify from a trade-based but oil-reliant economy to one that is service- and tourism-oriented has made real estate and other developments more valuable, resulting in the property boom from 2004–2006. Construction on a large scale has turned Dubai into one of...
- List of tallest buildings in Dubai
- Proposed tall buildings and structuresProposed tall buildings and structuresSome tall structures and skyscrapers have been proposed that have not yet been built, and may never be. Some structures have been proposed, but construction was never begun, or if begun never completed, and the plans have subsequently been abandoned....