With an ambitious goal of becoming the world’s tallest building and a long way to go yet, the project is off to a fine start and its foundations were recently completed.
The Dubai Creek Tower (previously called the Dubai Observation Tower) is the centerpiece of the Dubai Creek Harbor development that includes residences, shopping, and office space. It’s being developed by Burj Khalifa developers Emaar Properties, along with Dubai Holding.
It is structurally novel and will be anchored with stay cables, a little like a bridge. This makes sense, as Calatrava is best known for his bridge construction. The tower is inspired by the traditional Islamic minaret and the lily plant, and resembles an oversized dart pointed toward the heavens. The interior will include multiple observation decks promising amazing views of Dubai.
The Tower has already involved over a million hours of work, with 170,000 m3 of soil removed for the foundations. Some 211,200 tons of concrete has been poured and over 145 concrete piles have been laid at depths of over 72 m to ensure the stability of the structure.
“The design and architectural features of The Tower demand unique engineering approaches that are currently being implemented on site,” says Santiago Calatrava.
“With no similar super-tall structures in the world, Emaar has undertaken a completely new approach to wind-engineering and seismic tests, which have already been completed. Every aspect of The Tower is designed to the highest international standards of safety – from the choice of materials to the technology being deployed in its construction.”
its planned 2020 completion date – including, hopefully, its official height.
Its planned completion date is 2020 and the team says it will be the world’s tallest tower, which means it must surpass the Burj Khalifa’s 829.8 m. Even if it does manage this, the 1,007 m-tall Jeddah Tower will likely dwarf both buildings in height when it gets built.
