By John Metcalfe http://www.theatlanticcities.com
The world’s tallest skyscraper, the 2,717-foot Burj Khalifa, can be pretty hard to miss. What other reason would somebody have for wanting to wrap it in a massive sheet of reflective fabric?
“Exo-Burj,” a thought fart from creative think tank OP-EN, would drape the entirety of the building’s 160 stories in a sheath of lightweight and semitransparent material. This titanic architectural condom would then mirror the surrounding city, providing an utterly new and strange facet to Dubai’s skyline. Here’s OP-EN’s vision for the project:
The proposed support structure is fan-shaped, circling the Burj Khalifa with the main connection point stemming from the tower’s spire. Visitors would not only be able to view the temporary installation from a distance – which would reflect the tower and its surroundings – but also walk up-close and experience the installation first-hand.
The end-result would amplify the visual perspectives of the city’s skyline, augment the tower’s symbol as an urban centre of gravity and create an artistic atmosphere on a vast architectural scale.
