CONSTRUCTION & TECHNOLOGY

Two construction workers died this week after falling from the 27th floor of a building next to the Burj Khalifa. The Indian men, ages 24 and 27, were installing glass at about 4.30pm on Tuesday when their cradle encountered a "mechanical error", said an official from the project site who declined to be named. Another anonymous source said the side winch of the cradle had failed, and a statement issued by Dubai Police said the men's cradle had "lost balance".

At 828m, the Burj Khalifa has 160 liveable levels, the most of any building in the world. The tower was inaugurated on January 4, 2010, to coincide with the fourth anniversary of the Accession Day of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum as the Ruler of Dubai. The tower became the world's tallest man-made structure just 1325 days after excavation work started in January 2004.

The 107-storey tower, billed to be the tallest residential building on earth, is likely to be ready by late next year in the city that is also home to the 823 metres wonder Burj Khalifa. The 414-metre tall Princess Tower in Dubai's high-profile Dubai Marina will be ready for delivery by fourth quarter of 2011, its constructor has said.

Indeed, Wednesday's star-studded launch of the MBC Drama channel at the Burj Khalifa was something of an exception. For this is an industry populated by an increasingly vast array of satellite TV channels, and an equally vast array of funding levels.

The new channel will go live within the coming weeks and will have its official launch at the Armani Hotel, Dubai, on 24 November in the presence of a host of television stars and celebrities from the Arab world. The Arabic-language station is to broadcast 24 hours and will focus primarily on soap operas and drama, including programmes from Egypt, Syria and the Gulf.

As the great and good among Italy's furnishing, design and construction companies prepare to celebrate next week (with a party at that beacon of Italian style, the Armani Hotel Dubai) the launch of a new online portal for the design trade, it seems only right that my object of desire should epitomise Italy.

The new Bentley Mulsanne has won the 'Best Limousine for the Red Carpet' prize at the glittering Gulf Connoisseur Awards ceremony, held at the Armani Hotel in Dubai. Bentley's new flagship car was chosen as the winner over the Maybach 57 and the Rolls Royce Phantom.

The world's tallest building, the 828m Burj Khalifa, just missed out on a prize of EUR 50,000 (US$70,500) for environmental innovation in the heart of a major global city. The International Highrise Award, handed out every two years by the German city of Frankfurt and DekaBank, saw Dubai’s most iconic structure shortlisted alongside the Aqua Tower in Chicago, Shanghai’s World Financial Center and the Gakuen Cocoon Tower in Tokyo.

Old Town forms part of Downtown Burj Dubai, a vast development between Sheikh Zayed Road and Al Khail Road that is home to the sky-piercing Burj Khalifa. Grabbing at the skirt tails of the Burj is The Address hotel, its distinctive spatula-shaped silhouette a landmark in its own right. Next door is the cavernous retail cathedral of Dubai Mall.

The Burj Khalifa has been designated a global icon by the Council for Tall Buildings and Urban Habitats, the Chicago-based organisation that sets the guidelines for tall buildings worldwide. The Dubai tower was given the CTBUH's new 'Global Icon' award at the organisation's awards ceremony last week, with judges claiming that the classification 'Best Tall Building' was not lofty enough for the Burj.