CONSTRUCTION & TECHNOLOGY

Not that there wasn’t a lot of spectacle along with the technical ingenuity. Take the daring Burj Khalifa, a mixed-use skyscraper in Dubai designed by Adrian Smith (at the time an architect at Skidmore Owings & Merrill) and completed in January; it soars to 2,717 feet, past every other structure in the world. But the Burj, for all its glitter and quantitative abundance, is also an astounding technological achievement.

The initial phase of the airport will feature an A380 capable runway, 64 remote stands, a cargo terminal with annual capacity for 250,000 tonnes of freight, and a passenger terminal building designed to accommodate five million passengers per year. “Dubai International currently has capacity for 2.5 million tonnes of cargo, while volumes are expected increase to 3 million tonnes by 2015. On the passenger side we expect to see numbers skyrocket from the 41 million that passed through Dubai International in 2009 to 98 million by 2020 and 150 million by 2030.”

Imdaad has signed a three year contract with Emaar to undertake waste management and recycling for the Burj Khalifa. The FM company will collect and dispose solid waste and collect all recyclable material generated from the entire building, including its 1044 residential apartments, on a daily basis. "Delivering waste management solutions to one of the world's most prestigious buildings is something we look forward to with great enthusiasm.

Other than a few iconic structures such as Dubai’s Burj Khalifa or Riyadh’s Kingdom Tower, most of the new planned developments in this part of the world are alien to their context. They could as easily exist in Kuala Lumpur or Frankfurt as they could in the Middle East.

This month's Architectural Record takes an in-depth look at the Burj Khalifa, the record-shattering, mixed-use Dubai skyscraper by Chicago architect Adrian Smith and his former colleagues at the Chicago office of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. Also featured: CityCenter, the massive Las Vegas project that includes two tilting condominium towers by Chicago's Helmut Jahn and his firm Murphy/Jahn.

Organisers said on Tuesday that an exclusive preview of the new BlackBerry Pearl 9105 smartphone device in Dubai has been cancelled. Arabian Business can reveal that the preview party, which was due to be held at Prive at the Armani Hotel on Wednesday evening, has been postponed until a later date. The decision follows an announcement on Sunday by the UAE that it will ban certain BlackBerry services in the country from October 11.

Want to take advantage of the country's decision to block BlackBerry services? Here's what you can do. The United Arab Emirates has announced it is banning certain BlackBerry mobile services, citing concerns over security. So what other attractions does this federation of gulf states, including the desert kingdoms of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, have to offer?

Metro commuters travelling on Emirates Airline flights can now check in 24 hours in advance at kiosks in three stations as the carrier extends services available at Dubai International Airport. Kiosks have been installed at the Mall of the Emirates, Burj Khalifa and Financial Centre stations. The self-service devices are expected to provide an added convenience and to reduce waiting time at the airport, Emirates officials said. Passengers will need their reservation code or ticket number to use the service, which will be available until two hours before departure.

Contractors aiming to build what could become the tallest tower in the world have been asked to resubmit their bids after design changes were made. At least two contenders will place new offers for the 1.1km-high Kingdom Tower in Saudi Arabia next month, making it the third time in a year the project has been re-tendered. Six Construct, a Belgian companythat helped to build Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, currently the tallest tower in the world, is bidding for the contract in partnership with El Seif Engineering Contracting, a Saudi Arabian company.

We didn’t have to look far for inspiration for this collection of world toppers. Dubai still ranks as one of the world’s tallest cities – with 51 skyscrapers all standing over 200m high, matching New York’s tally. Hong Kong has 52 but Dubai has the Burj Khalifa, and six others that stretch to over 300m – including the world’s tallest hotel (building used exclusively as a hotel), the Rose Tower, at 333m and 72-storeys.