CONSTRUCTION & TECHNOLOGY

The man behind the Burj Khalifa says he is keen to build a tower in Asia that would soar more than 1km into the sky and steal Dubai’s crown as home to the world’s tallest building. Mohamed Alabbar, the chairman of property developer Emaar, says he has identified a possible location for the skyscraper, although did not reveal exactly where.

German photographer Sebastian Opitz took the pictures during the city’s foggy season. Skyscrapers can be seen piercing the clouds. These photographs make the desert look like a kingdom in the sky.

It was taken by National Geographic photographer Joe McNally from the top of the world's tallest skyscraper, the Burj Khalifa, in Dubai. McNally uploaded the photo to his Instagram account on Monday. McNally, who told The Huffington Post he was standing on the railing of a support structure for the building's airplane warning lights, said the photo wasn't a work assignment -- it just "seemed like fun."

Real estate developers Bahria Town has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for $15 to $20 billion with US investors Thomas Kramer, Pakistan’s The News reported on Monday. As per the MoU, Bahria Town in collaboration with foreign companies associated with Thomas Kramer would construct the world’s tallest building and a number of other projects, almost 3.5km off the shore of Karachi.

The Kingdom Tower in Jeddah would be the first of a breed of ultra-tall buildings to exceed 900 metres in height. That's more than twice as tall as New York's Empire State Building.United Technologies' Otis Elevator, Switzerland-based Schindler Group and Finland's Kone are racing to perfect technologies ranging from stronger brakes to smarter software to move elevator riders more efficiently and capture the market.

Gizmodo friend Gerald Donovan has sent us an amazing 2.6 GB, 360-degree panorama from the very top of the highest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa. You know, where Tom Cruise perched to be closer to Xenu and look out over all of us lousy, pill-popping humans. It'll take your breath away.

In terms of speed of elevators, Burj Khalifa, 828-metre high, shares the third position on the list with maximum elevator speed of 600 metres per minute, or 36kmph. “What is more, the double-deckers' passengers are also able to travel the longest distance currently possible in an elevator, exiting after a ride of 504 metres at the world's highest stop, 638 metres up the building,” Emporis stated.

Dense, low hanging fog was to blame for a false alarm last night causing some to fear the Burj Khalifa was on fire. Rumours began on Twitter and the internet yesterday evening as the top of the building appeared to be shrouded in smoke. One user on Twitter posted: "Heard that burj khalifa is on fire, is this true or just a rumor?#burjkhalifa".

For Burj Khalifa, completed in 2010 for $1.5 billion, Otis designed a system using double-deck cars, computerized dispatch and its compact Gen2 lifts, which replace steel ropes with polyurethane-coated belts and bulky motors with smaller gearless drives, eliminating the need for a large engine room.

Emaar Properties has awarded the contract to build a 72-storey hotel in Dubai, in what is set to be the sixth property to launch under its Address brand. The Dubai-based developer said today The Address The BLVD project will be built by Brookfield Multiplex Construction, according to a statement to the stock exchange.