CONSTRUCTION & TECHNOLOGY

A top structural engineer, who worked on designing the world's tallest tower, says the Burj Khalifa's "buttressed core design" holds the key to building super skyscrapers of the future. William Baker, a structural engineer at Skidmore, Owings and Merrill who worked with Adrian Smith on designing the system that allowed Burj Khalifa to be built, believes the buttressed core design can be used to build structures even taller than the world’s tallest tower.

An international consortium, led by Turner Project Management, the project management consultant for Burj Khalifa, the tallest tower in the world, are to build the tallest statue in the world in India. The Times of India reported on Wednesday that the consortium signed an agreement with the Gujarat government for "engineering, design and contract management" to construct the 182-metre-high Statue of Unity of Sardar Patel.

A new mosque covering an area of 40,000 square feet is being built in Downtown Dubai, near The Old Town development. The mosque will be set in an immaculately landscaped area that will complement the design elegance of The Old Town. The mosque will be designed to reflect the rich traditional architectural heritage while serving as a haven of peace and serenity and is set to become a modern day cultural landmark for Dubai.

The Burj Khalifa is set to remain the world's tallest building for years to come despite a skyscraper building boom in China, according to new figures. Building data firm Emporis has compiled a list of the top 10 "future skyscrapers" – ones currently under construction that will be among the world's tallest when they are completed.

Online previews of a new computer game set in Dubai after the city is devastated by a natural disaster are being blocked in the UAE. The battle scenes in Spec Ops: The Line are set against familiar landmarks such as the Burj Khalifa that have been ravaged by powerful sandstorms.

Broad Group, a construction company in China, has announced it will built the world’s tallest skyscraper in just 90 days. Plus, says Broad Group, its building will be much cheaper to build than the Burj Khalifa in Dubai (United Arab Emirates) which is currently the world’s tallest manmade structure at 830 meters (2,723 feet).

Facebook Inc. launched its first office in the Arab world Wednesday, aiming to drum up new advertising business from Dubai as investors fret over its struggling share price. The online meet-up site and other social networking tools were instrumental in connecting activists during the wave of protests and revolutions that reverberated across the region last year.

Zhang said Sky City is expected to consume a fifth of the energy required by a conventional building due to BSB’s unique construction methods, such as quadruple glazing and 15-centimeter-thick exterior walls for thermal insulation.

Tokyo is awash with skyscrapers offering bird's-eye views across the city. All are eclipsed by the Skytree, which not only dominates the city's skyline but is also the world's tallest free-standing tower (at 634 metres, it is almost double the height of the Eiffel Tower, but falls short of the 828 metres recorded by the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai).

The tower, built by Japan’s Tobu Railway Company, stands 634 metres (2,080ft) tall, making it the world’s second tallest building after the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, which stands at 829 metres (2720 ft). Tokyo Skytree is now the world’s tallest free-standing broadcast tower ahead of the Canton Tower in China which scales 600 metres (1,968 ft).