CONSTRUCTION & TECHNOLOGY

Along with a 620-m landmark tower, 13 more high rises over 200 m will be constructed at an international business district in Seoul's Yongsan. A shopping mall of 1.04 million sq. m, which is six times the size of the COEX mall in Samseong-dong, also in the capital, will be built below street level.

A Tokyo developer took visitors up the world’s tallest freestanding broadcast structure on Tuesday, a 634-meter (2,080-foot) tower with special technology meant to withstand earthquakes that often strike Japan. The Tokyo Skytree is the world’s second-tallest structure behind the 828-meter (2,717-foot) Burj Khalifa in Dubai, according to owner Tobu Tower Skytree Co.

Burj Khalifa, the 2,717-ft high tower, will continue to hold the title for the tallest building in the world, at least, till 2017. Quoting Kingdom Holding Company (KHC) Chairman Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, Saudi newspapers have reported that the 1,000-metre high tall Kingdom Tower in Jeddah will be completed by mid-2017.

Oil revenues have already fuelled a high-profile construction frenzy in the former Soviet state of Azerbaijan, but in an attempt to raise its profile further, the Caspian Sea country is looking to build the tallest building in the world. Tentatively named Azerbaijan Tower, the planned 1,050 metre structure will dwarf Dubai’s Burj Khalifa to look over Baku’s largest development project which is planned to include dozens of artificial islands and a Formula One race track.

When the clock struck 8.30pm last night, the lights went out across the country. In the capital, Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, the Sheikh Zayed Bridge, Yas Hotel and several streets were plunged into darkness. In Dubai, the Burj Khalifa, Burj Al Arab and Downtown Dubai quieted their usually blazing bulbs and lasers.

A Business Bay commercial development that boasts the highest number of elevators in a single tower aside from the Burj Khalifa, together with what is claimed to be a comparable level of service and facilities, has appointed a new property-management company.

Burj Khalifa, the world’s only ‘Global Icon’ and the civic pride of the city of Dubai, now has a monument saluting the international collaboration that marked the accomplishment of the world’s tallest building. Emaar Properties, the developer of Burj Khalifa, has unveiled ‘The Burj Monument,’ 18 metres high and in stainless steel, in Downtown Dubai, near The Dubai Mall.

And joining Dewa in this noble project is Emaar Properties, with its Managing Director Ahmed Al Matrooshi stressing the importance of conserving energy for sustainable development. And like last year, this year too, the world’s tallest building – the Burj Khalifa, will be blacked out, kick-starting a candle-lit Earth Hour walk from the Burj Plaza towards Burj Park.

The structural demands of building the world's tallest tower were so extreme that the internal spaces of the apartments in the Burj Khalifa are not especially large (by Dubai standards, at least) nor are they particularly easy to work with due to their atypical shapes. But the way in which Antoine has handled these challenges has emphasised his home's greatest asset: the light.

A traditional ceremony to mark the completion of the world's tallest freestanding broadcasting tower has been held in Tokyo. A Shinto priest offered prayers of safety and prosperity for the new landmark in Tokyo - the 634-metre-high tower named the Tokyo Sky Tree. Construction, which began in July 2008, was completed earlier this week.