Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Burj Khalifa, pictures and info

Because of the competition, it wasn't until the building officially opened in January, 2010 that the public learned its actual height: 2,717 feet. There had been rumors for years that the design kept getting tweaked taller as rival buildings with taller heights were announced. But you get to a point where you have to eventually stop building, and for The Burj Khalifa, that point is at 828 meters.

Dubai is no stranger to monumental skyscrapers, but this one sets a new standard. Aesthetically, the Burj Dubai is a brilliant shard of glass piercing the Arabian sky. It is formed by three main shafts arranged in a Y shape. Their setbacks taper in a spiral pattern until the Burj Dubai becomes a spire in the sky. In any city, this would be a monumental structure. On the flat plain of Dubai, it is a shock to behold, and visible for dozens of miles.

But this tower does not stand on its own. It is part of a 500-acre complex of offices, hotels, shops, lagoons, and public space that are a technological, economic, and social oasis all on its own.
  • Architect: Adrian Smith
  • Developer: Emaar Properties
  • The foundation is made up of 192 concrete and steel pilings more than 164 feet (50 meters) deep. They are joined by a 12-foot-thick raft upon which the skyscraper rests.
  • 45,000 cubic meters of concrete was used in the foundation.
  • The hotel in the Burj Dubai is going to be an Armani-branded hotel. In keeping with Islamic custom it will have separate hours for women and men at the pool.
  • The footprint of this building is in the shape of a hymenocallis, a desert flower native to the area.
  • According to an interview in Construction Week, the air conditioning chillers installed on the 155th and 159th floor are so high that their design had to take into account the thinner air at that elevation.
  • This building has about 30 setbacks.
  • Underground parking spaces: 16,000
  • January, 2004: Construction began.
  • September 20, 2004: The first concrete was poured for the foundation.
  • June 26, 2005: Gulf News reported that the estimated total cost for the Burj Dubai complex rose to US$5,500,000,000.
  • July 16, 2005: Construction Week magazine reported that the designers of the Burj Dubai were reconsidering their decision to use stainless steel on the exterior of the tower because prices jumped from US$400 a ton to $2,200 in just two years.
  • March 23, 2006: The Associated Press reported that 2,500 construction workers rioted because of low pay and poor treatment, doing an estimated US$1,000,000 in damage. Thousands of construction workers at other Dubai projects also went on a sympathy strike.
  • April 16, 2006: AME Info reported that the Burj Dubai was going to be at least 200 stories tall, a number that turned out to be false.
  • September 1, 2006: Construction reached 70 stories.
  • October 1, 2006: Construction reached 75 stories.
  • October 31, 2006: Construction reached 80 stores and 850 feet / 259 meters. That height made it taller than the tallest building in Europe.
  • November 11, 2006: ITPBusiness reported that construction was being delayed by a shortage of exterior cladding material.
  • April 6, 2007: The tower reached a record-breaking 120 stories.
  • July 21, 2007: This building passes Taipei 101 as the tallest building on Earth.
  • August 12, 2007: Passed 1,730 feet in height -- higher than the antennae atop the former Sears Tower in Chicago.
  • August 29, 2007: Passed the CN Tower in Toronto to become the world's tallest free-standing structure.
  • September 3, 2007: Passed 1,772 feet in height -- higher than the Ostankino Tower in Moscow.
  • May, 2008: This building passes the KVLY Television tower in North Dakota to become the tallest man-made object on Earth.
  • May 20, 2008: A worker is crushed to death by an exterior panel.
  • May 24, 2008: A British man parachuted off of the Burj Dubai just days after it rose to a height making it the tallest man-made structure ever built. He managed to sneak past security guards and walk up more than 150 stories of stairs with all of his gear without being noticed.
  • June 17, 2008: Arabian Business reported that the height of this building was increased by planners, but remains secret.
  • October, 2008: This building reached 2,257 feet, making it taller than the demolished Warsaw Radio tower in Poland, formerly the tallest man-made structure ever to exist.
  • December, 2008: The spire was erected at the top of this building, giving it its full height.
  • December 30, 2008: Original scheduled completion date.
  • January 17, 2009: Building topps out at 2,684 feet.
  • July 12, 2009: Zawya reports that the opening of this building will be delayed three months until December 2, 2009.
  • November, 2009: The opening date was pushed back to January 4, 2010.
  • January 4, 2010: The building opened to the public.
  • January 4, 2010: This building was renamed Burj Khalifa Bin Zayed.
  • January 4, 2010: The building's official height was revealed: 2,717 feet / 828 meters.

Burj Khalifa,
Burj Khalifa,
Burj Khalifa,
Burj Khalifa,

dubai-towers pics

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dubai-towers pic
dubai-towers pic

Ski Dubai Pictures

Ski Dubai
Ski Dubai
Ski Dubai
Ski Dubai
Ski Dubai

Dubai_skyline photos

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Dubai_skyline photo
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Dubai_skyline photo

Photos of Dubai,

Dubai,
Dubai,
Dubai,
Dubai,

The Dubai property market has seen a lot of changes recently, and not all positive, so what better time to give you an update of all the goings on in the Dubai real estate market. The Dubai property market has always been quick to change and that has certainly been the case recently, especially now with the world economic problems finally coming to bear in Dubai. But whilst prices are on the way down, building work on developments is for the most part continuing as per schedule, although recently there have been a few noticeable and high profile projects to start to feel the effect of the market down turn. Nakheel has lately been making headlines by ‘slowing down’ the rate of development and building work in some of its flagship projects, but its not all doom and gloom. So lets start with the building which has already obtained a cult internet following, the Burj Dubai!

Whilst cladding work was stopped on the world’s tallest building at the end of November, it has just as quickly recommenced, and the steel level has continued to soar. The Tower now stands at just under 740 meters and still looks to have some way to go before it stops its assault up into the sky! And developer Emaar has announced a new hand over date to those lucky enough to own a property here! Whist original handover was scheduled for mid 2009; owners have now been told the 20th of December will be the date. An early Christmas present if that is that case, but as is the nature of these things, it is more of a general guide, I wouldn’t hold your breath for that to be the exact date.

Nakheel have been making the headlines quite a lot of lately for real estate in Dubai, for both good and bad reasons. The good reasons definitely include the announcement of a new super tower, set to dwarf even the Burj Dubai! Nakheel believe the ground breaking and record breaking nature of the tower should make it interesting even in hard economic times, and with an anticipated completion time of around a decade, they make a fair point of saying the world economy will be a very different place by the time it reaches completion. With an ever changing name, currently Nakheel Tower, not a huge amount is known of the project. However what we do know is that it will be over 1000 meters, be over 200 floors, and include around 150 lifts. The mixed use tower is especially clever, as it is in fact 4 towers connected together, which will allow for air to pass through the towers, thus enabling it to reach such a height! This is certainly one impressive piece of freehold real estate that will certainly bring a lot of attention to Dubai.

However recently Dubai Property giant Nakheel has been attracting the wrong kind of attention with its announcement of it’s intent to lay off 500 workers. This follows hot on the heals of the news that work on the Palm Jebel Ali, The Dubai Waterfront and the Palm Deria are to be ‘slowed’, as is work on the Trump Tower at the Palm Jumeirah. Nakheel believes slowing the rate of building on these long dated projects will allow for it to effectively combat the present economic problems, and will allow for the more intensive work to be carried out at a time when there is less of a liquidity problem.

Dubai Sports City, located in the vast Dubailand, continues to progress. Infrastructure here is well underway, and with the inauguration of the Els golf club already having taken place earlier this year, things are looking positive for the world’s first integrated sports city. With the fifth and final building release at Canal Residence West, the Mediterranean styled development is now all up for grabs, and if the final building at the project proves as popular as the other four, then apartments here won’t hang around for long, whatever the financial environment. Sports City has certainly been a resounding success, and has rarely been out of the news.

There is a lot going on here and with stars from a wide variety of sports recently giving the project the thumbs up, it looks to remain one of Dubai properties most sought after areas. A number of buildings are already well underway here, so it should not be too long before the freehold property here starts to take shape. Nothing on the scale of Dubai Sports City has ever been attempted before but the combination of property, sports academies and golf courses really seems to have hit the spot with buyers.

So that is most of the current goings on in the Dubai freehold property market. So whilst things are not as bright as they once were, life in the property world still goes on. With things changing so quickly here, we will be sure to update you again in a month or two.

Friday, March 26, 2010

Travel to Hyderabad


Travel Hyderabad - Hyderabad Travel

Travel Hyderabad - Hyderabad Travel

hyderabad travel info

hyderabad travel info

Hyderabad Travel Agents

Hyderabad Travel Agents

Hyderabad Train Facilities - MMTS Information - Hyderabad Travel

Hyderabad Train Facilities - MMTS Information - Hyderabad Travel

hyderabad travel resources

hyderabad travel resources

Hyderabad Travel Scene - Travel Information Hyderabad

Hyderabad Travel Scene - Travel Information Hyderabad

hyderabad travel scenes

hyderabad travel scenes

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Thailand Pictures

t were scheduled to be held in Bangkok, December 2008 had to be postponed because of problems in the Thailand capital. All is now well and the two Symposia will take place 28 June – 2 July 2009 in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Photo: Travelers in Thailand
Boarding long-tail boats from Thailand's Ko Phi Phi Le, near Phuket


Photo: Thailand

Photograph by Jodi Cobb
Distinctive rock formations hide many a cave and cove along the beautiful Thai coast near Phuket.