by Shane Henson — February 1, 2012—Visitors to the United Arab Emirates, particularly to the famed and expensive cities of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, have a host of must-see attractions to view when they arrive, and to see many of them, all one has to do is look up.
Dubai is the official home of the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, as well as several others high on the list of the 100 Tallest. The building’s owner-developer, Emaar Properties, recently revealed to the public the building’s total height—2,717 feet—which had previously been a tightly kept secret. A mixed-use development, the Burj Khalifa will house residential apartments, offices, and an Armani hotel.
While the Burj Khalifa dwarfs other buildings in its midst, others mammoth-sized buildings also inspire awe. According to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), an international not-for-profit organization that is the recognized source of information on tall buildings internationally, Dubai’s 23 Marina is the world’s tallest residential building, at 1,289 feet. Also, coincidentally, the building sits near both The Torch—the previous world’s tallest residential for a short time, and the under-construction Princess Tower, expected to become the world’s tallest in 2012, making the Dubai Marina the tallest residential skyscraper cluster in the world.
Every January, the CTBUH does an international review of tall buildings construction and statistics for the previous year. According to the organization, Dubai added six 200 meter+ buildings in 2011.
“It is helpful to recall that, just a decade ago, the entire UAE contained a total of only three 200 meter+ buildings. It now contains 60 such buildings, behind only China and the USA,” said a CTBUH spokesperson. “Within ten years, the country has established itself as a center of tall building construction, and has completed more 200 m+ buildings than any other country except China in the past two years.”
The emirate of Abu Dhabi was also revealed as an emerging market, according to the CTBUH. “This city added nine 200 meter+ buildings in 2011, remarkable as it contained only two such buildings at the beginning of the year. Another 13 200 meter+ buildings are currently under construction in Abu Dhabi, showing that the city will continue to be an important market for the next several years,” notes CTBUH.
Abu Dhabi’s largest project to complete in 2011 was Etihad Towers, a complex comprised of five towers ranging between 218 meters to 305 meters. The complex provides a significant amount of residential, office, and hotel space to the city. The tallest of the towers, Etihad Towers 2, became the city’s tallest building and its first supertall.
