NOW that's TALL

These pictures were taken by German photographer Bjoern Lauen, who went up to the top of another building to capture the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the world's tallest building, in the central business district at sunrise. Mr Lauen, who has lived in Dubai since 2005, added: 'It is a bit of a challenge for motorists on Dubai's roads and a rare natural spectacle for the very early riser.

'During those few moments before, Downtown Dubai, with Burj Khalifa...is covered under a blanket of white.

Standing at more than 828 metres (2,716.5 feet) and more than 160 stories, the Burj Khalifa is also the tallest free-standing building. That's 1,000 feet taller than the second tallest structure in the world, Shanghai World Financial Center which equates to almost a doubling of height.

Now that is my kind of tall. Taller, further, faster, more beautiful, more efficient. That is what human beauty and spirit should be. Unfortunately, how much of all the underbelly, the truly repugnant aspects of the species of man were substantially used to create this one item of exquisite perfectness and beauty. Was it worth it? I say yes and yet I'm also ashamed of how much harm we do to our world.

National News and Pictures

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2219800/Rising-clouds-The-worlds-tallest-building-peaks-mist-Dubais-skyscrapers-dwarfed-stunning-sea-fog.html

Newest Tall Building in the world proposed. IN Miami--the Miapolis?

Thanks to RobOrange for this blog sighting. We're into tall, large structures here and this is big, big news. If it ever gets built? Can anyone in the US afford something so expensive?

It is quite large but it doesn't have the elegance that Dubai's Burj Khalifa (formerly Burj Dubai) has? I don't think. It is rather nice looking and it is colossally tall, which is the first attraction for me. I like my buildings tall.........BIG and TALL. It actually looks like two buildings attached with intermittent connecting floors. It appears to be built on an island which is interesting. But I think the crown thing at the top is a bit odd. It looks strangely like a bishop's mitre. The base is rather interesting as it looks like it is very "green" design-oriented. But the photo below from above makes the whole structure too phallic and the base looks a bit to "scrotal." What do you think?

No telling how long it will take to build if it ever gets built. So the current reigning world champion, the Burj Khalifa should stay champ for a while.

Developed by Kobi Karp, a Miami based architectural and interior design firm, the “Miapolis” is a 975-meter high tower planned for Watson Island that if constructed will surpass Dubai’s Burj Khalifa by 183 meters. Accommodating an amusement park, observatory, restaurants, 1.96 million sq ft of shops, over 1000 apartments, 1 million sq ft office space and a 792-room hotel, the 160-story superscraper will create 35,000 permanent jobs and generate $39 million to the City and $2.5 billion to the local economy annually. To quote the Miapolis website,

The world's tallest building is now named BURJ Khalifa

I just can't get enough of this beautiful structure.

So the building opened yesterday but it has a new name. Previously called Burj Dubai it is now called Burj Khalifa.

It's height is just dizzying as these photos attest.

Ahmed Jadallah / Reuters

Ahmed Jadallah / Reuters

Ahmed Jadallah / Reuters

Kamran Jebreili / AP

All photos are from Time.com: http://www.time.com/time/photogallery

BURJ DUBAI opens today...tallest building in the world. It's gorgeous

I just love 'em built tall and handsome. Isn't this one of the most beautiful sights, ever? The BURJ DUBAI opens today in Dubai. Congratulations to all of the Dubai dudes who made this incredible accomplishment come true. At 2,600 ft. tall it is TWICE as tall as the former Sear's Tower in Chicago.

Marwan Naamani / AFP / Getty

Burj Dubai

"Dubai may be struggling financially, but money problems won't keep it from opening Burj Dubai on Jan. 4 and snagging the title for world's tallest building from Toronto, which has the soon-to-be second tallest CN Tower. Burj Dubai's actual height is a closely guarded secret, although developers admit that it will be at least 2,600 ft. (790 m) tall — almost twice the height of Chicago's Willis Tower [former Sear's Tower]. The tower, which cost an estimated $1.5 billion to construct, boasts 164 floors, nearly 1,100 one- to three-bedroom apartments and elevators that travel up to 25 miles per hour. Visitors to the 124th-floor observation deck can see 50 miles on a clear day."

This photo is part of photograph series at TIME.com titled: A Brief History of World's Tallest Buildings.

Tall buildings is one of my passions in life. You can read other blog postings on Tall Buildings or Burj Dubai by clicking here.

Keep driving mankind to newer heights and newer levels, Dubai. This is a most remarkable place. Read "A Brief History of Dubai."

Cool photo--BURJ DUBAI--world's tallest building

Here's a cool photo of the Burj Dubai, the tallest building in the world. See my previous posting on this at: http://markgsmusings.blogspot.com/2009/06/hello-gorgeous-burj-dubai-tallest.html.

I love tall buildings....the taller the better:)
This photo really gives you a sense of the height of this beautiful building

Click on the photo to enlarge to really see how dizzyingly high this gorgeous structure is.

This is my kind of tall! Is it not exquisite? Is there hope for our species?

Hello GORGEOUS--Burj Dubai-Tallest Building in the World

BURJ DUBAI in United Arab Emirates is the tallest building in the world.

I've always been obsessed with tall buildings :) The taller the structure the greater my obsession :) This building defied my wildest dreams ever. The Burj Dubai now holds the following world records:

* Tallest structure: 818 m (2,684 ft) (previously KVLY-TV mast - 628.8 m (2,063 ft))
*Tallest freestanding structure: 818 m (2,684 ft) (previously CN Tower - 553.3 m (1,815 ft)
* Building with most floors: 160 (previously Sears Tower / World Trade Center - 110)
* Highest vertical concrete pumping (for a building): 601 m (1,972 ft) (previously Taipei 101 - 449.2 m (1,474 ft)
* Highest vertical concrete pumping (for any construction): 601 m (1,972 ft)[19] (previously Riva del Garda Hydroelectric Power Plant - 532 m (1,745 ft)[20])
* First world's tallest structure in history that includes residential space.

At 160 floors the building finally topped out on January 2009 at 2,864 feet. And it is a beautiful structure. This is a remarkable advance for mankind. Now if we can achieve commercial supersonic aviation again (alas the SST) I'll really feel as though we are advancing as a species!
The building is still under construction and is expected to open September 2009.

The Burj Dubai website wasn't very informative. I finally had to go to the entry on wikipedia to found out how many floors it has (this is a more important fact for me than the actual height...go figure?). The wikipedia article is much more interesting. The world records listed above are from the wikipedia article. Read more at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burj_Dubai

They can't build high enough or fast enough in my opinion....but this one was a giant leap for mankind :) And so gorgeous, too.