World’s Tallest Building Ready To Open In Dubai

We begin 2010 with a rather large building. Today (Jan. 4) marks the grand opening for Burj Dubai, the world’s tallest building. Estimated to be a whopping 2,625 feet tall, the architecture features a triple-lobed footprint, an abstraction of the Hymenocallis flower. Over 40 wind tunnel tests were conducted to examine the effects the wind would have on the tower.Thankfully the mammoth ‘superscraper’ comes equipped with fast elevators – they zip up and down at 25mph; it reportedly takes about two minutes to reach the summit.

Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, the Chicago-based architects behind the Burj Dubai, developed a “buttressed core” structural system that resembles a gigantic “Y” to support the mega skyscraper; 26 helical levels decrease the cross section of the tower incrementally as it spirals skyward. With 169 floors, the building actually passes through several climate zones; the temperature at the top is up to 10 degrees cooler. From the 124th floor observation deck you can see 50 miles on a clear day. [via som.com]