World's Tallest Building Research Articles

Embodied carbon premium for vanity height: A case for the exclusion of decorative spires in the design of tall buildings

In measuring the height of a tall building, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) recognises three categories: “height to architectural top”; “height to highest occupied floor”; and “height to tip”. The “height to architectural top” category, which includes decorative spires, is used to define the influential CTBUH annual rankings of the “World's Tallest Buildings”. The inclusion of decorative spires in the category ranking has created an incentive for developers to maximise the vanity height of tall buildings, defined as the height difference between a tall building's architectural top and its highest occupied floor.The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the detrimental influence of spires and, by extension, vanity height on the embodied carbon of structural systems for tall buildings. This influence is evaluated using three tall building scenarios of varying heights (50, 70, and 90 storeys). Two finite element models, with and without spires, are parametrically designed for each scenario. All the modelled structural systems comprise a reinforced concrete tube-in-tube lateral load resisting system. A hybrid life cycle inventory analysis approach is used to quantify the embodied carbon of spires as well as the resulting increase in the embodied carbon of structural systems.The findings of this study indicate that even basic spires can lead to an increase of up to 14.2% in the embodied carbon of structural systems for tall buildings, underscoring the imperative to eliminate such elements in the design and construction of tall buildings to minimise overall embodied carbon.

Study of the Stability in the High Building: Case Study in Burj Dubai, UAE

Many people today live in urban cities and it is increasing every year, because of their need to live and work and This paper summarizes the solutions and the importance of stability in high-rise buildings and their tolerance of earthquakes and winds, and all that is needed for the stability of the building and to solve the problems that occur in particular and in detail Highlighted are the key connections of the tallest and ultra-slender buildings that have been designed and built for the world's tallest buildings. He talks about high-rise towers in general and about Burj Dubai in particular, and there will be what the engineers said and suggested before, and I will conclude in a simple way.

(Gordon E. Moore Award) Impact of Micro-/Nano-Electronics, Miniaturization Limit, and Technology Development for the Next 10 Years and After

Impact of micro-/nano-electronics Electronics started at the beginning of the 20th century with the invention of vacuum tubes. It brought about modern technologies such as telecommunication, broadcast (radio/TV), computer, etc., and changed our society revolutionarily. Then, vacuum tubes were gradually replaced by semiconductor devices in the 1960’s, because of the advantage in cost, size and performance. Since then, the semiconductor devices have been continuously miniaturized. At the beginning of 1970’s, their feature device-size decreased to 10 μm and the number of the MOSFETs in a chip exceeded 1,000. This was the beginning of micro-electronics offering us Large-Scale Integrated Circuits (LSIs) such as microprocessors. Now, the feature device-size has reached the 10 nm-range and we call it nano-electronics. Micro-/nano-electronics has brought up new technologies such as internet, smart phones, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, robots, etc., and is changing our society towards the ultimately intelligent one.Miniaturization or the downsizing of electron devices such as the MOSFETs has been the key to improve the cost and performance. Today, 1T-bit (or 128G-Bite) SD cards composed of semiconductor memories are available with reasonable price. Let us imagine the world only with old-style vacuum tubes. Then, a 1T-bit memory with 1 trillion vacuum tubes would cost 100 trillion Japanese yen (or 1 trillion US dollars); the amount of Japan’s national budget, occupy the volume of 0.5 X 0.5 X 1.0 km3; larger than the world-tallest building, weigh 100M ton; the weight of 20 million elephants, and consume 5T Watt; the generated power of 5,000 nuclear reactors, and 4 X 1020 calorie energy in a year; 2,000 times as large as the energy of yearly global human consumption. So, without the development of micro-/nano-electronics, today’s smart society with internet, artificial intelligence, etc. does not exist, and thus, the invention of micro-/nano-electronics is the biggest technological revolution after that of electronics. Limit of miniaturization What is the limit of miniaturization? There are 3 stages of the limit. The first one is the ‘ultimate limit’, which is defined by the distance of atoms in the material; about 0.3 nm in the Si substrate case. Changing material does not make a big difference. No one can make the device structures less than the atomic distance. So, it should be noted that there is no ‘pico-electronics’ anymore next to the nano-electronics.Before reaching the ultimate limit, there is another limit, named ‘fundamental limit’ which is defined by the direct-tunneling distance; about 3 nm. When the distance between the structures becomes 3 nm, the wavefunction of the materials penetrates the potential barrier between the structures, and huge direct-tunneling current starts to flow. So, there is no electrical insulation or switching-off of the devices. Thus, 3 nm is the limit for the device operation.The third limit is a ‘practical limit’ defined by the demerit of downsizing; about 10 ~ 20 nm. When the demerit of the downsizing becomes larger than the merit, then the downsizing will stop. The demerit may be the degradations in off-leakage current, production cost, reliability, and variability of the device characteristics, and so on. Recently, logic devices with the commercial names of ‘7 nm’ or ‘5 nm’ technology are in production. However, it should be noted that those sizes used in the commercial names of the logic devices have nothing to do with the real sizes, which are typically 30 ~ 15 nm for the minimum line widths. Then, what would be the limit of the downsizing? Off-leakage current or subthreshold leakage current between the source and drain of the MOSFET is regarded as the one of the main causes of the limit for the downsizing, because we cannot suppress the diffusion of electrons from the source to the channel (which is defined by Boltzmann statistics) unless changing the device operation temperature to extremely low such as 77K. However, it is difficult for the majority of the market. So, it is the consensus that the channel length is difficult to reach sub-10 nm for the major market devices. Future technology development in next 10 years and after that Although we are very close to the limit, we have to continue to develop the new technologies towards its limit, because nano-electronics is the key for today’s smart society and the demand from the market is so strong. The new technologies are 3D integration, new materials for interconnects, resolution improvement of EUV lithography, etc. Even, the limit of the downsizing is approaching, we will have so many things to do in the next 10 years and even after that.

Homesteading the moon: Lunar pioneers and their robot companions will need a cozy place to call home

SKID MORE, OWINGS & MERRILL is the architectural firm known for designing and engineering Dubai's Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, such iconic structures being one of the firm's specialties. But at its New York City office, architects are working on something even more striking—drawings for SOM's first extraterrestrial assignment. The firm is designing a moon base in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA) and MIT. • Daniel Inocente, the lead designer, presents schematics and renderings of white puffy pods scattered across the lunar landscape, connected by tubular walkways and surrounded by robots and solar panels and astronauts, all overseen by a recognizable blue orb in the sky. These visions may never come to be, • but they're, helping ESA think through possible futures. The moon offers many opportunities. Planetary scientists want to study its composition to learn about the early solar system and Earth's origins. Astronomers want to build radio telescopes on the far side. Medical researchers want to understand how the human body reacts to extended stays in low gravity. Explorers want to test equipment or produce propellant for voyages to asteroids, Mars, and beyond.

‘I am Burj Khalifa’: Entrepreneurial Urbanism, Toponymic Commodification and the Worlding of Dubai

AbstractThis study explores the cultural politics of renaming the world's tallest building, the Burj Dubai/Khalifa, as a practice of entrepreneurial urbanism. The Burj offers a unique case study that brings urban scholarship on ‘worlding’ into conversation with emerging debates over the commodification of naming rights within critical toponymic studies. We draw upon archival materials and semi‐structured interviews to demonstrate in this article how the spatial politics enacted through the construction of the Burj and the tower's subsequent name change have played a significant role in Dubai's efforts to achieve ‘global city’ status. In doing so, we extend our understanding of the performative power of spatial inscription in reshaping the geographical imaginaries of ‘global’ urbanity.

Geotechnical foundation design for some of the world's tallest buildings

Geotechnical foundation design for some of the world's tallest buildings

The Evolution of Tall Building in the Gulf: From the Sensational to the Sensitive

In just 35 years the built environment in the Gulf region has evolved so rapidly that it has gone from having no high‐rise buildings to having the world's tallest building — SOM's Burj Khalifa in Dubai. Terri Meyer Boake, a professor at the University of Waterloo in Ontario and specialist in steel construction and skyscraper design, provides an overview of the fast‐paced development of this building typology.

Ras Al Khor—Eco-tourism in constructed wetlands: Post modernity in the modernity of the Dubai landscape

This study examines the role of a directed gaze in an urban eco-tourism setting of Ras Al Khor in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates. Ras Al Khor is a UNESCO RAMSAR accredited wetland and has significant conservation values, yet from one perspective it is an artificially constructed site. The site exists because of previous dredging in the Dubai Creek and the introduction of mangrove swamp planting and while replicating other sites found along the UAE coast line it had no prior existence until the 1980s. The paper uses textual analysis from open ended questions to visitors supplemented by other materials to discuss the authenticity of an eco-tourism experience primarily directed at flamingos. It identifies different tourist perceptions of that gaze in a location that is not too far distant from the world's tallest building, the Burj Al Khalifa, and its associated development of shopping malls, hotels and apartments and offices.

Why Taiwan matters: small island, global powerhouse

Chapter 1: The World's Tallest Building Chapter 2: Building Taiwan Chapter 3: From Farmers to Manufacturers Chapter 4: From Free to Democratic Taiwan Chapter 5: Is Boring at Night Chapter 6: An Opportunity Full of Threats: Cross-Strait Economic Interaction Chapter 7: Making Peace with the China Inside and the China Outside Chapter 8: The International Birdcage Chapter 9: Why Taiwan Matters to America and the World Epilogue Bibliography

New Capitols of Capital

New Capitols of Capital

Dubai's brand assessment success and failure in brand management – Part 1

The purpose of this article is to analyze Dubai's branding management at a macro level. This article aims to brand Dubai as a destination with certain demographic groups. Dubai decision makers establish the city in the upper echelon of international markets including tourism, real estate, business hospitality and learning centers. This study reveals that instead of replicating what other competitive destinations have already achieved, Dubai offers innovative products and services to investors and tourists alike: the indoor ‘skiing in the desert’ facility, the luxury ‘seven star’ hotel on the Dubai coastline, the world's largest man-made island and the world's tallest building are only a few examples of what the city has to offer. Dubai has pursued a well-defined and unique brand identity through a clear strategy including unique value proposition, attraction and brand promise. Developing Dubai's brand image is a key factor in distinguishing it in the highly competitive global environment. Dubai's strategic branding approach provides a rare case that demonstrates the importance of the brand identity and equity on the global stage. Dubai earned itself a track record for making every project a success, regardless of its ambitious conception. Dubai's 13 per cent GDP growth every year since 2000, which is higher than the GDPs of both India and China, proves the realization of the city's successful branding process. This market analysis sheds light on Dubai's competency: brand development that has led to its admired position in the world.

“Too Young and Vibrant for Ruins”

There is a photograph of the ruins of a place in New York City that no longer exists. All that remains is a gaping hole in the earth-the empty footprint of an obliterated skyscraper. Day after day and year after year, the hole confronts commuters from New Jersey with its barren, rubbed -raw edges. This photograph, however, takes the viewer back to that period when what was left of the Twin Towers still clung to Lower Manhattan. It is a tight shot of the standing remnants of the facade. Twisting in on itself, the ruin invokes a number of forms, besides the horror this image represents. On a colossal scale, the ruin surreally resembles the kind of weathered, rickety, dune-running fence favored by beach photographers. The facade's delicate arches claim distant kinship with the monasteries burned down by order of Henry VIII some five hundred years ago. Even more fantastically, the building's shell calls to mind the exoskeleton of some monstrous, alien insect. In short, the ruin is an interloper into the Manhattan cityscape. These architectural remains twist and loom over a red-and white Coca-Cola delivery truck, which is somewhat dented and ashy but oterwise miraculously intact. Coca-Cola logo dares to jockey for prominence even with the ghastly ruins of the World Trade Center.This is indeed an American ruin. Yet the red of the Coca-Cola truck thrums with insistent life-pulsing through the deadened neutral color of the ruins, the rubble on the ground, and those heart breaking sheets of white office paper that blanketed the area along with the ashes from the inferno. The red truck almost seems to prop up the leaning ruin. The ruin needs support because the toxic smoke that hangs in a pall over the scene almost appears to be pushing down on the structure. A final bitter pictorial element threads through the scene, driving home the atrocity that gave rise to these ruins. Police tape has been stretched across the length of the truck. The yellow band of tape literally underlines the Coca-Cola logo, extends beyond the right side of the frame, and then seems to re-enter the picture in a ribbon in the immediate foreground. The tape snakes across a patch of rubble and office paper bisected by a couple of fallen I-beams. The yellow tape forms the thinnest of barriers marking off the crime scene. The police tape empasizes the precarious perch of the ruins. If the tower falls, it will squash the truck, jaunty logo and all. The photograph was taken by Steven Hirsch, and included in the exhibition catalog for here is new york: a democracy of photographs. In the documentation of the attack on the World Trad Center and the ruinous aftermath, the image of the Twin Towers' skeletal facades immediately became iconic. What had lived as towering boxes of glass and steel became in death something more reminiscent of ancient days. The remains of those interlocking perimeter columns-a High Modernist innovation for what briefly was the world's tallest building became likened to the ruins of a cathedral. The invocation of religious architecture both expressed the sacrosanct nature of Ground Zero for many and connected the ruins to western culture's venerable past. Valid, too, is the comparison of the towers' shell to the pagan ruins of ancient Rome, especially the Coliseum. Calling to mind Berlin or Dresden in the wake of World War II, the ruins resonated with other devastating events of the twentieth century. The fallen towers also echoed familiar forms from the history of the representation of ruin . Like human figures in Caspar David Friedrich painting, images of Ground Zero. showed recovery workers all but swallowed by the mountain of rubble. Friedrich's paintings such as Abbey in the Oakwood (1810) and Cloister Cemetery in the snow (1817-19) depict monks as dabs of black paint dwarfed by towering fragments of gothic cathedrals and winter-bare oaks, which enveloped the ruins like prayerful sentinels. Friedrich balanced the natural and cultural worlds in an expression of the sublime: the forces of time and the majesty of landscape redeem the violence that produced the cathedral ruins. …

Hong Kong – bastion of bamboo scaffolding

Hong Kong's skyline is dominated by some of the world's tallest buildings. Nevertheless, the city still uses bamboo scaffolding for much of its construction work – a traditional skill passed down over 5000 years. Bamboo is sustainable, lightweight and cheap and, as long as it remains fairly dry, a good construction material with significant mechanical properties. Researchers, engineers, environmentalists and bureaucrats have taken an increasing interest in the craft, such that regulations and practice continue to be improved and refined. However, to alleviate remaining design and safety concerns a structural design code is needed.

Burj Dubai: engineering the world's tallest building

AbstractAs with all super‐tall projects, difficult structural engineering problems needed to be addressed and resolved. This paper presents the approach to the structural system for the Burj Dubai Tower. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

People Are the Thread That Hold This Industry Together

It is an honor to reflect on the changes I have observed in the business since I joined it (and SPE in Dallas while backpacking around the US) in 1973. So much in the oil and gas industry has changed since the summer of 1973, and then again, in some areas, it has not. For me, one constant in the business has been the people. However, the composition of the global workforce and the way people actually work has changed dramatically. Consequently, if you will bear with me, I will share with you my perspective on people in the business. I entered the industry at the time of the hegemony of the "Seven Sister" international oil companies (Shell, BP, Exxon, Mobil, Texaco, Socal, and Gulf) staffed primarily by petrotechnical staff from Europe and North America. Today, only four of the original sisters remain as independent companies, and, according to an article in the Financial Times earlier this year, the "new seven sisters" are Saudi Aramco, Gazprom, China National Petroleum Corporation, the National Iranian Oil Company, Petroleos de Venezuela, Petrobras, and Petronas, staffed to large measure with national Earth scientists and engineers educated in local (national) universities. I am struck by the progress made by a number of countries in growing successful and powerful national oil companies (NOCs). A case in point is in Malaysia with Petronas. This year is the 33rd anniversary of the founding of the company, exactly the length of time I spent working for Shell. I had many dealings with Petronas in the early 1980s while working for Shell in east Malaysia. At the time, its prime (but not only) responsibility was to oversee the work of the production-sharing contractors such as Shell. The company had modest staff numbers and modest premises but not so modest ambitions! Today Petronas is a truly integrated oil and gas company with a global reach, a workforce in excess of 30,000, present in more than 30 countries, and based in a building of "world wonder" proportions—the twin towers in Kuala Lumpur, one of the world's tallest buildings. Many of us who have worked in the business over the past 30-odd years can take a genuine measure of satisfaction in our contributions to the development of the national staff who built these companies. Whether as members of operating or service companies, we have helped train and coach national staff and as such have contributed to in-country expertise. In the case of Malaysia, Oman, and Brunei, I can name individuals in senior positions whom I have personally encouraged and coached, and whom I now count as valued friends or acquaintances.

Urban Spectacles: Constructing the World's Tallest Building in Dubai

Urban Spectacles: Constructing the World's Tallest Building in Dubai

Seismicity increase after the construction of the world's tallest building: An active blind fault beneath the Taipei 101

Seismic activity began to slightly increase during the construction but rose sharply upon the completion of the tallest building in the world, the Taipei 101, which stands at 508 m in the Taipei basin, where local seismicity had historically very low. Besides an increase in both seismic energy and the number of micro‐earthquakes, two felt earthquakes astonishingly occurred beneath the completed building. The focal mechanism of the larger felt earthquake and its aftershocks are indicative of an active blind normal fault just beneath the building. Estimations of the vertical loading of the Taipei 101 show that local stress on its foundation increased at least 4.7 bars, making it seem likely that the increased seismicity was a direct product of the loading of the mega‐structure. Further investigations in unison with continuous seismic monitoring must be conducted because the safety of the high‐rise building in the Taipei basin be comprehensively assessed.

SACRED TERRITORY

We are going on quite continuously. Gertrude Stein Setting: Sunset on New Years' Eve. A romantic setting atop the (then) world's tallest building, the Sears Tower in Chicago. Two young lovers from ...

Skyscrapers: the new millennium

A global survey demonstrating the continued importance of the skyscraper, reaching well beyond the bounds of Asia, North America and Europe, to incorporate less familiar sites as far afield as Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates, as well as Uruguay and Mexico. The introduction offers an overview of the architectural and economic trends that have affected the skyscraper at the close of the 20th century and the epilogue discusses the race for the world's tallest building in the first years of the 21st Century.

Rogers Park, Edgewater, Uptown, and Chicago Lawn, Chicago

The city of Chicago stands tall among urban areas in the United States. It features a bustling central business district that serves as a financial anchor for the Midwest, a government with significant regional and national influence, a vibrant cultural life, a multi-ethnic population, a patchwork of distinct neighborhoods that are home to nearly 3 million people, one of the world's busiest airports, and the world's tallest building (at least for the time being). With its towering skyscrapers, lush and expansive park system, lavish North Michigan Avenue, and historic landmarks, Chicago opens an impressive front door to all who visit.