Article #5

Dubai to have at least six supertowers by '15
By Saifur Rahman, Business News Editor
Dubai: The fast-changing Dubai skyline will sport at least six "supertowers" of more than 100 habitable floors, more than any other city in the world, as per information available.
The supertowers are Burj Dubai (where work continues after the completion of 126 floors), Burj Al Alam (slated to rise to 108 floors), the 101-storey Marina 101, Princess Tower (107 floors), the 120-storey Pentominium and Al Burj (which is expected to have between 180 and 200 floors).
Most of these buildings are in various stages of planning and construction although Burj Dubai - tipped to become the world's tallest tower - is powering ahead, adding a floor a week, and at least three others are in the early stages of construction. Work on Al Burj is not expected to start until Burj Dubai, whose height and floor-level are closely-guarded secrets, is completed.
So Dubai will remain in the news for developing supertowers until at least 2015. No city other than Dubai and Chicago hosts more than one supertower.
Chicago has two - the 108-storey Sears Towers and the 100-storey John Hancock Center. A third, the 118-floor 7 South Dearborn tower, is under construction.The development of six "supertowers" will raise Dubai's stature among the world's megacities, not only in terms of height, but also beauty, aesthetics and design quality, architects and designers say.
Apart from Burj Dubai or Al Burj, which will probably be remembered more for their towering heights, Burj Al Arab, Dancing Towers and Dubai Towers might be photographed by tourists for their striking design and aesthetic appeal.
"When we design, we design the present, which shapes the future. It is about shaping a contemporary world," Karim Rashid, Designer with Karim Rashid Inc of the US, said at an IDF panel yesterday.
In terms of development, Dubai has one of the highest number of towers and skyscrapers under construction including hundreds on both sides of Shaikh Zayed Road, while more than 1,850 will be constructed at the Dubai World Central Airport City in Jebel Ali.
By 2015, Dubai will have six "supertowers" that will rise more than 100 habitable floors making it the only city with so many towers with more than 100 floors once completed, according to available information.
These are Burj Dubai, which has already reached 126 floors and is still going strong; Burj Al Alam, slated to rise to 108 floors; the 101 storey Marina 101; Princess Tower with 107 floors; the 120-storey Pentominium and Al Burj which, as "one of the tallest towers" is expected to be between 180 and 200 floors.
Apart from these, a number of skyscrapers that will rise 80-100 floors are being built, including the 90-storey Marina 23 by ETA Star and the 90-storey Al Sharq Tower on Shaikh Zayed Road - all iconic projects.
When completed, the number of supertowers in the city will be more than those developed in the rest of the world.

Dubai is currently booming in the construction industry and is continuously making headlines with the "Palm Islands", "The World Islands", the "Burj Al-Arab", the expansion and development of its airport and now in its skyscrapers. As mentioned above it is proposed to build six skyscrapers in Dubai, making it the city with the most skyscrapers in the world. When designing these structures, there are several environmental impacts that need to be considered. Dubai is a coastal city therefore the impact of windloads needs to be considered, and seeming as these buildings are to be enormously high the impact of windloads becomes greater as you increase in height above sea level. The design of these "supertowers" involve more engineering than what a common commercial grade building would.
In designing these structures at such close proximity to one another, it is surely to make a large impact on the environment. Overshadowing is an obvious one, but also loads on the earths surface can bring about natural disasters such as earthquakes. The competitiveness of human nature can sometimes bring about unfortunate disasters. Must we be so greedy in obtaining the title of "leader in the world"? As we must carry on doing our jobs, let us try and make a change to the way things are done in the construction industry. Let us not think about obtaining grand titles for ourselves, but think about the impact our work does to the environment and our surroundings.