Abraj Al Bait

When modernity touch religion it's no surprise that edifice belong to it veered away from the cultural. Abraj Al Bait is no exception, a five-star hotel. Abraj Al Bait is lived to welcome and serve visitors who pay visit to the Holy City of Makkah from corners of the world. the edifice is capable of handling 65,00 people, four-storey 780-car parking and 10 for buses, fully serviced one-to-three bedrooms. It also includes a four-storey mall for convenience, conference center for 1,500 persons and equipped by two helipads. The prayer hall is capable of handling 3800 persons.

The project is commissioned to Bin Laden Group and in design of architectural firm Architect Dar Al Handasah Architects. The name of the building is equivalent to 'The House' in plain english.

Abraj Al Bait is a conglomeration of seven towers which is bombarded by its below average design. When completed it will be the largest (not the tallest single-premise (buldings) in the world and soars at the height of 485 meters. Height will be the most in Saudi Arabia overreaching Petronas Towers who crowned from its astronomical height from 1998 until 2003. Building sits across the street from the entrance to the Masjid al Haram, which houses holiest site in Islam, -Kabaa.

Emaar is the developer of Abraj Al Bait.

Construction is on going and timed to finish before 2009.

Moscow Crystal Island by Norman Foster

The world will be reverberated upon the new crystallization in Moscow. Not by height, but by stunning simplicity weaved by intertwined spiral diagonal lines, soaring at slendered shape in the skyline with its pristine white engulfed by greeneries: Crystal Island of Moscow.

Crystal Island kissed at the height of 450 meters with its blatant pointed pinnacle while the base stretched at the diameter of 701 meters, a picture of stability. The shape is a cone pulled upward and embraced by triangular cells cladded by glass. At the bottom are cascading gardens and parks. 

The building is located on the Nagatino Peninsula and sits at the skirt of Moscow River while 7.5 km away is the Kremlin.

Crystal Island is a mixed-used building: offices, residentials, exhibitions, museums, theatres, school, cinemas and has 16,500 parking areas. The building is one of the most ambitious building proposal in Moscow with the aspiration as the largest single-building in the planet. The view is a stunning panorama. Another ingenuity is the enclosure panels which are dynamic prior to penetration of heat outside and wind as well.

It's no surprise to many of us if we take the fact that Norman Foster is the architect behind the project. Shalva Chigirinsky is the investor.

Millenium Tower World Business Center

For the business metropolis of Busan, Korea, a new landmark is about to carry the trend of the city. The Millennium Tower World Business Center, a trinity of towers in its irregular rigidity. The tower stands as picture of crispy-chamferred-crystallized-geometry with its tapering height. The tower soars at the commanding view of mountain and sea. As to the location, Millenium Tower World Business Center is a stinger for the city, but not ignoring the polite culture Korea has.. The design is celebrated from the fact that it veered away from the usual and almost stringent singular tall buildings.

The commission is a stem-project from a competition organized by the Busan International Architectural Culture Festival (BIACF) and was sponsored by the Municipality of Busan City and the Solomon Group. And was awarded and commissioned to New York based architectural firm: Asmptote Architecture namely in the names of principals Hani Rashi and Lise Anne Coulture. 

Asymptote Architecture has a reputable history worldwide whose commissions counted on: Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the ORCO Group Paris, the New York Stock Exchange, Aldar Properties Abu Dhabi and the Equine Group in Malaysia.

The planning and materialization of WBCB belong to the following people:

• Comissioner: Municipality of Busan City and the Solomon Group
  
• Project: Hani Rashid and Lise Anne Couture
  
• Group: Project Architect: Theo Lalis Sarantoglou
  
• Design Team Phase II: Hani Rashid, Lise Anne Couture, Theo Lalis Sarantoglou, Angie Co, Andrew Bryant, Kasper Ax, Elise Delestre, Alessandro Gess, Martin Henn, Klaus Ransmayr.
  
• 
  
• Structures: ARUP David Scott, Matt Jackson, Matthew Clark, Gordon Carrie
  
• Landscape: Balmori Associates
  
• Consultants: Cladding Consultants: Front inc. Michael Ra, Mark Simmons, Elaine Yau, Ryan Salvas Lighting Consultant: L’Observatoire International Herve Descottes,

Al Burj Dwarfed Burj Dubai: Higher Aspiration!

In the next two years or a year, Dubai, with Burj Dubai is about to rewrite the history of skyline.

But just when people thought that such achievement is a once-in-a-lifetime for any country, Dubai has aggresively taken a new and higher aspiration: a mile-high tower, poking at 1,200 meters.

The tower, 'Tall Tower' will stand at the Dubai Waterfron under the development of Nakheel. Tall Tower was coined as 'The Pinnacle' and originally proposed to stand in the center of Palm Island, the larget man-made island. Al Burj or Tall Tower is now about to soar near Jumeirah Lake Towers and Dubai Marina.

The tower is a mixed-used edifice designed by Pei Partnership Architects. The premise is a conglemeration of three towers linked by skybridges which works as sky lobbies; atop of each sky lobby is a sky garden. One of the tower is lower and plushed by large outdoor pool on the roof while the two are crowned by diabolical antennaes.

The Humbled Constellation

The nearest stars are nearer as anyone could begin to imagine; a constellation for the first time has been weaved to dwell on land. From American architecture firm, Gensler comes the Constellation, a flaring landmark from afar and a lighthouse of the wide vanity of silky black sky.

Constellation stays anonymous to what country it will be bestow in. Yet there are mixtures of opinions regarding the design especially the execution of geometry. Some claim the shape is superfluously executed leaving some of the volumes useless while the rest feels celebrated regarding the extraordinary approach.

The height is exactly pinned at 500m, comprising of 20 floors for office use. The first cavity, ground floors consist of entrance, retail area and the highly acknowledged exibhitions of Islamic Astronomy. Moreover, the design stays humble which use timber and gravel, an earthy approach. The rest of the tapering height goes to private function rooms. The helipad which is usually crowned atop of tower is hung aside of it.

Design is inspired by Islamic astronomy that put a huge role during the institution of civilization in the interval of 8th and 15th centuries. The geometry was exrtacted from a constellation with the aid of simulation on 3d computer model. The will is to draw a constellation in the skyline when night hit the day

Chicago Spire: Imposing Height

A vertical 150-storey residential edifice is soaring upward at the skyline of Chicago. With the shape of a drill poking its point in the pinnacle, a new residential building will claim the highest skyline in the west.

Chicago Spire houses 1,193 homes. The rainwater is recycled to use on landscaping treatments. While water from rivers is used for cooling. Waste storage and recycling management pursuant to environmental acts and LEED compliance are part of provision as well. Some amenities for roughly 400 bikes is present in the premise too.

Enter Chicago Spire, a 2000-feet equivalent to 609.6 meters. Chicago Spire constitutes a lot honor to look up on:

• GOLD LEED Certification, LEED is a an environmental certificate compliance required to buildings especially to large developments or anything that would have big impact on environment.
• 15 percent more efficient than current energy regulations
• Protects migratory birds for ingenius glass design
• Longest height-spree for elevators in the world at 1,864 feet equivalent to 568.14 meters

Chicago Spire is unique head over heels; all units are uniquely design, compliant to twisted flooring upward. While parks are reserved for tenants and extended to public as well. Some of the claimed materials of interior are marble, granite, onyx stone. Amenities include annular recreational and lap pool, cigar room, library, private movie theater, business center and conference room, private dining areas and full concierge services
Chicago Spire is a project venture to Perkins & Will, designed by Santiago Calatrava with Thornton Tomasetti, structural engineers with Cosentini Engineering Firm for electrical and mechanical.

Construction had already started 2007 of June and timed to finish at 2011 including the occupancy.

London Bridge Tower

London Bridge Tower is a vertical man-execution worth £1.2bn to poke the UK skyline at a height of 310 meters and which will break the 1000-feet-claimed-highest-building and will also overreach SwissRe roughly twice the height. Several claims that this will be the first genuine mixed-use by its own purpose, standing as hub of King's College and Guys hospital that sits in the business community in front of river.

The tower is made up of 72 floors and extends to 15 plant floors. A pyramid pulled out blatantly from atop at great length to reach on skyline.

Aesthetic is stunning while sustainability design is a work of ingenuity: 30% less energy compliant, recycled materials but exudes a subtle plush, a double-layered cladding to filter thermal penetration not to mention the heat that engulfs the building is use to heat certain cavities of the building. Another feat of design is based on the apprehension of terrorists attack, accounted from 9/11 which drives the stability and ease of access on egress during calamity.

The project is commissioned to Renzon Piano and under the development of Sellar Property Group.

The development extends redesigning London Bridge Tube and bus stations.

tribute to: skyscrapercity