Reach for the sky

Dubai unveils plans for tallest tower - one kilometer high 3,281 feet

Dubai, emirate of extravagance and superlatives, laid claim to an extraordinary new record yesterday with a multi billion dollar plan to build the world's tallest tower in the face of deepening global financial gloom.
The tower, at the center of the Nakheel port and harbor complex, is to be "over one kilometer" high and have more than 200 floors, beating its nearest rival, the existing Burj Dubai tower, still under construction and due to rise to a mere 818 meters."At more than a kilometer high this is an unbelievably ground breaking design," boasted Chris O'Donnell, Nakheel's Australian CEO. "We are pushing the boundaries of sustainable design."
The complex will provide homes and offices for 100,000 people. If all the reinforcing bars were laid end to end they would stretch from Dubai to New York - one quarter of the way round the world.
The tower will be so tall that it will have five different micro-climates. The temperature in the atmosphere at the top of the building could be as much as 10 degrees cooler than at the bottom. High-speed lifts will allow people to see the sunset twice - from the bottom and again from the top of the building.