Reach for the skyReach for the sky

Burj Khalifa builder to erect even larger tower in Dubai

New structure will not be a skyscraper but a thin spire with ‘garden’ observation decks and rotating glass balconies

A man walks past a model of the Tower Project at Dubai Creek Harbour Development designed by Spanish-Swiss architect Santiago Calatrava Valls, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, April 10, 2016.  (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)
A man walks past a model of the Tower Project at Dubai Creek Harbour Development designed by Spanish-Swiss architect Santiago Calatrava Valls, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, April 10, 2016. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Dubai is reaching for the sky once again, with the developer of its world’s tallest building vowing Sunday to build an even taller tower bedecked with rotating balconies and elevated landscaping inspired by the mythical hanging gardens of Babylon.

The company behind the project, Dubai-based Emaar Properties, hopes the new tower will entice a fresh wave of landmark view-seeking homeowners even as it raises numerous other promised skyscrapers and repairs a prominent one gutted by fire on New Year’s Eve.

Company Chairman Mohamed Alabbar said the new observation tower would be “a notch” taller than the 2,717-foot (828-meter) Burj Khalifa. Just how much taller he wouldn’t say.

Unlike the Burj Khalifa, the new tower will not be a traditional skyscraper but more of a cable-supported spire containing “garden” observation decks graced with trees and other greenery. Emaar says it will also contain a boutique hotel, restaurants and glass balconies that rotate outside the wall of the tower.

It will be the roughly $1 billion centerpiece of a new 6 square-kilometer (2.3 square-mile) development on the edge of the Dubai Creek, near a protected wildlife sanctuary that regularly attracts flamingos and other water birds.

Spanish-Swiss architect Santiago Calatrava Valls, speaks to press in Dubai, April 10, 2016, during a exposition to reveal the plans of Dubai Emaar Properties to build a new tower, designed by Valls that will be even taller than the Burj Khalifa, currently the world's tallest tower. / AFP PHOTO / MARWAN NAAMANI
Spanish-Swiss architect Santiago Calatrava Valls, speaks to press in Dubai, April 10, 2016, during a exposition to reveal the plans of Dubai Emaar Properties to build a new tower, designed by Valls that will be even taller than the Burj Khalifa, currently the world’s tallest tower. / AFP PHOTO / MARWAN NAAMANI

Alabbar likened the structure, designed by Spanish-Swiss architect Santiago Calatrava Valls, to a 21st-century Eiffel Tower that can act as a magnet not just for tourists but also for property buyers willing to pay a premium for nearby apartments with a view. It is due to open by the time Dubai hosts the World Expo in 2020.

“Many … of our customers would like to have that view. And if you ask me what is the financial model, that is the financial model,” he said.

Emaar followed a similar strategy when it raised the Burj Khalifa, which opened in 2010. The silvery skyscraper is flanked by fancy low and high-rise apartment complexes, some of which are still being built, as well as hotels, restaurants and one of the world’s biggest shopping malls.

Fireworks erupt from the Burj Khalifa, world's tallest building, at midnight to celebrate the New Year, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2014, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (photo credit: AP/Kamran Jebreili)
Fireworks erupt from the Burj Khalifa, world’s tallest building, at midnight to celebrate the New Year, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2014, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (photo credit: AP/Kamran Jebreili)

The area is also home to The Address Downtown, a 63-story luxury hotel built by Emaar that went up in flames on New Year’s Eve.

Dubai police have blamed exposed wiring for sparking the blaze. Outside experts say the type of cladding used to sheath the building was likely a factor in fueling that fire and several others that have engulfed skyscrapers in the United Arab Emirates.

Emirati authorities have ordered a nationwide safety survey of existing buildings and promised to tighten regulations in the wake of the fire.

Asked about fire risks Sunday, Alabbar said it was important to learn from the accidents but suggested there are limits to how much builders can do.

“Safety rules are good, but can you really eliminate all risk? I don’t think human beings are able to eliminate all risk,” he told reporters. “Risks are there as long as we are progressing … These things do happen, and you have to go and fix them and make sure if they happen, they happen to a minimum.”

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