DUBAI, Jan 4 (Bernama) — Burj Dubai, the iconic tower, has reached 158 levels, the most in any building in the world, its developer Emaar Properties said.
The tower is now 598.5 metres high and taller than Taipei 101 (508 metres) in Taiwan and CN Tower (553.33 metres) in Toronto, Canada, media reports here said.
Cladding work of the tower is now ongoing at an accelerated pace with 58 storeys already wearing the shimmering sheen of the high-performance cladding system, Emaar, a global property developer said in a statement.
It said that the primary materials used – reflective glazing, aluminium and textured stainless steel spandrels and vertical stainless tubular fins – accentuate the tower’s height and slenderness to the eye.
Emaar, has partnered with South Korean construction major Samsung Corporation and New York-based Project Manager Turner Construction in constructing Burj Dubai, which is designed by Adrian Smith and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill of Chicago.
Burj (Arabic for tower) Dubai is the centrepiece of Emaar’s flagship project, the 73 billion dirham (RM65 billion) Downtown Burj Dubai, a new downtown with residential, commercial, leisure, retail and hospitality components.
When completed, the tower will have used 330,000 cubic metres of concrete, 39,000 metric tonnes of steel rebar and 142,000 square metres of glass – and 22 million man hours.
More than 5,000 consultants and skilled professionals workers are employed on-site at the tower.
Burj Dubai is due for completion late this year and scheduled for occupancy in September 2009.