From the Great Pyramids of Giza to Machu Picchu to the Sears Tower, humans have always been driven by the hunger to build larger and more lavishly than our neighbors. Keeping up with the Joneses has become more difficult than ever, as the new record for world’s tallest building has changed no less than five times in the past forty years. But today, it’s about more than just scraping higher clouds. Architects the world over are still challenging each other in countless ways, leading to a golden age of the odd, magnificent and over-the-top.
The great benefactors of this architectural arms race? Us travelers, who have more shiny and marvelous destinations to add to our itineraries. Let’s take a look at these modern wonders of the world, their origins, and how to see them.
1. Burj, Dubai
Photo courtesy of Imre Solt (cc)
The rapidly expanding Dubai is the world’s hotbed for mind-boggling structures, and the soon-to-be-complete Burj is its centerpiece, its office space costing a stunning $4,000 per square foot.
Soon to take the crown as the world’s tallest building at 818 meters—though who knows for how long—the 4.1 billion-dollar tower was begun five years ago as part of the massive Downtown Dubai project, wherein countless new attractions are being created to add to Dubai’s reputation as a world cultural center.
As it stands, the building looks like a giant steel needle—perhaps what Oz would look like if the wizard were a robot. Its design is based on the Hymenocallis flower and its pattern can be found frequently in Arabic architecture. The developers don’t want the Burj to just impress with its heights, either. Giorgio Armani is designing the interior, and will feature an entire floor dedicated to a swimming pool, not to mention a massive fountain at its front door that features 6,000 lights, fifty color projectors, and a twenty-four-hour soundtrack.
Oddly, it wasn’t always the original plan to make the Burj the world’s tallest building. Instead, architect Adrian Smith requested a series of height increases in new blueprints, as he thought it added more balance to the building’s overall appearance. His demands probably didn’t faze the developer of the Burj Dubai, Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill, as they were the masterminds behind former monoliths such as the Sears (Willis) Tower and New York’s former World Trade Center.
2. The World Trade Center, Manama, Bahrain
Photo courtesy of omar_chatriwala (cc)
These two jagged, pointed buildings are strategically positioned in Manama, Bahrain, to accumulate wind for the three giant turbines that sit in between, which help power the building. The Bahrain World Trade Center has been lauded as a landmark in building greening technology.
