Architectural wonder as great as Burj Khalifa and Eiffel Tower: Mohammed

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on Saturday reviewed the designs proposed by international consultancy houses for a new tower to be built by Emaar in the Dubai Creek area.

This came during Sheikh Mohammed's visit to a show held at Burj Khalifa, displaying designs by six consultancy companies bidding for the designing package of the tower contract.

He was accompanied by Mohammed Ali Al Abbar, Chairman of Emaar Properties, Khalifa Saeed Sulaiman, Director-General of Dubai Protocol and Hospitality Department and Fadil Al Ali, CEO of Dubai Holding.

Sheikh Mohammed approved the selection of a design by the Spanish-Swiss neo-futuristic architect Santiago Calatrava.

The design is inspired by Islamic architecture and meets requirements of modern times, as well as local environment and culture.

Sheikh Mohammed welcomed the idea of the new tower as another landmark and a tourist attraction in the UAE.

The observation tower in Dubai Creek Harbour is designed by Santiago Calatrava Valls, renowned Spanish/Swiss architect, structural engineer, sculptor and painter. (Supplied)

He said the march for sustainable development in the UAE is moving steadily to meet the aspirations of the Emirati people and described the new tower as an "architectural wonder that will be as great as Burj Khalifa and Eiffel Tower”.

Al Abbar thanked Sheikh Mohammed for his continuous support and his confidence in Emaar's projects.

He said the new tower will prove to be a cultural and tourist icon with its unique design and engineering, adding that the construction of the tower will begin in a few months' time.

Tower directly linked to Dubai Creek Harbour

 The tower will be part of the multi-billion-dollar Dubai Creek Harbour in Dubai Creek.

It has been designed by Santiago Calatrava Valls, a Spanish/Swiss architect, who has worked on the World Trade Centre Transportation Hub in New York, Chicago Spire Tower, Calgary Peace Bridge and the Olympic Sports Complex in Athens. The height of the tower has not been revealed.

The developer said that the design was short-listed from a competitive international design pitch.

The tower, which has not been named yet, will be directly linked to the central island district of Dubai Creek Harbour, a six million square metre mixed-use development.

The mega project will house 3,664 office units, eight million square feet of retail space, 39,000 residential units and 22 hotels with 4,400 rooms, while the centerpiece will be the ‘Dubai Twin Towers’ that will be the tallest twin towers in the world.

Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest tower, built by Emaar, has the world’s highest observation deck - 'At The Top, Burj Khalifa Sky' - on the 148th floor (555 metres). It has two other observation decks on 24th floor and 125th floor.  

A number of other mega tall towers in Dubai will have observation decks as well.

Dubai Multi Commodities Centre has announced plans to have a 360 degree observation deck on the 700-metre-plus Burj 2020, billed to be the world’s tallest commercial tower.

The Dubai One, set to become the world’s tallest residential tower, will house an observation deck at 655 metres.

The 618-metre Canton Tower, world's third-tallest structure, is currently home to the second highest publicly accessible observation deck at 488 metres followed by Shanghai World Financial Centre with its Skywalk 100 - a 55-metre-long glass bridge – at 474 metres.

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