Toronto is no longer on top of the world: the CN tower was recently stripped of the “world’s tallest building” title, one that the landmark has held for over 30 years.
Last week, the Burj Dubai—a hotel, residential, and business skyscraper under construction in the United Arab Emirates—surpassed the Toronto skyscraper’s 553 metres, officially becoming the world’s tallest free-standing structure.
Developed by Dubai-based Emaar Properties with financial backing from the oil-rich country’s government, the $4.2 billion, 165- storey Burj Dubai is estimated to stand 800 metres tall upon its completion in summer 2009.
“The Burj Dubai tower has now reached 555.3 metres, and also scaled 150 livable levels, the largest number of storeys for any building in the world,” announced Mohamed Ali Alabbar, the project’s developer and chairman of Emaar Properties, last week.
The Burj Dubai project was launched in 2004 as part of a new $23.4 billion, 200-hectare downtown waterfront district that will house approximately 30,000 apartments and the world’s largest shopping mall.
It won’t hold the top spot for long, as a second, nearby skyscraper, the Al-Burj, aims to reach 1,200 metres—more than double the CN tower’s stature.
