Dubai, United Arab Emirates
European Prize for Architecture laureate, Santiago Calatrava won the design competition in 2016 for this latest, next supertall tower in Dubai.
Still, under construction, the initial idea was to have the building standing and inaugurated before Dubai’s Universal Exhibition, which was postponed due to the pandemic and which is now rescheduled for October this year.
Upon completion, the new €900 million skyscraper called Dubai Creek Tower will unseat the Burj Khalifa as the current tallest tower on the planet.
Behind the Dubai building is the developer Emaar Properties, one of the largest real estate companies in the world. The person in charge of choosing Calatrava’s studio was the Governor of Dubai and Vice President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashid al Maktoum, who had five proposals from internationally recognized architects on the table.
The new building will measure more than 828 meters.
Calatrava’s monumental design is influenced by the natural forms of the lily and evokes the shape of a minaret, a distinctive architectural feature in Islamic culture.
Inspired by a lily and by the image of a traditional minaret, The Tower will offer fantastic views of the city.
The skyscraper becomes the center of Dubai Creek Harbour, an urban project extending over a surface twice the size of the original city center of Dubai; Emaar Properties wants it to become one of the world’s most important tourism and residential destinations, in view of the Dubai world’s fair.
The building also includes numerous balconies that rotate outside the façade of the tower.
There will be a café on one of the three public observation decks and numerous spaces throughout the building can be used for events. The tower’s ground-level Central Plaza will serve as a bustling neighborhood center with world-class retail, a museum, educational facilities, and an indoor auditorium.
“The Pinnacle Room”, the observatory at its top, will offer a variety of experiences, including a platform with all-round views, revolving balconies and hanging gardens wrapping around the structure to recreate “the hanging gardens of Babylon.”
The tower’s flower shape will be underlined by its lighting in a true light show with a dynamic effect on the structure thanks to a modular lighting system illuminating the tie rods and the central part of the skyscraper.
The tower is located in the center of Dubai Creek Harbour, a six square-kilometer world-class development located on Dubai Creek.
Dubai Creek has long been Dubai’s center of history and culture and is in close proximity to the Ras Al Khor National Wildlife Sanctuary.
Architect: Santiago Calatrava
Client: Emaar Properties