I just saw the first wide angle shot of Burj Dubai I had ever seen and my immediate first thought was "Wow does that look like The Illinois"

 

Burj Dubai

Marwan Naamani / AFP / Getty Images

 

The Illinois

 

Looks way out of place. Impressive building though.

Looks way out of place. Impressive building though.

Agreed, it seems out of place.

I wonder how this would look in Cleveland! Looks like a giant bayonet.

I wonder how this would look in Cleveland! Looks like a giant bayonet.

 

it would render all of the other buildings insignificant, even more so than the key bank tower currently does

The entire city of Dubai looks out of place. 

 

It definitely seems as if the architects used both the structural concept of the Illinois as well as the styling and setbacks as precedent in the design though.

 

It looks like the beginnings of a Star Wars city

 

 

The Illinois -- I assume that's Wright's mile-high?

I just answered my own question. This, from Wikipedia:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Illinois

 

The Mile High Illinois, Illinois Sky-City, or simply The Illinois was a proposed mile-high (1,609 meters/5,280 feet) skyscraper, envisioned by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1956. The design, intended to be built in Chicago, would have included 528 stories, with a gross area of 18.46 million square feet (1.71 million square meters/171 hectares). Had it been built, it would be the tallest building in the world.

 

This is arguably the most famous of the semi-serious visionary buildings meant to be an alternative to the increasing urban sprawl occurring in most cities. None of these have ever been viewed as financially feasible.

 

The design of the Burj Khalifa tower is said to have been inspired by that of The Illinois.

Personally, I hate the Burj Dubai, or whatever they are calling it now.  It looks like a giant drill bit and seriously diminishes the impressiveness of the otherwise impressive surrounding structures.

Personally, I hate the Burj Dubai, or whatever they are calling it now. It looks like a giant drill bit and seriously diminishes the impressiveness of the otherwise impressive surrounding structures.

 

It's like when a decent looking chick takes a picture by herself, it's a great picture of her but if she's standing next to her smoking hot friend, she looks ugly and she's not the center of attention anymore.

That section of Dubai is such a mess. An archipelago of under-utilized office parks. Look at all that undeveloped land nearby. You should never have so much undeveloped land next to the tallest building in the world!

That section of Dubai is such a mess. An archipelago of under-utilized office parks. Look at all that undeveloped land nearby. You should never have so much undeveloped land next to the tallest building in the world!

 

interestingly the "world's tallest building next to undeveloped land" was also the game plan of The Illinois

^Says the young child in Astoria, Queens looking at the Empire State Building in 1932.

I just have to say - what a crappy rendering. Wright has no business designing a building like this. It looks like an origami skyscraper.

If they're getting this high, why not simply live in an airplane! Going a step further....That Ultima Tower--basically a man made mountain--renders Burj Dubai insignificant. (yes, I know it is a visionary project)

David Said: "It's like when a decent looking chick takes a picture by herself, it's a great picture of her but if she's standing next to her smoking hot friend, she looks ugly and she's not the center of attention anymore."

 

Ha!  Great analogy!!!

It's too big, scares the sh!t out of me.

 

That's what she said?

 

This building has always reminded me of an arcology from SimCity 2000...

I know they have had the experts design this thing, but i think the weight of 50k people and furniture can bring this thing down. And add to that a 100 mph wind gust. It could get scary.

Anyone seen this yet. I'm having cold sweats just looking at it.

 

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrGsS2IQqAg

I know they have had the experts design this thing, but i think the weight of 50k people and furniture can bring this thing down. And add to that a 100 mph wind gust. It could get scary.

 

They factor all that in.

 

 

I don't think we can expect buildings to just get bigger and bigger, like this. These buildings serve as icons/landmarks. People will always prefer to be close to the ground, as a general rule. This is particularly true when it comes to residences.

Wouldn't it be annoying to have your ears "pop" everytime you took the elevator up to your apartment?

 

  It looks more or less like a radio tower, but solid. We have quite a few very tall radio towers, but they don't get the same attention.

I know they have had the experts design this thing, but i think the weight of 50k people and furniture can bring this thing down. And add to that a 100 mph wind gust. It could get scary.

 

They factor all that in.

 

 

I don't think we can expect buildings to just get bigger and bigger, like this. These buildings serve as icons/landmarks. People will always prefer to be close to the ground, as a general rule. This is particularly true when it comes to residences.

 

Yeah, they account for the "live load" (the weight of the people and furniture) and a series of tuned mass dampers mitigate the amount of sway the building has due to wind.  Still, the 160th floor will definitely have noticeable movement on a windy day, I would bet, to the amount of a few feet.

That section of Dubai is such a mess. An archipelago of under-utilized office parks. Look at all that undeveloped land nearby. You should never have so much undeveloped land next to the tallest building in the world!

 

And that's why the Dubai historic district was thinking "Don't you dare build those towers near us, put it way out there"

I like the flat, sharp angles of The Illinois.  The Burj Khalifa, as the Burj Dubai is now known, is a joke though.  Who is going to keep that place afloat when the oil money runs out, child camel jockeys?

Looks like we beat Witold Rybczynski to the punch: http://www.slate.com/id/2241275/