Nakheel Tower

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Location /// Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Projected Height /// 3281 to 4593 ft

This cylindrical megatower has eight spires that come to a point at the building's peak. Though an official target height has not been revealed, the Nakheel Tower is likely to crest 3280 feet. Its designers, the international firm Woods Bagot, aim for the Nakheel Tower to be the first true realization of a vertical city. Over 15,000 people will live, work and socialize in this spire with a ground footprint the size of a New York City square block. The placement of support columns is based on a radially symmetrical 16-point star pattern and is inspired by Arabic patternmaking. The pattern makes engineering sense because a symmetrical building bears the load evenly among its structural units, according to a 2009 case study on the Nakheel Tower published in the journal of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. The trickiest part about designing the Nakheel Tower, according to the study, was dealing with so-called vortex shedding from winds, which can cause damaging vibrations. Instead of funneling wind around its metal and glass skin, the Nakheel Tower takes the uncommon approach of having large gaps in the midst of the building, with a double set of slots that let gales pass right through. Every 25 floors or so, big disk-like skybridges bind the towers together and serve as village squares for high-rise dwellers, as in 1 Dubai. Also as in 1 Dubai, the Nakheel Tower's completion date has been held up because of unfavorable market conditions, though some early construction work did get underway before the stall. A completion date has not been announced and the project may never resume.