The Burj Khalifa, 'Hummer of Skyscrapers'?

There might be something to the analogy, opines Blair Kamin, when comparing the building's star status to its contribution to the urban setting.

1 minute read

January 12, 2012, 1:00 PM PST

By Judy Chang

"Only now are the authorities announcing an enormous, glass-enclosed pedestrian walkway, set to be 820 meters long (eight meters shorter than the tower), that will connect the futuristic Dubai Metro station with the tower and its vast adjoining mall. The walkway, due to open next year with the requisite Dubai flash, is meant to alleviate the traffic snarls that have cropped up around the mall.

Recent news reports, meanwhile, say that Dubai's sewer infrastructure can't handle the human waste generated by skyscrapers like the Burj Khalifa. As The Wall Street Journal wrote in 2008, trucks have to take the poop out of underground holding tanks and haul it to wastewater treatment plants."

FULL STORY: The Burj Khalifa two years later: With help from Hollywood, the world's tallest building asserts its status as a global icon

Wednesday, January 4, 2012 in Chicago Tribune

Architecture Infrastructure Land Use Urban Development Middle East Dubai Burj Khalifa View More

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