3 Gigantic Towers of The Future

June 27th, 2008 · No Comments

Since forever ago, man has been developing ways to build things that are bigger than him. How else can you explain gigantic airplanes, ships, or the tallest skyscrapers? We’ve seen features on the tallest buildings, etc — but what of things to come?

Currently in development are three man-made giants, to be seen from skylines in the future.

Burj Dubai, Dubai, 2,087 ft – Currently the title-holder for the world’s tallest building, it has reached a height of 636 m (2,087 ft) as of May 2008. From the same designers of the Sears Towers in Chicago and the Freedom Tower in New York, the design of the tower blends multiple disciplines and embodies the patterning symbols of Islamic architecture. The gigantic aluminum structure will have it’s interiors designed by Giorgio Armani, and the first 37 floors will be housing the first-ever Armani Hotel. It also features the world’s fastest elevator, rising and descending at 18m/s (59 f/s) — which makes sense, given that people wouldn’t want to wait forever when moving from floor to floor. As of today, the completion time has been pushed back yet again, until September 2009. The reason for the setback? They’re adding another storey to the already-gigantic tower.

Freedom Tower, New York City, 1,776 ft – This gigantic glass tower was built with a lighted spire that resembles the Statue of Liberty’s torch and to inspire patriotism among New York’s residents. The very top of the spire reaches to 1,776 feet, in commemoration of the year that the US was established. The top three floors will remain unoccupied, and instead, it will have latticework containing little windmills. A single glass elevator scaling the gigantic tower will serve to be the only means to go to the world’s highest viewing platform, which is 1,500 feet. From this platform, you’ll be able to look down at the Empire State building, another one of man’s gigantic triumphs, a couple of feet below. Since 9/11, and people still being queasy about staying in tall buildings, this replacement tower will only have 70 floors, in comparison to the 110 floors that the twin towers used to occupy.

Chicago Spire, Chicago, 2,000 ft – This gigantic spire sports an interesting design — (stop giggling!) it will stand at a whopping 2,000 ft. Being built higher than Chicago’s current tallest building, The Sears Tower, it was announced roughly 3 years ago. (2005) Inspired by the themes and designs of nature, the tall twisting skyscraper towers, it is a pinnacle to the “graceful” and “rotating forms” of a snail shell. Plans for the tower include 1,193 condominiums with each of the building’s stories rotating a total 360 degrees. While it will house thousands of living areas, the tower’s designer, Santiago Calatrava made it so that each one is unique, meaning no two units will be alike. With big 10-foot ceilings (and those are really high ceilings!) and windows to provide residents a breath-taking view of the lakefront, the Chicago skyline, neighborhoods and four nearby states: Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana and Michigan.