DUBAI: It was only a matter of time before the city of over a 1,000 skyscrapers hosted the world's tallest building: Burj Dubai. Dubbed Emaar's iconic tower, Burj Dubai features a combination of residential and office space as well as Giorgio Armani's first branded hotel in the region. Over 700 meters high, the number of floors is expected to run to more than 160 levels. The Armani Hotel will occupy the first 24 floors of the building, with 160 guest rooms and suites in addition to 144 residential apartments all designed by Armani. They are fully furnished by the Armani Casa Furnishing Collection. With a total investment value of $1.1 billion, Burj Dubai will also include an observation platform that overlooks the whole city, a library, restaurants, four swimming pools, and fitness facilities. Construction began in 2004, and with one floor erected every three days, the construction of the entire Burj should be complete by the end of 2008. Currently, the Burj is 129 stories high, built on an area of five million square feet The tower will be surrounded by recreation and entertainment facilities including a mall, a marina, an aquarium and cinemas. With prices of apartments starting at 900,000 to 24 million dirham, many will see Emaar's flagship project but only a privileged few will be able to call it home. To date around 98 percent of the Burj has been sold.
