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Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum led the presentation ceremony of a new architectural project - the tallest building in the world, almost a kilometer high. Only one "miniature" 3D-printed replica of the future skyscraper is not inferior in height to a three-story building.
The presentation of the project took place at the Dubai Mall. The large-scale mock-up depicts the appearance of the new skyscraper, called the "Tower in Dubai Creek Harbor". Construction is scheduled for completion in 2020, after which the famous Burj Khalifa, also located in Dubai and towering over the city by a record 828 meters, will fade into the background: the new structure will reach an already staggering 928 meters in height.
The model also commands respect: the weight of the replica is estimated at about three tons, and more than 4,000 thousand machine-hours were spent on 3D printing of the model. How much the model cost is not disclosed, but the real building will cost the emirate at least a billion dollars. Construction is in full swing, and the contractors have already managed to set several records: the total length of piles to strengthen the foundation reaches nine kilometers, more than 45 thousand cubic meters of concrete were spent on pouring the foundation itself (the equivalent of 6,700 concrete mixers), and more than 110 kilometers of cables were allocated for wiring. As the architects explain, the design of the composition is inspired by lily flowers.
Whether additive technologies will be used in the construction of the skyscraper has not yet been disclosed, but it would not cause much surprise. In recent years, Dubai has become a kind of Mecca for printer builders. The Chinese company WinSun has erected the world's first 3D-printed office complex in Dubai, the Russian-Italian startup Renca is actively promoting specialized mixtures for construction 3D printers made of geopolymer cement, and the American startup Cazza Construction promises to do 3D printing of buildings up to eighty meters high using 3D printer of our own design. The reason for this interest is Dubai's intention to bring the share of 3D-printed structures to a quarter of the housing stock by 2030, mainly for the less affluent segments of the population, while the ambitious plans are supported by the emirate's generosity to inventors and entrepreneurs.
The funny thing about this story is that even if the new building becomes the tallest building in the world, it will not be long: the Saudis are building their own super-skyscraper called the "Jeddah Tower" with might and main. This building will be the first to overcome the kilometer line, and even with a margin of seven meters.
