Burj Dubai: Head In The Clouds  

The Age has an eye on the still growing Burj Dubai tower - Lofty visions put Dubai on the map, and skyscraper residents in the clouds.

IT IS now officially the tallest structure ever built by man — and it's getting taller. Much taller.

The developers of the Burj Dubai skyscraper in the United Arab Emirates announced earlier this month that their breathtaking creation had reached a staggering 688 metres, breaking height records in a way not seen since the Eiffel Tower doubled the height of the Washington Monument in 1889. ...

The Burj — which will house a mix of apartments, hotels and offices — is more than 130 metres taller than observation and communication towers in Toronto and Moscow, and dwarfs the next tallest skyscraper — the 509-metre Taipei 101 in Taiwan.

Skyscraper architect Greg Holman, of Sydney-based Harry Seidler and Associates, said the Burj's record may not last long. Kilometre-high buildings are proposed for Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and there's another planned for Dubai — the Al-Burj. That's why the Burj's final height is being kept secret.