The World's Tallest Building Burj Dubai

Burj Dubai, the world's tallest building since July, has also become the tallest free-standing structure on earth, reaching 1,822 feet, the developers said.

The Dubai Tower's final height is a closely guarded secret, but completion of the concrete, glass and steel structure is expected by the end of 2008. The building's relentless climb is one example of Dubai's stratospheric rise from a sleepy desert town on the Persian Gulf to one of the principal business centers in the Middle East.

The Burj Dubai surpassed Canada's Toronto-based CN Tower on Thursday, which at 1,822 feet, had been the world's tallest free-standing structure since 1976, the developers said in a press release.

In July, the Dubai Tower, as it is known in English, moved past Taiwan's 1,667-foot Taipei 101, the highest skyscraper in the world since 2004.

"The Burj Dubai is setting new world records in the construction of super-tall buildings," said Mohmmad Ali al-Abbar, chairman of Burj's state-owned developer, Emaar Properties.

"This architectural and construction masterpiece is truly an inspirational human achievement that celebrates the can-do mind-set of Dubai," al-Abbar said to local media Thursday.

By the end of 2008, the developers say, the Burj will fulfill all four criteria for the tallest building, listed by the Chicago-based Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. The criteria include: the height of the structural top, the highest occupied floor, the top of the roof, and the tip of the spire, pinnacle, antenna, mast or flag pole.

Source: burjdubaiskyscraper.com

Swallow's Nest (Lastochkino Gnizdo), the the Sea Castle

Swallow's Nest is a mock-medieval castle near Yalta, in Crimea, Ukraine. It was built between 1911–1912 near Gaspra, on top of 40-meter (130 ft) high Aurora Cliff, to a Neo-Gothic design by the Russian architect Leonid Sherwood. The castle overlooks Ai–Todor cape of the Black Sea, accessible from the Atlantic Ocean, and is located near the remnants of the Roman castrum of Charax. Swallow's Nest is one of the most spectacular visitor attractions in Crimea.

The building is compact in size (20 m long by 10 m wide; 65 ft by 33 ft). Its original design envisioned a foyer, guest room, stairway to the tower, and two bedrooms on two different levels within the tower. The interior of the guest room is decorated with wooden panels; the walls of the rest of the rooms are stuccoed and painted. An observation deck rings the building, providing a view of the sea, and Yalta's distant shoreline.

In 1927, Swallow's Nest survived a serious earthquake rated at 6 to 7 on the Richter scale.[7] The building was not damaged, except for some small decorative items that were thrown into the sea along with a small portion of the cliff. However, the cliff itself developed a huge crack. For a long time Swallow's Nest was closed to the public due to the damage suffered in that quake. The building remained closed for almost forty years.

Highest Escalator in the World

The Umeda Sky Building is the seventh-tallest building in Osaka City, Japan, and one of the city's most recognizable landmarks. It consists of two 40-story towers that connect at their two uppermost stories, with bridges and an escalator crossing the wide atrium-like space in the center. The escalater ride is an event in itself as it feels like you are floating up into the sky. This is a cheap way to see the city, less than 10 USD to go up to the observation area.

Located in the Umeda district of Kita-ku, the building was originally conceived in 1988 as the "City of Air" project, which planned to create four interconnected towers in northern Osaka. Eventually, practical considerations brought the number of towers down to two.

The 173 m (568 ft) building was designed by Hiroshi Hara. It was constructed by Takenaka Corporation and was completed in 1993.

The building features a rooftop observatory, The Floating Garden Observatory, as well as an underground market that attempts to recreate the atmosphere of Osaka in the early 20th century. At the base of the towers is an urban garden with walking trails and water features.