For fans of modern architecture, the UAE is an absolute feast.
Barely a month goes by without another new glistening skyscraper entering the Abu Dhabi or Dubai skyline.
Some residents will recall a time when it wasn’t like this however, when the sky was largely uninterrupted and the glowing light from the sunset beamed across the low-level city dwellings.
While Abu Dhabi’s cityscape doesn’t reach the heights seen in neighbouring Dubai, it has progressively grown taller during the past five decades.
The 10-floor Hilton Abu Dhabi stood out on the Corniche when it was opened by Sheikh Zayed on May 23, 1973. Now the Radisson Blu, it is dwarfed by new towers on both sides.
It was another hotel which took the city to new heights back in the 1970s when the Novotel Centre Hotel opened in 1976.
It remained the highest building for 14 years until the hulking Silver Tower opened on the Corniche in 1990.
The downtown area continued to be the location for tall towers in the capital for the next 20 years.
Baynunah tower housed a Hilton hotel and was distinctive for its blue glass facade, white piping and essentially housing three towers in one.
It was the tallest tower in the region at the time of its completion in 1994.
There followed the NBAD headquarters set just back off the Corniche in Khalifa Street in 2002, and then the 185m Abu Dhabi Investment Authority tower in 2006.
“The building is alive and responsive to natural forces,” according to its architects, PLP architecture.
“In the atrium, sails fold down to shade the sun. In the wings, an active façade of three layers and a solar-controlled blind shades work areas. The façade is used as an extract plenum, drawing cool air from the internal areas into its cavity and exhausting via the ceiling to the central core.”
From 2010, much of the focus for tall buildings in the capital turned to Reem Island where the Sun and Sky Tower development took the city’s construction to new heights.
Sky Tower topped out at 292m and remains the tallest tower on the island to this day, though Addax Tower at 282m is close.
Its place at the top of the list was short-lived as Landmark Tower on the Corniche opened in 2011, and then Burj Mohammed bin Rashid in 2014 which remains the tallest in Abu Dhabi and fifth tallest in the UAE.
Tallest buildings in the Middle East
ALMAS TOWER, DUBAI, 360 metres: Part of Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Almas tower was briefly the tallest in Dubai when it was topped out in 2008. It is the headquarters of Dubai Multi Commodities Centre, with high security vaults and safe deposits to protect clients’ assets. Gabriela Maj / Bloomberg
ADDRESS BOULEVARD, DUBAI, 370 metres: Opened in March 2017, Address Boulevard boasts sells itself as a “city lifestyle resort”. Residents and guests do not need to step onto the balmy streets to access Dubai Mall, which is it connected to with an air conditioned bridge. Not to be confused with the 300 metre tall Address Downtown, which was built in a similar modernist Art Deco style and opened in 2008. Courtesy: Emaar Hospitality
ELITE RESIDENCE, DUBAI, 380 metres: Opened in 2012, at an estimated cost of Dh1bn, the 91 floors have nearly 700 flats with views over Palm Jumeirah. It boasts a distinctive design and is recognisable on the marina skyline. Chris Whiteoak / The National
BURJ MOHAMMED BIN RASHID, ABU DHABI, 382 metres: Abu Dhabi makes it into the top 10, with a building named in honour of the Ruler of Dubai. Completed in 2013, the capital’s tallest building is part of the World Trade Centre which includes a mall and souq. Mona Al Marzooqi/ The National
23 MARINA, DUBAI, 392 metres: Briefly the world’s tallest residential tower, 23 Marina opened in 2012. It includes 57 swimming and plunge pools, with 62 high speed lifts, including one for each of the 23 four bedroom duplexes, and boasts views over Media City’s lake and amphitheatre. Chris Whiteoak / The National
AL HAMRA TOWER, KUWAIT CITY, 412 metres: Kuwait’s tallest building is marked by its curved sculpted concrete exterior, which is also the world’s tallest of its type. It was completed in 2011 with offices, a shopping mall and a rooftop restaurant. AFP
PRINCESS TOWER, DUBAI, 413 metres: The tallest residential building in the world until it was overtaken by 432 Park Avenue in Manhattan five years ago, Princess Tower was opened in 2012 with 763 residential units. There are 107 storeys, including six underground, with an observation deck on the 97th floor. Chris Whiteoak / The National
MARINA 101, DUBAI, 425 metres: The second tallest building in Dubai is also the 27th tallest in the world. Construction began in 2006 and, although it was completed in 2017, the building remains unfinished and unoccupied due to financing issues. Chris Whiteoak / The National
MAKKAH ROYAL CLOCK TOWER, MAKKAH, 601 metres: Part of the Abraj Al Bayt complex, the tower over looks the Great Mosque of Makkah and the Kaaba and was completed in 2012. It includes the highest and tallest clock faces in the world – the minute hands alone are 23 metres long. AFP
BURJ KHALIFA, DUBAI, 828 metres: The tallest building in the world when it was completed in 2010, Burj Khalifa actually took the title a year earlier when it surpassed Taiwan’s Taipei 101. It boasts several world records, including the building with the most floors (163), the world’s longest elevators at 504m, and the world’s highest restaurant. It is so tall the sun sets three minutes later on the observation deck than on the ground. Tarek Fahmy / Reuters
Tallest buildings in Abu Dhabi
1. Burj Mohammed bin Rashid, 382m
2. Adnoc HQ, 342m
3. The Landmark Tower, 324m
4. Etihad Tower 2, 305m
5. Sky Tower, 292m
6. Addax Tower, 282m
7. Trust Tower, 278m
8. Etihad Tower 1,278m
9. Nation Towers, 268m
10. Etihad Tower 3, 260m
11. Emirates Pearl, 255m
12. Gate Towers, 238m
13. Sun Tower, 238m
14. Etihad Tower 4, 234m
15. Nation Towers B, 233m
Published: March 3, 2021 09:10 AM
