Taller (and Taller) Strata Buildings

For many decades the race for the tallest building was steady with a new building rising out of the ground every now and again adding a few dozen meters (or feet).

But that’s not the case anymore as newer buildings are hundreds of meters taller than the previous ones. 

The latest leader is Burj Khalifa in Burj Khalifa, a skyscraper in Dubai that’s 828 m (2,717 ft) high.  Beating the CN Tower in Toronto, Canada, standing at 553.3 m (1,815 ft), and the Shanghai World Financial Center  at 474.2 m (1,556 ft).

The total cost for the project was about US $1.5 billion; and for the entire "Downtown Dubai" development, US $20 billion. In March 2009, the project's developer, Emaar Properties, said office space pricing at Burj Khalifa reached US $4,000 per sq ft (over US $43,000 per m²) and the Armani Residences, also in Burj Khalifa, sold for US $3,500 per sq ft (over US $37,500 per m²).

The project's completion coincided with the global financial crisis and with vast overbuilding in the country, led to high vacancies and foreclosures, required financial bailout from Abu Dhabi and the tower was renamed Burj Khalifa, reputedly to honour the UAE President Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan for his crucial support.

Due to the slumping demand in Dubai's property market, the rents in the Burj Khalifa plummeted 40% some ten months after its opening. Out of 900 apartments in the tower over 8oo remain empty.

See you in the dizzying heights of the highest strata apartments.

Francesco …