The developers of the Burj Dubai (which means Dubai Tower in Arabic) are so keen to win and hold on to the title of World’s Tallest Building that they are keeping the building’s exact height a secret until completion. Current estimates put the finished height at around 940m.

The building’s foundations have even been dug to an extra deep level to enable the addition of further storeys as construction progresses. The tower will feature a luxury hotel, private residential apartments, commercial space and a viewing platform 124 floors up. The tower will be so high that the air on the building’s upper floors will be thinner than the air on the ground.

Construction is moving fast - one floor per week is currently being constructed and the Burj Dubai is slated to open for business at some point in 2008. The desert conditions mean that building techniques have had to be customised. For example, builders mix ice with any concrete they use to make the concrete set to strength in the hot desert temperatures.

The Burj Dubai is concrete on its lower levels with a shining steel structure on top. It’s been designed without any horizontal surfaces, to prevent desert sand from settling on the building and weighing it down. It also has a twisting, continually changing shape to counter the effects of the strong desert winds.