Dubai United Arab Emirates


The world's tallest building, an indoor ski slope, neighborhoods built on islands shaped like palm trees: Only in a boomtown like Dubai could Postmodern architecture find such a legion of enthusiastic supporters. The results rarely exhibit the elegance of, say, the Alhambra, but in contemporary architecture, timeless beauty appears less a concern than delivering results to property developers. And that, Dubai's structures do that with aplomb, or so it seems with the breakneck pace of building. As proof of the seriousness of these bets on the future, the emirate recently completed a new international airport that ranks among the world's largest -- to compliment the existing airport that handled 47 million passengers in 2010.

Top of the list for architecture fans is, of course, the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest skyscraper -- and tallest freestanding structure of any kind, rising to 2,717 feet. While its bundled-tube appearance recalls the skyline of Chicago, the Skidmore, Owings & Merrill design is a departure from the construction techniques used there. The Y-shaped footprint creates a "buttressed core" capable of withstanding high winds while supporting an internal, hexagonal core from which floors extend. The exterior cladding, made of aluminum and steel panels and fins, was purpose-designed to resist Dubai's sweltering desert heat. Other unique design features include double-decker elevators like those found in the Taipei 101 and Aon Center, a 124th-floor observation deck offering views of the city and the world's first Armani hotel. While the half-mile height of the Burj impresses, another stat is perhaps more indicative of the sheer size of the tower: going full tilt, it takes three to four months to fully clean the building's facade.

But other structures in Dubai deserve architectural attention: The sail-inspired, waterfront Burj Al Arab hotel is already a symbol of the city. The Palm Jumeirah island houses the Pomo playground that is Atlantis Dubai. And still under construction, the frame of the Infinity Tower rotates 90 degrees as it rises toward its ultimate 80-story height. The Pentominium will be the tallest residential building when it's finished, aiming for 122 floors by 2013.

And lest we forget, there's a long list of projects never fully realized here, among them a horrendous 60-story Trump Hotel, an underwater hotel called Hydropolis and a 70-story residential tower with floors that would rotate to offer 360-degree views over the course of a day. Only in Dubai? Only up to a 2,700-foot-high point it seems.

Getting there: Dubai International Airport is a major international hub, with everything you'd expect from one of the world's busiest landing fields. Taxis are available 24 hours a day and there's also a connection to the Dubai Metro, which has a Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall stop. -- Paul Brady