Just six years after unveiling the world's tallest building, Dubai-based real estate giant Emaar Properties announced it will build a skyscraper that will be taller than the Burj Khalifa.
Named The Tower, the futuristic skyscraper will be constructed in the center of Emaar's Dubai Creek Harbour, a waterfront residential and leisure complex centered off the Dubai Creek.
The design of The Tower, the work of world-renowned Spanish-Swiss neo-futuristic architect Santiago Calatrava, is inspired by the structure of the lily and its leaves.
Calatrava's ambitious design shapes the tower into an elongated oval-shaped bud and a long slender stem, which purposefully allow it to simultaneously look like a minaret so it is in tune with the region's culture.
"We have Burj Khalifa, the tallest globally, and Dubai Holding and Emaar launched yesterday a tower that is higher than it, and time will not affect our dreams except increase them in highness and glory."
“The Tower in Dubai Creek Harbour is our tribute to the positivity, energy and optimism that Dubai and the UAE celebrate, led by a leadership committed to all-round progress," Emaar Chairman Mohamed Al-Abbar said at the unveiling of the company's plans for The Tower.
"A shining beacon of hope for the world, celebrating diversity and human achievements, this new iconic landmark further highlights the country’s ambition and futuristic vision and enhance our nation’s pride."
The giant tower will include observation decks modeled after the hanging gardens of Babylon, which will offer 360-degree views of the city. According to Emaar, the "crowning glory of The Tower" will be a room named The Pinnacle Room, which will open to views of the sky.
The Tower, which is expected to be completed in time for the Dubai Expo trade fair in 2020, will also include a world-class boutique hotel and "fully glazed" rotating balconies that extend outward, "rotating outside the skin of the tower."
Although Emaar has said The Tower will be taller than Burj Khalifa, it hasn't specified by how much, as it is yet to announce the exact height of its new skyscraper.
Elsewhere in the race to build the world's tallest building, Saudi Arabia is currently constructing the Kingdom Tower in Jeddah, which is expected to surpass the Dubai icon by more than 150 meters.
Being that the construction of both The Tower and the Kingdom Tower are expected to be completed in 2020, it is unclear which tower will be the first to reach the finish line.