Azerbaijan Tower, the Next Tallest Building in the World Takes Shape

If until now the Kingdom Tower, expected to be completed in 2016, was the next tallest building in the world after the famous Burj Khalifa from Dubai, it seems that it won’t hold its record for very long because Azerbaijan businessman Haji Ibrahim Nehramli, president of the Avesta Group of Companies, have plans to begin to build the Azerbaijan Tower on one of a group of 41 artificial islands in the Caspian Sea, southwest of the country’s capitol city, Baku. What do you say about that?

Maybe you’re amazed, but also surprised in the same time how fast things happen, sometimes unreal, but we think we should get used to such news because it’s obvious that nowadays almost any architectural vision can be achieved if it has the necessary financial support and creative minds. It seems that Dubai city, which started to constantly draw world attention through many innovative large construction projects, will soon become history because other cities would be impressive destination. So, here we are already talking again about a new tallest structure in the world, which will exceed in height both the world’s current tallest building- Burj Khalifa (828 metres)- and the upcoming supertall skyscraper Kingdom Tower (1,000 metres) to be built in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Originally planned to be built a 560-m tower, Azerbaijan Tower will reach 3,445ft ( 1,050 meters) and will feature 189 floors , making it with 200 m taller than the Burj Khalifa, and even 50 m than the Kingdom Tower. For comparison, the Empire State Building stands just 455 meters high.

The Avesta Group, the company behind the building, has talked to the companies behind the Burj Khalifa and other international investors who seemed to show interest for this new project. The tower would cost $2 billion, being the centerpiece of a much larger project, the $100 billion Khazar Islands development, which actually would be home for 1 million residents in the near future. The first phase of the project will consist of building residential, social and cultural centers ( restaurants, shopping malls, universities, schools, parks), hospitals and even a Formula 1 quality racetrack, every facilities being planned to be able to withstand up to magnitude 9.0 earthquakes. The floating metropolis will act as a new center for business and commerce. The construction of this stunning skyscraper would be part of the second phase and would be expected to begin in 2016 and finish in 2018-2019.

Here’s how the spectacular project will look: