Sunday 29 April 2018

The Almas Tower

Up until 2009 and the completion of the Burj Khalifa at 828ms. The Almas Tower, also known as the Diamond Tower, was the tallest building in Dubai. Located at JLT (Jumeriah Lake Towers) it dominates the skyline as you look from the land towards the sea.

As the crow flies this is 3 miles away.


Viewed from the other side, it doesn't look that much taller than the other buildings.

Every tower in Dubai has a name and despite this dominating the Dubai Skyline, I've only ever referred to it 'the building that's the same height at The Shard in London, just to give you some idea of how big these building in Dubai are'

The Almas Tower is 306ms to the top floor and the antenna brings it up to 360ms. The top floor is measured at 279.3ms, with 68 floors of which 5 are below the ground.

The Shard (completed in 2012) is the tallest building in the UK, the tallest building in the European Union, the 5th tallest building in Europe and the 96th tallest building in the world, stands at 309.7ms, with 95 floors of which 72 are habitable. The observatory is at 244ms.

Last Sunday whilst visiting JBR (Jumeriah Beach Residence) I noticed smoke coming out the top of the Almas Tower. There have been several major fires in skyscrapers in Dubai in the 4 years we've lived here. The Torch in February 2015 and the Address Hotel on New Years Eve 2015 in Downtown Dubai being 2 of the biggest.

Along with 100's of other people I dialled 911 to report the fire. I was aware that I didn't know the name of the building and described it as the 'tallest one in JLT.' The emergency services were already aware and within seconds I heard the emergency services arrive. The building was evacuated and the fire was brought under control in 20 mins. it was contained to the spire only.


Quite a few people asked me what the spire is for, as far as I can find out, it's to add height, it's decorative, acts as a lightening conductor and can be used for telecommunication purposes.

Week 158 Bluewater Islands and Dubai Eye. Man made island a 210m high Big Wheel
Week 159 Dubai Marina - Reflections
Week 160 Dubai Frame. A window between the Old and New Dubai and a 150m high glass floor.
Week 163 New Metro Line for Expo 2020
Week 164 Hoover Dam 2002 - 2010
Week 165 Dubai Opera House What a difference a year makes
Week 166 Unfinished buildings. The Pentominium
Week 167 Mixing the old and the new. Coventry Catherdral
Week 168 New Dubai Metro Station 
Week 169 Dubai Mall and Burj Khalifa 
Week 170 After the Address fire 
Week 171 The Opus Building
Week 172 District Cooling. Keeping the desert cool.
Week 173 Can I visit the Burj Al Arab

20 comments:

  1. Wow, that's quite dramatic! Glad that everybody was safe and the fire was brought under control quickly. The comparison to the Shard does give you a good idea of just how tall all the buildings in Dubai really are.

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    1. I've got a permeant crick in my neck living here, looking up all the time

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  2. Makes you wonder how it caught fire? Electrical fire I suppose. The Dubai emergency services must be experts at dealing with tall building fires. Very dramatic moment to capture. #mysundayphoto

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    1. Having seen how quickly the fires have spread in the past, it was quite worrying

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  3. Oh dear - good to hear the fire was contained. Very dramatic set of buildings.

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  4. Amazing they managed to get it under control so quickly. Hopefully it wasn't damaged too much.

    Have a good Sunday.

    Thank you for linking up to #MySundayPhoto

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    1. after the initial reports of the fire and getting it under control, i've not heard anything else

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  5. Oh wow! That is very dramatic. I'm glad it was brought under control quickly x

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    1. me too, i've seen them spread before and it's frightening

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  6. It's all the overhead electric cables that fascinates me as much as the buildings, it really is like nowhere else.

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    1. those cables used to be out in the middle of nowhere when we came here 3 years ago

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  7. How scary would that be if you were in the building. Very dramatic so glad they responded so quickly.!

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    1. indeed, but they have really good evacuation procedures here

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  8. Wow! That is a little terrifying, even from this far away. It must have been quite disturbing. #MySundayPhoto

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    1. when i noticed the fire i was just on the other side of the road

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  9. A lightening rod seems likely. I love the shape, nice view from the water.

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  10. Makes you wonder how it caught fire? It must be difficult to deal with such high buildings. What a dramatic The Dubai emergency services must be experts at dealing with tall building fires. Very dramatic moment to capture x

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    1. quite often it's just the heat and build up of debris

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