The man who designed the world's tallest tower, one year on

Saturday, 19 February 2011 12:00 AM

As the Burj Khalifa lit up the Dubai sky with fireworks in the early hours of 2011, the world’s tallest tower was days away from another anniversary – its first birthday.

From his office on the 42nd floor of Emirates Towers, Eric Tomich wouldn’t have been able to see the fireworks, because although the southern side of the twin towers commands excellent views of the Burj Khalifa, Tomich’s office faces Sheikh Zayed Road and Dubai Creek.

He loves the Burj, but that doesn’t mean he needs to look at it every day.

“I feel like I hand-built parts of it,” Tomich says, gazing at the tower from the empty Burj-facing office he had requested for the benefit of Middle East Architect’s photographer.

He never doubted it either. Even when the economy faltered and construction sites slammed to a halt all over Dubai. Even when the money looked like it had run out. Even when everyone said Dubai was done.

“It had too much momentum. In a way, Dubai’s reputation was riding on the building. I never ever thought that it would stop, not once,” he said.

It had been a big step for Tomich, a Berkeley-educated architect who has been with SOM for over 25 years and headed up the firm’s technical architecture office in London from 1989 to 2003. He had worked on some big projects in London, including the Broadgate development, but the tallest tower in the world was for him – as it would be for anyone – a huge move.

“When we won this competition I didn’t think about it for very long, I just took the job. I thought it would be a fantastic assignment and it was,” he recalls. “It’s a different environment, a different climate, but I find the Middle East a very exciting place to work.”

Since the completion of the Burj, SOM has scaled down its workforce in the UAE, and currently Tomich is the lone representative of the Chicago-based architectural giant in Dubai. But that was not as much a response to the global recession as a ongoing business philosophy, he says.

“You don’t need an office here to produce the work, but once you have the job, you can’t build it on email.

“On the Burj we had consultants from everywhere, LA, Sydney, Paris, UK, Chicago and at some point we had to come together, and everybody would fly in to have a round-table with the client. Even with video conferencing you still need face to face contact. You can do a lot of things remotely, but you can’t do everything by email.”

Especially with a client like Emaar’s visionary chairman Mohammed Alabbar, who Tomich is still quick to pay tribute to one year after the Burj Khalifa was finished. He describes a man who realised early on that it wasn’t enough for the Burj Khalifa to be the biggest building in the world, it had to be the best. From the design down to the doorknobs, quality was paramount if the building was to be successful in the long term.

“I think he knew that having this icon, creating this shape on the skyline, it was assured that it was going to be famous. But he also realised that the experience that people had would be when they were in the building, approaching it, living and working in it,” Tomich recalls.

“He wanted the best building in the world, and we really drove an agenda of quality in how we approached finishes and how we made that quality happen. We were very careful about who got appointed to do the finish work, we hand-selected all the materials. We even went to Brazil twice to hand select the veneer. We hand-selected all of the stone, the marble, everything.”

1 2 page 1 of 2

Join the Discussion

Disclaimer:The view expressed here by our readers are not necessarily shared by Arabian Business, its employees, sponsors or its advertisers.

Please post responsibly. Commenter Rules

Read All 10 Comments

Posted by: Sandpit Kiwi Monday, 28 February 2011 12:57 PM[UAE] - Saudi Arabia

I took my wife to visit the Burj on our wedding Anniversary this year, during a stopover from Saudi Arabia to New Zealand. We were amazed at the tower itself from the outside, thrilled at the views of Dubai and the Gulf from the observation deck, and yet some of the best pictures we took were from the finish work of the tower's interior, especially the plays of light on different surfaces on the escalator rides down to the base.
We paid AED400 each to make the trip, but it was worth every Dirham. Congratulations to Dubai for completing the project, the Arch team for their design and perseverance, and also to the other Emirates for stumping up the final cash when needed.
A must see when visiting or passing through the middle east that we affectionately call the sandpit.

Reply to this comment.

Posted by: prince of persia Sunday, 27 February 2011 9:34 AM[UAE] - America

I dont find this to be impressive at all , so what if its the tallest building ? at the end of the day its just all cement.

America put a man on the moon, and that it did over 50 years ago , If the UAE can pull something like that off , that would be impressive!

Posted by: MM Sunday, 27 February 2011 12:05 PM[UAE] - UAE

So you are saying you have no culture and you do not appreciate any arts, design, engineering and technology. Shame on you.

And lets have a logic question. If America put 50 years ago a man on the moon then why hasn't it put after that. Maybe you should have a read on it and several questions raised on the fact whether it really had a man on the moon. I am not saying it didn't, just that there could be possibilities it didn't.

Posted by: Mazen Sunday, 27 February 2011 12:04 PM[UAE] - Saudi Arabia

What a strange comparison you make. The US lunar landing versus a building in Dubai...

Stay in the US and please do not come to the Middle East!

Reply to this comment.

Posted by: shaju Saturday, 26 February 2011 9:23 PM[UAE] - uae

In general people are short sighted and they move in herds. they don't see the future and its implications. Now many people lament Dubai for its mistake, should remember they have acheived so much and made themselves a name which developed nations and even their rich neighbour Abu Dhabi is jealous of Dubai. They have made the minimum things to make it a global city,,, long way to go and more to create. However, that can be done once current problems are resolved. The Rulers are doing a great job and smart enough to overcome current problems.

Even World Islands will become a great location in next ten years. for example, fifteen years before Maldives was offering islands free for tourism developments. only few daredavils took the offer, now they are selling rooms at a rate fo $1000 per night and it is almost full.... world Islands is a better story.

I am sure Dubai will out of the current problems in few years....

Reply to this comment.

Posted by: Ray Hanson EIC That Dubai Site. Thursday, 24 February 2011 7:34 PM[UAE] - UK

Charles has a very valid point, there has been a mentality amongst some developers of ?Build it and they will come? but I truly do not believe this is the case with Emaar and the Burj Khalifa.

There is a mentality of 'Calculated Risk Taking' in Dubai and the UAE in general; but that?s the only way to progress if you are looking to achieve growth at these levels.

There is no denying Dubai has made errors, as has every country the world over; but I have to say that Dubai in particular seems to have learned these errors and has adjusted accordingly. They follow the old adage ?An errors only a mistake if you make it twice, until then its an education?.

Reply to this comment.

Posted by: charles Thursday, 24 February 2011 10:13 AM[UAE] - uae

Ray seems more concerned about plugging his business. Build it and they will come Ray!

Reply to this comment.

Read All 10 Comments

Log in Not registered? Register now!

Retrieve password form

Services:

Related:

Stories

Galleries

Videos

People

Also in Construction

Also in UAE

Join the Discussion

Further reading

Features & Analysis

Most Popular

Most Discussed