Burj Al Alam
Dubai began foundations for a 510-metre crystal-flower tower, but the pit filled with water and was eventually levelled after the financial crisis.
Quick facts
- Existence state
- Never Born
- Peak stage
- full production started
- Research confidence
- high
- Last verified
What it was
An unfinished 108-storey tower designed by Nikken Sekkei for Dubai's Business Bay.
The hyperboloid tower would combine offices, a hotel, restaurants and a crown shaped like crystalline petals.
Existence timeline
Excavation and foundation activity start in Business Bay.
The deep site is prepared for a 510-metre tower.
The financial crisis freezes construction.
The official site expires and the excavation deteriorates.
The development is listed among cancelled projects.
Regulators process claims around the failed project.
Why it ended
Construction stalled after 2009 and the original project was formally cancelled amid developer liquidation proceedings.
Last confirmed trace
Foundation works, site photographs, regulatory records and the CTBUH database preserve the original scheme.
What it left behind
The abandoned foundation became a physical marker of Dubai's property boom and sudden financial reversal.
How we classified it
The proposed archive unit never reached ordinary public access in the form being documented.
The strongest verified milestone maps to full_production_started under Arrival Score V1.
Sources & verification
Last reviewed 2026-08-01. Sources are linked so readers can inspect the evidence directly.