“Now, new units in this building are being sold at a discounted price, which is causing potential issues with existing residents.” “One centrally-located development had a great vision and ‘cool’ external architecture that matched the location, but the interior design was very ostentatious – designed to impress a specific demographic who weren’t living in or moving to the area,” he says.
#Millennium tower sinking pictures windows#
He added that “Sometimes we also find it difficult to communicate with people in these high-rises, especially when people are panicking from windows or balconies.” The biggest issue is the use of non-fire-rated aluminium exterior cladding, which covers two thirds of Dubai’s towers, according to The National newspaper, who carried out an investigation into the Emirates’ high-rises in 2015.īrash thinks there are certainly cases in London of over-priced high-rise style over substance. It happened again on New Year’s Eve that year at the 63-storey The Address hotel in Dubai Marina, to the confusion of many awaiting a fireworks display the same night.Īs Dubai’s civil defence chief Ali Hassan Almutawa explained at the time, “Dubai is leading the world in high-rises, and sometimes we have challenges or difficulties reaching those buildings”.
The unfortunately-named Torch Tower, one of the world’s tallest residential towers, did just that in 2015, with scorched metal and glass raining down to the ground. But it isn’t sinking that has proved a problem there it’s towers bursting into flames. Talking of skyscrapers built on sand, nowhere does high-rise quite like Dubai. The system was already too permissive, but the challenges today, on an engineering and construction basis, are even more grave.” As Roberta Brandes Gratz, a board member of the Center for the Living City, an urban development watchdog, commented in the New York Times: “There are technical differences in these supertalls that go beyond just a matter of additional feet. The rest are still considered active construction sites until those requirements are signed off, even years after residents have moved in.Īs developers the world over seek to create ever-higher trophy towers in high-rise cities, there are plenty more examples of residential skyscrapers where style is triumphing over substance and safety. A recent investigation by The New York Times shows that only three of New York’s 25 tallest buildings – and none of them are on Billionaire’s Row – have passed the city’s safety requirements. But it’s not the only skyscraper on Manhattan’s “Billionaires’ Row'' to pose potential safety risks. Service charges in the building have rocketed from $1,200 five years ago to $15,000 a year – this includes subsidising the in-house restaurant with a Michelin-starred chef – and residents’ insurance premiums have shot up by a reported 300%.Īn engineering consultant hired by the board of unit owners describes 432 Park Avenue’s problems as “life safety issues”. And when a contractor accidentally drilled into the wiring while trying to fix a leak, the ensuing breakdown of the air con system took $1.5m to repair. When rubbish plummets down the chutes of this pencil-thin, 1400 ft-tall tower, it’s like a bomb has gone off, according to one resident.
The building sways in high winds, and there’s a constant clanking and creaking like a ship’s galley. Regular floods, leaks and lift breakdowns that leave residents trapped for hours are among the litany of complaints. Now, residents are suing the building’s developers, CIM Group and Macklowe Properties, for $125m in damages, citing 1,500 construction and design defects that have seen their repair bills and blood pressure shoot through the roof. Living the dream has turned somewhat hellish for the skyscraper’s super-rich home-owners (who briefly included Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez, before they split up and sold up). The billionaire residents of 432 Park Avenue – the world’s tallest residential tower, when it was built in 2015 – must rue the day they bought into the pinnacle of Manhattan’s super-skinny, sky-high living.
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