Experience At The Top of the world at Burj Dubai observatory. Sunday, 4th October 2009 Source : Emaar

For years now, poets and singers have spun their yarns to describe the ‘top of the world’ feeling and perhaps never got it right.

Now, At The Top of the world is becoming a reality, at Burj Dubai, the world’s tallest building, developed by Emaar Properties.

One of the world’s highest public observation decks, At The Top - located on Level 124 - will not only offer visitors majestic, sweeping vistas of Dubai, but will also be an evocative and interactive journey through the history and evolution of Dubai and Burj Dubai.

Ushering in an unparalleled experience, Burj Dubai’s At The Top is a tribute by Emaar to mankind’s quest to push higher, harder and faster, and scale new horizons.

Thomas Dempsey, General Manager, Burj Dubai, says At The Top will be a never-before experience for visitors. “The entire journey - starting from the welcome lobby at The Dubai Mall through a 65-metre travelator to the vertical travel in a double-deck elevator to finally watching the world uninterrupted from Level 124 - is educational, inspirational, compelling and thoroughly fulfilling.”

“The At The Top experience will be the high point – both literally and figuratively – for anyone visiting Dubai once we open doors later this year,” he added.

While a typical At The Top journey can be completed in approximately 45 minutes, visitors can savour the experience further through several interactive features including ‘Burj Dubai Among the Greats,’ ‘Burj Your City,’ ‘Tallest Among the Tall,’ and ‘Dubai Then and Now’ – charting the evolution of modern Dubai and how Burj Dubai dramatically alters the city skyline.

Abdulla Lahej, Executive Director, Dubai Project Management, Emaar Properties, said “Burj Dubai is a once-in-a-lifetime project. It is as monumental in stature, size, scale and scope that mankind can get to in terms of high-rise architecture now. With the At The Top experience, we are celebrating Burj Dubai’s iconic status and providing the world an opportunity to partake in this celebration.”

A ten-part journey, At The Top starts at The Dubai Mall, where visitors can buy tickets at an elegant welcome area featuring abstract, monumental fields of LED displays, reflecting the original three-core design inspiration of Burj Dubai.

The reception area will have a large scale model of Burj Dubai to provide a singular focus on the sheer scale of the tower whilst detailing the various components that contribute to its vertical city title. Throughout the journey, visitors will experience specially commissioned Arabic music blended with contemporary sounds.

Moving from the reception area and through the ticket check, visitors proceed towards the 65-metre long travelator that transports them from the mall into the world of Burj Dubai. While the views are surely the most thrilling part of the visit, the travelator journey – entitled ‘Dubai Now And Then’ - sets the stage for what is to come. Visitors experience an audio visual journey through time, from the earliest days of Dubai to the present.

This journey pauses at a unique viewing point called the ‘Burj Dubai Skylight’ point where visitors will get their first close-up view of the soaring structure peering through the skylight that frames the awe-inspiring height of the tower. This is the only part in the journey where visitors can actually look up to see the tower in its full height and majesty.

‘From the vision to reality’ is the next leg of the journey that leads visitors to the elevators. Along this area, visitors will be engaged in the making of Burj Dubai while getting ready for their elevator ride to Level 124.

Travelling at a speed of 10 metres per second, the journey to Level 124 will take approximately 60 seconds. When the doors slide open, guests will be welcomed with floor-to-ceiling glass providing unobstructed 360 degree views. Visitors can also adventure outside onto the open-air deck to peer into the distance or down to the familiar streets below.

Special telescopes will provide virtual time-travel visions of the scenes beyond and below, allowing guests to see them in the close-up real-time not only the spectacular views of Dubai but also its past and future, the day and night, regardless of the weather.

Guests can linger as long as they like, walking completely around the perimeter, taking in all views, before making the return journey to the base of Burj Dubai. On the path back to the starting point at The Dubai Mall, visitors will more completely appreciate the architectural, technological and engineering marvel that is Burj Dubai through a series of models and interactive kiosks.

The last stop of the journey is the At The Top boutique, where visitors can indulge in some Burj Dubai inspired and branded souvenirs.

At The Top is scheduled to open this year.  Burj Dubai is over 800 metres high and has over 160 storeys, the most floors in any building anywhere in the world.