An architect wants to build a 550m-high ‘Downtown Circle’ around the Burj Khalifa

The Burj Khalifa in Dubai is still the tallest building in the world, but there are plans to make it even more imposing with the construction of the ‘Downtown Circle’.

While the skyscraper stands 828m tall, the Downtown Circle would sit 550m high.

This giant circular building would essentially be an entire suburb sitting up in the sky.

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Designed by ZNera Space with renders by PICTOWN, the circular building has a massive circumference of 3000m, meaning it would alter the entire Dubai skyline.

While the Burj Khalifa sits centrally in the Downtown Circle, there are plenty of shorter skyscrapers that would still sit below it.

It would encompass all of downtown Dubai, hence the name.

There would be five massive columns to hold the structure in the air.

What’s inside the Downtown Circle?

The circle would house both residential and commercial sections.

The designer says it would offer anything its residents would need.

It even has integrated transport solutions including pods that travel around the outside of it at 100km/h.

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There’s also a prominent helipad on top of it which would be perfect for helicopters or eVTOLs.

The Downtown Circle would also feature its own ecosystem with vegetation, flowers, and waterfalls. There’s even a plan to harvest rainwater.

ZNera Space co-founders Najmus Chowdry and Nils Remess explained to The National that the concept was “of a vertical city.”

“We wanted to go down to the basics of how gated communities were established as a very horizontal built environment,” Chowdry said.

While it’s unlikely something like this will ever be constructed, the concept has certainly got people thinking about the future of city living.