The Burj Dubai Opens. Yay?

The 2,684 foot Burj Dubai-the world's tallest man-made structure-opened today. Der Spiegel has a nice photo gallery from the tower.And here's a chart comparing the Burj Dubai to other very tall structures:

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Like Andre the Giant, however, the Burj Dubai faces some interesting challenges thanks to its unusual tallness:

...temperatures at the very top are up to 8 degrees Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit) cooler than at its base. Should a window at the top and a door at the bottom be opened at the same time-along with all the airlocks in between-a phenomenon called the "chimney effect" would unleash a storm ripping the interior of the building apart.

It's an engineering feat. So that's something humanity can be proud of, perhaps. But architecture critics are largely aghast, and it's hard to think of the tower as symbolizing anything other than a shortsighted faith in oil-fueled development, and a silly and largely arbitrary equation of physical height with importance.