HHHR Tower (Blue Tower)
When it topped out in 2010, only one building on earth housed people higher — and that one was in Australia.
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This 317-metre, 72-floor Sheikh Zayed Road tower held the title of second-tallest residential building in the world at completion, surpassed only by Q1 in Australia at 323 m. The record has since slipped to 16th globally and 6th in Dubai, but the numbers still frame just how fast the city built upward. A UAE-Hong Kong joint venture packed 454 apartments into the structure, which picked up the nickname "Blue Tower" along the way.
What to look for
- 72 floors reaching 317 metres — use the Sheikh Zayed Road footpath to appreciate the full vertical run
- The tower's common name — Blue Tower — distinguishing it from its official HHHR designation
- Its relative position in the Dubai skyline: once near the top, now 6th among residential towers in the same city
On Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai; primarily residential with some commercial use — confirm public access before making it a dedicated stop.
HHHR Tower (Blue Tower) is one of 33 sights worth the detour in Dubai, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Dubai pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Dubai
- Burj KhalifaHalf a mile of reinforced concrete, straight up — the tallest structure on Earth since 2009.
- Burj al-ArabA hotel shaped like a dhow sail, planted on its own man-made island 280 meters off the beach.
- Dubai MallIn 2023 it drew a record 105 million visitors — up 19 percent year-on-year from the 88 million recorded the year before.
- 23 MarinaFifty-seven swimming pools stacked into one tower — and since 2026, visible war damage on the skyline.
- Palm JumeirahSand and stone stacked on the Persian Gulf to form a palm shape — only legible from the air, and reportedly still sinking 5 mm every year.
- Rose Tower (Rose Rayhaan by Rotana)A 333-metre hotel on Sheikh Zayed Road that actually outreaches the Burj Al Arab — and most people walk past it.