Postcard from Dubai

Greg Sang, a 41-year-old civil engineer from New Zealand, is in a hurry. In the 110 degrees F (43 degrees C) heat outside his site office, he tosses me a white hard hat and, leaving me sweating and struggling to keep up, strides briskly toward the base of the Burj Dubai, the soaring skyscraper he's in charge of building. Riding together in a jangling construction elevator, it takes us 3 min. 50 sec. to ascend to the giddy heights of the 104th floor — and the building's reach for the sky won't stop there. At the current rate, says Sang, his...