BURJ KHALIFA
Dubai, UAE
The world’s tallest building stands at 828 metres. An incomparable feat of engineering, the Burj Khalifa is a symbol of dynamism and prosperity of the Middle East. Mohamed Alabbar, chairman of Emaar Properties, has called the awe-inspiring structure as Arab world’s tribute to the art and science of modern engineering and design. Burj Khalifa symbolises the aesthetic union of Arabian and world architecture.
The design of the Burj Khalifa was done by the Chicago office of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM) with Adrian Smith FAIA, RIBA, as consulting design partners. The tower’s wings extend from its core, forming a triple-lobed footprint.
About one-fourth of the 163 floors feature the Armani Hotel, Armani Residences and private ultra-luxury residences. The rest of the floors cater to Corporate Suites except for level 124 which is the world’s second-highest public observatory.
- Certified as the world’s tallest building in 2010 with 163 storeys
- The total weight of aluminium used on it is equivalent to that in five A-380 aircrafts
- It’s three times as tall as the Eiffel Tower
- Has a public observatory at 124th level
- Burj Khalifa’s construction used 330,000 cubic metres of concrete and 39,000 tonnes of steel rebar. It took 22 million man-hours to build it
- Over 40 wind tunnel tests were conducted on Burj Khalifa to examine the effects of wind on the structure
