Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Developer: Emaar Properties
Architect: Adrian Smith, Skidmore, Owings, & Merrill (SOM)
Year: Officially opened January 4, 2010
Height: 828 meters / 2,717 feet (including the spire)
Stories: 162
About the Burj Khalifa
The soaring skyscraper is now named after Khalifa Bin Zayed, the president of the United Arab Emirates.
Dubai has been a showplace for innovative, modern building, and the Burj Khalifa shatters world records. The skyscraper is much taller than Taiwan's Taipei 101, which rises 508 metres (1,667 feet). During a time of economic slowdown, the Dubai Tower has become an icon for wealth and progress in this city on the Persian Gulf. No expense was spared for the building's opening ceremonies on January 4, 2010.
Skyscraper Safety
The extreme height of the Burj Khalifa raises safety concerns. Could occupants be evacuated quickly in the event of an extreme fire or explosion? How well would a skyscraper this tall withstand a fierce storm or earthquake? Engineers for the Burj Kahalifa claim that the building design incorporates multiple safety features.
Hexagonal core with Y-shaped buttresses for structural support
Capacity withstand 7.0 magnitude
Hexagonal core with Y-shaped buttresses for structural support
Capacity withstand 7.0 magnitude
earthquakes
Concrete reinforcement around stairways
World's fastest elevators
38 fire- and smoke-resistant evacuation lifts
Critical Response
Dubai's new skyscraper has received both praise and condemnation. Although the building's structural system is innovative, the Burj Kahalifa is expensive and impractical to maintain. For critical reviews, see:
Concrete reinforcement around stairways
World's fastest elevators
38 fire- and smoke-resistant evacuation lifts
Critical Response
Dubai's new skyscraper has received both praise and condemnation. Although the building's structural system is innovative, the Burj Kahalifa is expensive and impractical to maintain. For critical reviews, see: