Burj Khalifa

Burj Khalifa

 Burj Khalifa

Burj Khalifa
برج خليفة
Former names	Burj Dubai
Record height
Tallest in the world since 2010
Preceded by	Taipei 101
General information
Status	Complete
Type	Mixed-use
Location	Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Coordinates	25°11′49.7″N55°16′26.8″ECoordinates: 25°11′49.7″N 55°16′26.8″E
Construction started	6 January 2004
Completed	2010
Opening	4 January 2010
Cost	USD $ 1.5 billion
Height
Architectural	828 m (2,717 ft)
Tip	829.8 m (2,722 ft)
Roof	828 m (2,717 ft)
Top floor	584.5 m (1,918 ft)
Observatory	452.1 m (1,483 ft)
Technical details
Floor count	163 floors plus 46 maintenance levels in the spire and 2 parking levels in the basement
Floor area	309,473 m2(3,331,100 sq ft)
Design and construction
Architect	Adrian Smith at SOM
Developer	Emaar Properties
Structural engineer	Bill Baker at SOM
Main contractor	Samsung Engineering and Construction Company, Besix andArabtec Supervision Consultant Engineer & Architect of Record Hyder Consulting Construction Project Manager Turner Construction Grocon Planning Bauer AG andMiddle East Foundations Lift contractor Otis VT consultant Lerch Bates
Website
www.burjkhalifa.ae

Burj Khalifa

·       Burj Khalifa (Arabic: برج خليفة‎, "Khalifa Tower"), known as Burj Dubai prior to its inauguration, is a skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and is the tallest man-made structure in the world, at 829.8 m (2,722 ft).

·       Construction began on 21 September 2004, with the exterior of the structure completed on 1 October 2009. The building officially opened on 4 January 2010, and is part of the new 2 km² (490-acre) development called Downtown Dubai at the 'First Interchange' along Sheikh Zayed Road, near Dubai's main business district.

^·         The tower's architecture and engineering were performed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill of Chicago, with Adrian Smith as chief architect, and Bill Baker as chief structural engineer.

^·         The primary contractor was Samsung C&T of South Korea.

·       The tower's construction was done by the construction division of Al Ghurair Investment group.

Conception

·       Burj Khalifa was designed to be the centerpiece of a large-scale, mixed-use development that would include 30,000 homes, nine hotels (including The Address Downtown Dubai), 3 hectares (7.4 acres) of parkland, at least 19 residential towers, the Dubai Mall, and the 12-hectare (30-acre) man-made Burj Khalifa Lake.

·       The decision to build Burj Khalifa is reportedly based on the government's decision to diversify from an oil based economy to one that is service and tourism based.

·       According to officials, it is necessary for projects like Burj Khalifa to be built in the city to garner more international recognition, and hence investment.

·       "He (Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum) wanted to put Dubai on the map with something really sensational," said Jacqui Josephson, a tourism and VIP delegations executive at Nakheel Properties.

Height

Records

·       Tallest existing structure: 829.8 m (2,722 ft) (previously KVLY-TV mast – 628.8 m or 2,063 ft)

·       Tallest structure ever built: 829.8 m (2,722 ft) (previously Warsaw radio mast – 646.38 m or 2,121 ft)

·       Tallest freestanding structure: 829.8 m (2,722 ft) (previously CN Tower – 553.3 m or 1,815 ft)

·       Tallest skyscraper (to top of spire): 829.8 m (2,722 ft) (previously Taipei 101 – 509.2 m or 1,671 ft)

·       Tallest skyscraper to top of antenna: 829.8 m (2,722 ft) (previously the Willis (formerly Sears) Tower – 527 m or 1,729 ft)

·       Building with most floors: 163 (previously World Trade Center – 110)

·       Building with world's highest occupied floor: 584.5 m (1,918 ft)

·       World's highest elevator installation (situated inside a rod at the very top of the building)

·       World's longest travel distance elevators: 504m (1,654 ft)

·       Highest vertical concrete pumping (for a building): 606 m (1,988 ft)

·       World's tallest structure that includes residential space

·       World's second highest outdoor observation deck: 124th floor at 452 m (1,483 ft) When it first opened, the observation deck was the highest outdoor observation deck in the World, but it has since been surpassed by Cloud Top 488 on top of Canton Tower.^[25]

·       World's highest installation of an aluminium and glass façade: 512 m (1,680 ft

·       World's highest nightclub: 144th floor

·       World's highest restaurant (At.mosphere): 122nd floor at 442 m (1,450 ft) (previously 360, at a height of 350 m (1,148 ft) in CN Tower)

·       World's highest New Year display of fireworks.

World's second highest swimming pool: 76th floor (world's highest swimming pool is located on 118th floor of Ritz-

·       Carlton Hotel at International Commerce Centre, Hong Kong).

History of height increases

·       There are unconfirmed reports of several planned height increases since its inception. Originally proposed as a virtual clone of the 560 m (1,837 ft) Grollo Tower proposal for Melbourne, Australia'sDocklands waterfront development, the tower was redesigned by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM).

·       Marshall Strabala, an SOM architect who worked on the project until 2006, in late 2008 said that Burj Khalifa was designed to be 808 m (2,651 ft) tall.

·       The design architect, Adrian Smith, felt that the uppermost section of the building did not culminate elegantly with the rest of the structure, so he sought and received approval to increase it to the current height.

·       It has been explicitly stated that this change did not include any added floors, which is fitting with Smith's attempts to make the crown more slender.

Delay

·       Emaar Properties announced on 9 June 2008 that construction of Burj Khalifa was delayed by upgraded finishes and would be completed only in September 2009.

·       An Emaar spokesperson said "The luxury finishes that were decided on in 2004, when the tower was initially conceptualized, is now being replaced by upgraded finishes.

^·         The design of the apartments has also been enhanced to make them more aesthetically attractive and functionally superior."

·       A revised completion date of 2 December 2009 was then announced.

·       However, Burj Khalifa was opened on 4 January 2010, more than a month later.

Architecture and design

·       The tower was designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, who also designed the Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower) in Chicago and the new One World Trade Center in New York City.

^·         The Burj Khalifa uses the bundled tube design.

^·         Proportionally, the design uses half the amount of steel used in the construction of the Empire State Building thanks to the tubular system.

·       Its design is reminiscent ofFrank Lloyd Wright's vision for The Illinois, a mile high skyscraper designed for Chicago. According to Marshall Strabala, a SOM architect who worked on the building's design team, Burj Khalifa was designed based on the 73 floor Tower Palace Three, an all residential building inSeoul. In its early planning, Burj Khalifa was intended to be entirely residential.

^·         Subsequent to the original design by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, Emaar Properties chose Hyder Consulting to be the supervising engineer with NORR Group Consultants International Limited chosen to supervise the architecture of the project.

^·         Hyder was selected for its expertise in structural and MEP (mechanical, electrical and plumbing) engineering.

^·         Hyder Consulting's role was to supervise construction, certify SOM's design, and be the engineer and architect of record to the UAE authorities.

·       NORR's role was the supervision of all architectural components including on site supervision during construction and design of a 6-storey addition to the Office Annex Building for architectural documentation.

·       NORR was also responsible for the architectural integration drawings for the Armani Hotel included in the Tower.

·       Emaar Properties also engaged GHD, an international multidisciplinary consulting firm, to act as an independent verification and testing authority for concrete and steelwork.