Burj Khalifa, also known as Khalfah, is a mixed-use skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, that is the world’s tallest building, according to all three of the basic criteria used to evaluate such structures (see Researcher’s Note: Building Heights). Burj Khalifa (“Khalifa Tower”), formerly known as Burj Dubai, was officially named after Sheikh Khalifa ibn Zayed Al Nahyan, the ruler of the neighboring emirate of Abu Dhabi.
Even though the tower was formally opened on January 4, 2010, the interior was still incomplete. Built to contain a variety of commercial, residential, and hospitality operations, the tower attained completion at 162 floors and a height of 2,717 feet, despite the fact that its intended height remained a well held secret during its construction (828 metres). Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, a Chicago-based architectural firm, designed it. The architect was Adrian Smith, and the structural engineer was William F. Baker.
The three-lobed footprint of the building, which is an abstract portrayal of the indigenous Hymenocallis flower, is built out on a modular plan. In order to reduce wind forces on the tower, the Y-shaped plan is crucial. A succession of wings buttress a hexagonal central core, each with its own concrete core and surrounding columns. As the tower rises in height, the wings step back in a spiral pattern, changing the contour of the building at each tier and thereby decreasing the wind’s impact.
The central core emerges at the summit of the tower and is topped with a spire that rises over 700 feet (200 metres). The spire was built inside the tower and raised into place with the help of a hydraulic pump. The tower is supported at the fundamental level by a reinforced concrete mat almost 13 feet (4 metres) thick, which is supported in turn by concrete piles 5 feet (1.5 metres) in diameter.
The skyscraper is supported by a three-story podium, which, along with the two-story basement, totals over 2,000,000 square feet (186,000 square metres). Aluminium and stainless-steel panels, vertical stainless-steel tubular fins, and more than 28,000 hand-cut glass panels make up the tower’s outer cladding.
