The tallest skyscraper in the world, the Burj Khalifa, in Dubai, UAE, stands over 2700 feet high. With a total of 57 elevators, 8 escalators, 154 floors 46 spire levels, and over 3,000,000 square feet of floor, it dwarfs the tiny buildings below and beyond. People from around the world come to Dubai to gaze at its unmatched beauty & height! With a cost of about 1.5 billion US Dollars, it is one of the most expensive engineering feats on Earth! The Burj Khalifa began construction back in January 2004, construction lasted approximately 6 years, the building was completed in 2010. Succeeding the Taipei 101 tower by over 1000 feet, its design is based on beautiful Islamic Architecture and patterns. With a shape like no other, its physique and construction style is unique, eye-catching and absolutely stunning.
The Burj is composed of over 4000 tonnes of structural steel, the central pinnacle pipe itself weighing 350 tonnes. Over 26,000 panels of glass were used to adorn the exterior and over 1000 pieces of art beautify the interior. The Burj Khalifa’s water system supplies an average of 946,000 L of water per day through 100 km of pipes.
The air conditioning system draws air from the upper floors where the air is cooler and cleaner than on the ground. Very clever. At peak cooling times, the tower’s cooling is equivalent to that provided by 26,000,000 pounds of melting ice in one day. The numbers are getting ridiculous. To wash the 24,348 windows, totaling 1,290,000 sq ft of glass, a horizontal track has been installed on the exterior of Burj Khalifa at levels 40, 73, and 109. Each track holds a 3,300 lb bucket machine which moves horizontally and then vertically using heavy cables. The cleaning system was developed in Melbourne, Australia at a cost of A$8 million!
The massive tower also features The Dubai Fountain, an Observation deck, on the top floor, and Burj Khalifa Park, a 27 acre park surrounding the skyscraper.
A graphical comparison of the heights of the tallest buildings in the world.
The official launch ceremony also featured a huge firework show, which displayed over 10,000 fireworks, sound, light, and water effects, and various other special events.
The Dubai skyline piercing the clouds. Amazing!
Here are some weird facts:
The building has been used for a number of Base Jumps! This is where skydivers jump off the top of the building. Dont worry they have parachutes!
On 28 March 2011, Alain “Spiderman” Robert scaled the outside of Burj Khalifa. The climb to the top of the spire took six hours.
Within 17 months of the building’s official opening, a man described as “an Asian in his mid-30s” who worked at one of the companies in the tower, died by suicide on 10 May 2011 by jumping from the 147th floor.
The labor issues during construction have been controversial, since the building was built primarily by workers from South Asia and East Asia, who earned low wages and were reportedly housed in poor conditions.
The Mechanosite 