Burj Khalifa: Tallest Building in the World
Open for business despite hard economic times!
The world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalafi, recently opened in the Gulf emirate of Dubai, standing standing almost a half-mile tall (2716 ft). It beats the current record holder, Taipei 101 in Taiwan, by over a 1000 ft (previous record for Taipai 101 was 1666 ft).
Originally named the Burj Dubai, the building was renamed for the leader of its emirate neighbor, Abu Dhabi, which loaned Dubai $10 billion to complete construction.
The project began construction in 2004 and completed November of last year. It boasts 160 stories and almost 5 million square feet of office and residential space.
Although the building interior was still being completed, the project was opened 1325 work days after start of excavation (ground breaking, essentially) work.
The building was designed by the American architecture firm of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, which also designed the Sears Tower in Chicago and 1 World Trade Center tower in New York City.
Building a tower to an unprecedented height required special design considerations by the structural engineers. Specifically, the building faces high winds due to height and possible earthquakes from a nearby fault.
Other than design challenges, the project faced financial ones as well. The project began construction during good financial times but faced declining property values and shortage of buyers and leasers for its residential units and commercial space, respectively.
At its peak, the 1044 luxury condominium units were selling for approximately $2700 per square foot, which has dropped significantly during boom times. The same holds true for commercial space, where rental rates have plummeted.
The tower is big win for Dubai, which gained notoriety during the oil price spike in the past several years. Dubai and other emirates are major exporters of oil, which has paid for projects such as the Burj Khalafi.
In addition, the project is a win for civil engineering, which continues to innovate with new designs that allow buildings to climb higher and bridges to span longer.
Finally, other highlights include:
- A 900-ft fountain at the foot of the tower, the largest operating fountain in the world
- 57 elevator lifts to eliminate the need for elevators with much longer runs
- Main service lift has rise of over 1500 ft
- Tower is part of 500-acre development
- Tower occupancy to be approximately 12,000 people.
