Burj Khalifa (Arabic: برج خليفة, "Khalifa Tower", pronounced English /ˈbərdʒ kəˈliːfə/), 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.
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 of Frank 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 in Seoul. 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
The design of Burj Khalifa is derived from patterning systems embodied in Islamic architecture.
According to the structural engineer, Bill Baker of SOM, the building's
design incorporates cultural and historical elements particular to the
region such as the spiral minaret. The spiral minaret spirals and grows
slender as it rises.
The Y-shaped plan is ideal for residential and hotel usage, with the
wings allowing maximum outward views and inward natural light. As the tower rises from the flat desert base, there are 27 setbacks
in a spiralling pattern, decreasing the cross section of the tower as
it reaches toward the sky and creating convenient outdoor terraces. At
the top, the central core emerges and is sculpted to form a finishing
spire. At its tallest point, the tower sways a total of 1.5 m (4.9 ft).
As part of a study which reveals the unnecessary "vanity space" added
to the top of the world's tallest buildings by the Council on Tall
Buildings and Urban Habitat, it was revealed that without its 244-metre
spire, the 828-metre Burj Khalifa would drop to a substantially smaller
585-metre height without any reduction in usable space. As the report
states, the spire "could be a skyscraper on its own".
To support the unprecedented height of the building, the engineers
developed a new structural system called the buttressed core, which
consists of a hexagonal core reinforced by three buttresses that form
the ‘Y' shape. This structural system enables the building to support
itself laterally and keeps it from twisting.
The spire of Burj Khalifa is composed of more than 4,000 tonnes
(4,400 short tons; 3,900 long tons) of structural steel. The central
pinnacle pipe weighing 350 tonnes (390 short tons; 340 long tons) was
constructed from inside the building and jacked to its full height of
over 200 m (660 ft) using a strand jack system. The spire also houses communications equipment.
In 2009, architects announced that more than 1,000 pieces of art
would adorn the interiors of Burj Khalifa, while the residential lobby
of Burj Khalifa would display the work of Jaume Plensa, featuring 196 bronze and brass alloy cymbals representing the 196 countries of the world.
It was planned that the visitors in this lobby would be able to hear a
distinct timbre as the cymbals, plated with 18-carat gold, are struck by
dripping water, intended to mimic the sound of water falling on leaves.
The cladding system is designed to withstand Dubai's extreme summer temperatures, and consists of 142,000 m2 (1,528,000 sq ft) of reflective glazing, and aluminium and textured stainless steel spandrel
panels with vertical tubular fins. Over 26,000 glass panels were used
in the exterior cladding of Burj Khalifa, and more than 300 cladding
specialists from China were brought in for the cladding work on the
tower.The architectural glass provides solar and thermal performance as well
as an anti-glare shield for the intense desert sun, extreme desert
temperatures and strong winds. In total the glass covers more than
174,000 m2 (1,870,000 sq ft).
The exterior temperature at the top of the building is thought to be 6 °C (11 °F) cooler than at its base.
A 304-room Armani Hotel, the first of four by Armani, occupies 15 of the lower 39 floors.The hotel was supposed to open on 18 March 2010, but after several delays, it finally opened to the public on 27 April 2010.The corporate suites and offices were also supposed to open from March onwards,yet the hotel and observation deck remained the only parts of the building which were open in April 2010.
The sky lobbies on the 43rd and 76th floors house swimming pools. Floors through to 108 have 900 private residential apartments (which, according to the developer, sold out within eight hours of being on the market). An outdoor zero-entry swimming pool
is location the 76th floor of the tower. Corporate offices and suites
fill most of the remaining floors, except for a 122nd, 123rd and 124th
floor where the At.mosphere restaurant, sky lobby and an indoor
and outdoor observation deck is located respectively. In January 2010,
it was planned that Burj Khalifa would receive its first residents from
February 2010.
A total of 57 elevators and 8 escalators are installed.The elevators have a capacity of 12 to 14 people per cabin, the fastest
rising and descending at up to 10 m/s (33 ft/s) for double-deck
elevators. However, the world's fastest single-deck elevator still
belongs to Taipei 101
at 16.83 m/s (55.2 ft/s). Engineers had considered installing the
world's first triple-deck elevators, but the final design calls for double-deck elevators.
The double-deck elevators are equipped with entertainment features such
as LCD displays to serve visitors during their travel to the
observation deck. The building has 2,909 stairs from the ground floor to the 160th floor.
The graphic design identity work for Burj Khalifa is the responsibility of Brash Brands, who are based in Dubai. Design of the global launch events, communications, and visitors centers for Burj Khalifa have also been created by Brash Brands as well as the roadshow exhibition for the Armani Residences, which are part of the Armani Hotel within Burj Khalifa, which toured Milan, London, Jeddah, Moscow and Delhi.
Plumbing systems
The Burj Khalifa's water system supplies an average of 946,000 L
(250,000 US gal) of water per day through 100 km (62 mi) of pipes.
An additional 213 km (132 mi) of piping serves the fire emergency
system, and 34 km (21 mi) supplies chilled water for the air
conditioning system.The waste water system uses gravity to discharge water from plumbing
fixtures, floor drains, mechanical equipment and storm water, to the
city municipal sewer.
Air conditioning
The air conditioning system draws air from the upper floors where the air is cooler and cleaner than on the ground.
At peak cooling times, the tower's cooling is equivalent to that
provided by 13,000 t (29,000,000 lb) of melting ice in one day.The condensate collection system, which uses the hot and humid outside
air, combined with the cooling requirements of the building, results in a
significant amount of condensation of moisture from the air. The
condensed water is collected and drained into a holding tank located in
the basement car park; this water is then pumped into the site
irrigation system for use on the Burj Khalifa park.
Window cleaning
To wash the 24,348 windows, totaling 120,000 m2 (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 1,500 kg (3,300 lb) bucket
machine which moves horizontally and then vertically using heavy
cables. Above level 109, up to tier 27 traditional cradles from davits
are used. The top of the spire, however, is reserved for specialist
window cleaners, who brave the heights and high winds, dangling on ropes
to clean and inspect the top of the pinnacle.Under normal conditions, when all building maintenance units will be
operational, it will take 36 workers three to four months to clean the
entire exterior façade.
Unmanned machines will clean the top 27 additional tiers and the
glass spire. The cleaning system was developed in Melbourne, Australia
at a cost of A$8 million. The contract for building the state-of-the-art machines was won by Australian company Cox Gomyl.
Features
The Dubai Fountain
The Dubai Fountain
Main article: The Dubai Fountain
Outside, WET Enterprises
designed a fountain system at a cost of Dh 800 million
(US$217 million). Illuminated by 6,600 lights and 50 coloured
projectors, it is 275 m (902 ft) long and shoots water 150 m (490 ft)
into the air, accompanied by a range of classical to contemporary Arabic
and world music. On 26 October 2008, Emaar announced that based on results of a naming contest the fountain would be called the Dubai Fountain.
View from the observation deck looking north
Observation deck
View from the observation deck
On 8 February 2010, the observation deck was closed to the public after power-supply problems caused an elevator to become stuck between floors, trapping a group of tourists for 45 minutes. Despite rumours of the observation deck reopening for St. Valentine's Day (14 February), it remained closed until 4 April 2010.
Burj Khalifa park
Burj Khalifa is surrounded by an 11 ha (27-acre) park designed by landscape architects SWA Group. The design of the park is also inspired by the core design concepts of Burj Khalifa which is based on the symmetries of the desert flower, Hymenocallis.The park has six water features, gardens, palm lined walkways, and flowering trees. At the centre of the park and the base of Burj Khalifa is the water room, which is a series of pools and water jet fountains. In addition the railing, benches and signs incorporate images of Burj Khalifa and the Hymenocallis flower.The plants and the shrubbery will be watered by the buildings's condensation collection system that uses water from the cooling system. The system will provide 68,000,000 L (15,000,000 imp gal) annually. WET Enterprises, who also developed the Dubai Fountain, developed the park's six water features.
That's all about the skyscraper named Burj Khalifa in Dubai. Amazing right? Wish i can go to that place, i hope. Okeey thank's for reading my post guys! Bye, see you later:)
Source :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burj_Khalifa
