Burj Khalifa Essay

568 Words3 Pages
Burj Khalifa Burj Khalifa is a skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is the tallest man-made structure in the world, standing at 829.8 m (2,722 ft). At 2,717 feet, the Burj Khalifa, formerly known as the Burj Dubai, rises like a bolt of lightening into the sky, dwarfing the surrounding skyscrapers. The tower, which opened on January 4th, became the world’s tallest building. Burj Khalifa is not only the tallest building in the world but it is also ranked above the CN Tower as it is the tallest free-standing structure in the world. The total cost for constructing this Skyscraper was US $1.5 billion. The developers are Emaar Properties and it is designed by Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill. According to the statistics, Burj Khalifa has more than 160 stories, it is the tallest building, it is the tallest free standing structure, it has the highest number of stories, it has highest occupied floor, it has highest outdoor observation deck, it has elevator with the longest travel distance, and it has the tallest service elevator in the world. The Burj Khalifa is specially designed to conquer the wind, a goal that becomes more and more important as altitude increases. The building rises to the heavens in several separate stalks, which top out unevenly around the central spire. This somewhat odd-looking design deflects the wind around the structure and prevents it from forming organized whirlpools of air current, or vortices, that would rock the tower from side to side and could even damage the building. Even with this strategic design, the 206-story Burj Khalifa will still sway slowly back and forth by about 2 meters at the very top. When constructing a skyscraper, consideration of the wind is paramount, says Carol Willis, director and curator of the Skyscraper Museum in New York.7 Throughout the design process, structural engineers and wind specialists work

More about Burj Khalifa Essay

Open Document