Burj Kalifa ~ the Tallest Tower in the World

If you are in Dubai, you HAVE to go on the Burj Kalifa, the tallest tower in the world! (Burj means actually tower and Kalifa is the name of the sponsor). OMG ~ this is again a very impressive building in Dubai, there are many but this one tops the list!! (Click on the link to see more details and facts!)

How elegant, how futuristic, how gorgeous, how sleek, how AMAZING looking is this tower!!

Here a view from Burj Kalifa, looking down on the other sky scrapers in a morning fog.



It is not only the tallest tower in the world, but also has the quickest elevator in the world. It goes up 124 stories in less than 1 minute!! You feel if you are in a space shuttle, it has lights inside that goes on and off and you feel it in your stomach and ears when you go up and down. Then when you are on the highest floor that the public can go, the observation deck - 124th floor - you look down on other SKY SCRAPERS and you think they are toys!! It is just mind boggling how tall this building is!!

The world is not stopping anywhere even though there are many barriers coming ahead of them which include terror attacks, natural calamities and so on , but all over the world the Race for the Tallest Building is still going on and there are many towers being built to take place of the Number #1 Position

Just to give you some facts and figures:

Basic facts

1. Burj Khalifa is located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

2. It’s 828 metres tall (2,717 feet).

3. The exact height was not revealed until final stages of the construction.

4. It was officially opened on Jan 4, 2010.

5. It was previously known as Burj Dubai.

6. Burj means Tower in Arabic language.

7. It’s renamed after Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President of UAE and ruler of Abu Dhabi.



World records

8. Tallest building – previously Taiwan’s Taipei 101 (509m).

9. Tallest free-standing structure – previously Canada’s CN Tower (555m).

10. Tallest man-made structure – previously USA’s KVLY-TV Mast (629m).

11. Tallest man-made structure ever – previously Poland’s Warsaw Radio Mast (647m).

12. Building with most floors (160) – previously USA’s World Trade Center (110).

13. Highest elevator installation.

14. Highest outdoor observation deck (~440m)

15. Highest mosque at 158th floor.

16. Fastest elevators at speed of 64km/h, or 18m/s.

17. It would take just a minute to reach from ground level to top floor.

Architecture facts

19. Burj Kalifa has more than 162 floors.

20. It has 49 office floors.

21. It houses 1044 residential apartments.

22. It has a floor area of 334,000 square metres.

23. There’s 57 lifts in the tower.

24. There’s 28,261 of glass-panels on the exterior of the tower.

25. Its top spire can be seen from 95km afar.

26. The architecture features a triple-lobed footprint, an abstraction of the Hymenocallis flower.

27. The Y-shaped floor plan aims to maximize views of the Gulf.

28. Over 1,000 pieces of art from prominent Middle Eastern and international artists will adorn the tower and the surrounding Emaar Boulevard.

Environmental facts

29. The tower’s peak electricity demand is estimated at 50MVA, equivalent to roughly 500,000 100-watt light bulbs.

30. It’s expected to use an average of 946,000 litres of water each day.

31. During peak cooling conditions, the tower will require around 12,500 tons of cooling, equivalent to the cooling capacity of about 10,000 tons of melting ice.

Construction facts

32. Construction began in September 2004.

33. The tower’s architect and engineer is Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (Chicago).

34. The main constructor is Emaar Properties, a joint venture by Korea’s Samsung C&T, Belgium’s Besix and UAE’s Arabtec.

35. The construction project manager is Turner Construction Company.

36. Bill Baker is the chief structural engineer.

37. Adrian Smith is consulting design partner.

38. It took some 22 million man-hours to be completed.

39. On downside, foreign construction workers were pay as little as $4 per day.

40. Over 45,000 cubic-metres of concrete, weighing more than 110,000 tonnes, were used.

41. Concrete used was enough to lay a 2,065km-long pavement; and equivalent to the weight of 100,000 elephants.

42. Total weight of aluminium used is equivalent to that of five A380 aircraft.

43. Total length of stainless steel bull nose fins used is equal to 293 times the height of France’s Eiffel Tower.

44. The foundations were dug to depths of 50m.

Financial figures

45. Total cost estimated at US$1.5 billion.

46. The price for the offices spaces reached as high as US$4,000 per sq ft.

47. Residential spaces as high as US$3,500 per sq ft.

48. The building is part of the a 490-acre flagship development called Downtown Burj Khalifa.

Random stuff

49. Burj Khalifa is about twice the height of Empire State Building (443m).

50. It’s taller than Hong Kong’s Victoria Peak (552m).

51. It’s the first world’s tallest structure in history to include residential space.

52. It will feature the world’s first Armani Hotel, which occupies 15 of the lower 39 floors.

53. The exterior temperature at the top of will be 6°C cooler than its base (some say 10°C).

54. Jan 4, its opening date, was the birthday of Sir Isaac Newton.

55. Around 12,000 people are expected to live and work in the tower when it’s fully occupied.

56. The tower’s official website is www.burjkhalifa.ae.

IMPRESSIVE OR WHAT??

Here some of our pictures from the observation deck on the 124th floor, looking downtown Dubai.

Below you see the Address Hotel, located in the happening heart of Downtown Dubai, the hotel has the world's tallest tower, Burj Khalifa and the stunning Dubai Fountain on its doorstep and is flanked by The Dubai Mall, the world's largest shopping and entertainment centre.





We are standing on the observation deck and looking up to the rest of the tower, on the right side you see a reflection of the tower in a pole... I thought that was a cool effect to photograph. You only see 1 tower, since there is only one. But see how high it still is!



Down below we went to see the Dubai Fountain, another impressive sight. It's a record-setting choreographed fountain system set on the 30-acre manmade Burj Khalifa Lake, at the center of the Downtown Dubai development in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It was designed by WET Design, the California-based company responsible for the fountains at the Bellagio Hotel Lake in Las Vegas. Illuminated by 6,600 lights and 25 colored projectors, it is 275 m (902 ft) long and shoots water 150 m (490 ft) into the air (equivalent to a 50-story building), accompanied by a range of classical to contemporary Arabic and world music.[1] It was built at a cost of AED 800 million (USD 218 million).

Nothing is NOT record setting here in Dubai!! Everything just blows your mind away, you are constantly in awe...



Just amazing the fountain, the water sprays on music with a huge light show!



And here a picture of the Burj Kalifa when we are standing next to the fountain.



Dubai is such a wonderland!!
I really enjoyed this amazing city!

PS: Annie, show this post to your son, I know he will love all the facts and figures :-)
PPS: My next posting will be about the Overnight Desert Safari :-)

Mireille