Monthly Archives: February 2014

Inside the design on the Burj Khalifa

design_tcm62-17110Located in Dubai, the Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world standing at over 828 meters. This incredible building has broken countless records including highest number of stories in the world and having the tallest service elevator in the world(1). This immense building required a combination of design and science.

The unique design of Burj Khalifa is what truly sets it apart. The architecture features a triple-lobed footprint, an abstraction of the Hymenocallis flower(2). The tower is built around a central core. Much testing went into the build of Burj Khalifa. Wind tunnel testing was crucial to examine the effects the wind would have on the tower and its occupants. All stages of construction were tested with the wind tunnel. The Burj tower is supported by 194 bored cast-in-place piles. The piles are 1.5 meter in diameter and approximately 43 meters long(3).

Being the tallest building in the world it attracts tourists. One of the attractions is the observation deck which opened on January 5, 2010 located on the 124th floor. This platform is the third highest observation deck in the world at 452 m. Although you may think it can’t get any better, the observation deck features the Behold Telescope allowing visitors to view the surrounding landscape.(4)

 

1 – http://www.burjkhalifa.ae/en/TheTower/FactsFigures.aspx

2 – http://www.burjkhalifa.ae/en/TheTower/Design.aspx

3 – http://www.enggpedia.com/civil-engineering-encyclopedia/megastructures/burj-khalifa-structural-details

4 – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burj_Khalifa#Features