Tallest buildings in Dubai. The tallest building in Dubai: height, photo. Burj Khalifa - the tallest skyscraper
The Burj Khalifa Tower in Dubai, shaped like a stalagmite, is the tallest skyscraper in the world. During construction, the height of this skyscraper was kept secret. This was due to two main reasons. The first reason is that during construction work it turned out that the height of the building could be increased. The second is the possibility of making adjustments during construction in case it turns out that a taller skyscraper is being built somewhere.
See also: Dancing and singing fountains in Dubai - this wonder of the world is located right under the skyscraper.
The height of the tower became known only on January 4, 2010 during the opening ceremony. It was announced that the tower exceeds all skyscrapers known to date, and its height is 828 meters. Since its opening, the Dubai Tower "Burj Dubai" has been called the Khalifa Tower - "Burj Khalifa" in honor of the country's president.
One of the authors of the project is the American architect Adrian Smith, who has repeatedly designed famous skyscrapers, in particular the Chinese Jin-Mao skyscraper. The Burj Khalifa skyscraper was created as a kind of city with its own boulevards, lawns and parks. The 37 lower floors of the tower are dedicated to the Armani Hotel, named after its designer Giorgio Armani, and 900 luxury apartments are located from the 44th to 108th floors. The hundredth floor of the building is owned by B. R. Shetty, an Indian billionaire, who has three huge apartments at his disposal, and on the 43rd and 76th floors you can relax in the pool, gym, or admire the panorama of the city from the observation deck. The highest observation deck, most of which is glazed, is located on the 124th floor of the skyscraper at an altitude of 472 m. Here you can use an electronic telescope for a better view of the city. At the highest altitude in the world, on the 122nd floor of a skyscraper, the Atmosphere restaurant is located. Most of the other floors of the tower are office spaces.
Construction work, which began in 2004, proceeded at a fairly high pace: 1-2 floors per week. The 160 floors were built using concrete work, and the 180-meter spire was created using metal structures. During construction, certain grades of concrete were used that can withstand temperatures up to 50 degrees, and the concrete was laid at night.
The climatic features of the UAE were taken into account not only during construction work. To reduce the effect of swaying in the wind, the tower was given an asymmetrical shape. Glass was used for the building so that it would not allow dust to pass through and would reflect the sun's rays. Special membranes in the floor cool and aromatize the indoor air. All this made it possible to maintain a comfortable temperature inside the building, despite the scorching heat outside.
The tower's solar panels and wind-driven turbine generate autonomous electricity, and the fire safety system makes it possible to evacuate the tower's inhabitants in 32 minutes. 57 elevators operate for visitors to the tower and move at a speed of 10 m/s.
The Dubai press dubbed the skyscraper the “Tower of Pride”, taking into account the fact that it is the tallest structure created in the entire history of construction.
New Year's fireworks from Burj Khalifa in Dubai 2013 HD
Dubai is famous throughout the world for its unique structure, reminiscent of a real stalagmite. This is the Burj Khalifa skyscraper. The height of the building is simply amazing, it is 828 meters, and it consists of 163 floors. Climbing to its top, you can see any point of the Arab metropolis and delight the eyes of tourists who come here from all over the world.
History of construction
The architects developing the project for this structure planned from the very beginning that they would create it under the name “Burj Khalifa”. The height of this skyscraper and the number of its floors were kept in the strictest confidence until the very end of construction. According to the Sheikh of Dubai, this tower was supposed to become a symbol of a new, recently built area, and attract tourists from all over the planet.
Construction of this structure began in 2004. Every day, more than 12 thousand workers came to work to erect the building, who built two floors a week. The height of the Burj Khalifa tower is several hundred meters higher than many skyscrapers; the structure itself has no analogues in the whole world; an asymmetrical shape was invented for its construction. It is thanks to this idea of the architects that this structure can withstand strong winds.
The United Arab Emirates is known for its high temperatures and scorching rays of the sun, so for the construction of the tower a special type of concrete was created that can withstand heat up to +50 degrees Celsius. It’s also not hot inside the building, since it is completely glazed with unique materials that do not allow the sun’s rays to pass through and repel all dust. But despite this, the tower windows are washed every day. The skyscraper is even endowed with its own aroma, which is created by special membranes.
Construction ended in 2010, and the grand opening of the Burj Khalifa skyscraper took place. The height of this Arab landmark instantly made the building famous throughout the world. According to the Sheikh of Dubai, the tower received this name in honor of their president, the Khalifa.
Description
Many people say about this skyscraper that it is an independent city in the very center of the metropolis. It has its own electrical and air conditioning systems. Electricity is supplied to the building thanks to a large array of solar panels, and a comfortable temperature is maintained using sea water and underground cooling modules. Therefore, the air inside this building will not warm up above +18 degrees Celsius, which is undoubtedly very important for the hot climate of the UAE.
Near the structure itself there is a beautiful, unique singing fountain, the creation of which cost approximately 217 million dollars. It can throw its jets to a height exceeding 150 meters.
What's inside?
The height of the Burj Khalifa building is quite impressive, so it could accommodate many hotels, offices, apartments and shopping centers. For them, the building has three separate entrances: one is intended for guests of hotel complexes, the other is for office employees, and the third is for residents of apartments.
From the 1st to the 39th floor there is a hotel in the skyscraper, where the interior was designed by the famous designer and fashion designer after whom it was named (Armani). For lovers of an active lifestyle, the building's designers built sports complexes with swimming pools located on the 43rd and 76th floors. And from 44th to 72nd and from 77th to 108th there are nine hundred luxury apartments. An Indian billionaire lives on the hundredth floor and bought it entirely as his own property.
Office premises are located from the 111th to 154th floors. The Atmosphere restaurant is located on the 122nd floor of the Burj Khalifa, its height suggests that it is the highest restaurant in the world. The number of seats in it is designed for eighty people.
The observation deck is considered the most popular place in the Burj Khalifa tower (124th floor). Its height is 472 meters.
Excursion to the top
The panoramic platform called At the Top, which means “at the top,” was opened to its first guests back in 2008. Many tourists say that if they have not been to this observatory, they have not been to Dubai.
Many people come here to specifically visit the Burj Khalifa observation deck. Photos from above are stunning: you can photograph an incomparable view or the desert of the Arabian Peninsula. It looks like they were made on board some kind of plane. There are also many telescopes located in this place; their power allows you to take a closer look at the entire metropolis. A bird's eye view offers beautiful panoramas of Sheikh Zayed Road and the entire surrounding area. Undoubtedly, visiting this observation deck, you will look at Dubai with completely different eyes.
The duration of this excursion is one hour, but this is enough to enjoy all the beautiful views and landscapes.
How to purchase a pass to the tower?
Tickets can be purchased at the skyscraper's box office located on the first level, but to do this you will have to stand in a long line. To avoid this, it is better to purchase them on the Burj Khalifa website. It is also possible to order them from travel agencies, but this will cost 25 dirhams more.
The cost of entry to the tower varies depending on the date of purchase of the ticket and age. Therefore, an express pass will cost AED 400 for both children and adults. Regular ticket prices range from 95 to 125 AED. It would also be appropriate to purchase a special telescope card worth 25 dirhams. If a whole group of friends or family is going on such an excursion, then one such card will be enough for them; there is no need to take it for each person.
Built the tallest building in the world? Then listen, and we will tell you everything in detail and even show you. It all started a long time ago, in the middle of the last century, when oil was discovered in the UAE. Since then, the fountain of petrodollars gushing from the ground has made it possible to transform the desert into a country of modern megacities. The construction of skyscrapers in large cities does not stop for a minute, and the number of cranes has exceeded the number of typical desert inhabitants - camels.
And so, in the largest city of the Emirates, they decided to build the tallest building in the world - the first vertical city on the planet. I must say that the Arabs in general are so eager for the very best. It’s time to create a separate book of records for them.
Ambition
So, from plans they quickly moved on to action and in 2002 they turned to the architect Adrian Smith, who was the author of the skyscraper project in Shanghai. Initially, the task was set: to catch up and slightly surpass the height of the Taiwanese skyscraper (509 m), but gradually appetites grew, the height bar rose higher and higher. The project was redone more than once. The estimated height of the building was announced - 518 m, 705 m, 750 m... The final height was kept secret until the very last moment - they were wildly afraid that competitors would surpass them and design something more grandiose. Then, during construction, changes would have been made to the original version, and no one would have guessed anything. But there were no people willing to measure their height. And when the tower was built and its height was announced at the official opening - 828 meters, we can say that no one even expected that it would surpass the previous record holder by as much as 319 meters. In general, the guys wanted to break away from their possible opponents with a margin.
Construction
So, at the beginning of 2004, they began to lay the foundation. Or rather, first they began to dig a hole, and not just a hole, but a very, very large hole. But the tower has no foundation, in the usual sense. She stands on stilts. The soil here is unimportant: first sand, and then fragile rock with a lot of cracks. Therefore, builders used hanging piles. They were screwed into sand and rocky soil, and their load-bearing capacity is ensured by a diameter of 1.5 meters and a length of 45 meters. About two hundred of these piles form a significant part of the base of the tower. They prevent a building weighing half a million tons from going underground.
The outlines of the foundation resemble the contours of a desert pancrat flower. But this is not a tribute to the beauty of the flower and not the sentimentality of the designers. It’s just that this shape makes it easier to erect a building several hundred meters high. In December 2004, construction began on the floors of the world's tallest building. Every three days a new floor appeared. And all because the work was carried out around the clock, seven days a week. There were about 100 engineers, planners and designers, and up to 12 thousand workers worked on the site every day. The contractor was Samsung Engineering. And also, it was for the construction of this building that a special brand of heavy-duty concrete was developed that can withstand temperatures of +50 degrees. Moreover, the concrete was poured only at night, when it was cooler, and even cooled with ice so that it hardened more slowly and did not crack. In general, there was a lot of hassle.
Problems
The higher the building rose, the more problems arose. In some ways, the experience of building other skyscrapers was useful, but many original solutions were used for the first time during the construction of Burj Khalifa. For example, one of the main problems of all skyscrapers was solved in a very interesting way - wind. Even at the design stage, the building was blown through in a wind tunnel, and they decided what needed to be done so that future residents would not suffer from seasickness right in their apartments. The solution was simple, like all ingenious ones. They decided not to fight the wind, but simply to outwit it, or, more honestly, to deceive it. The tower sections were shaped in such a way that the wind was deflected in different directions and could not gain strength. The shape of the building changes every 30 floors. The general shape is an upward spiral, much like a stalagmite.
The next problem was precise determination of the center of the building. This information turns out to be necessary for the correct pouring of concrete. So, the contractors installed three GPS devices on the ground and another one on top of the building. This is how the problem of correct alignment was solved. Now external panels. Not only did the glass have to be water-, wind- and dust-proof, it also had to reflect UV rays and not transmit IR rays. The glass panels were made double-sided: the outer metal coating reflects ultraviolet radiation, like sunscreen with SPF protection, and a thin layer of silver is applied to the glass against infrared rays. This protects the building from overheating. There are 30 thousand such panels in total, and their surface area is equal to 17 football fields. So much for the scale. Now that the building is built and in use, a whole team of cleaners spends three months cleaning all the windows. And when they finish, they start in a new circle. You won’t envy the guys, especially since they work in special equipment, just like real climbers, only instead of mountain beauties there is only glass before their eyes.
The next difficulty is lifting blocks to such height. Jumping kangaroo cranes were used in the construction of other skyscrapers. But in Dubai they went further. The blocks begin to be assembled below - the cage frames are made, which will become the basis for the interfloor ceilings and walls. Kangaroo cranes lift these cages and place them in special “jumping” molds. These forms are filled with concrete, and after 12 hours, when the concrete hardens, the forms are ready to jump. Using hydraulics, the forms are lifted, and the concrete block remains in place. In just two hours, the form moves to the next level, where everything starts again. This is reminiscent of children building “sand castles” using special plastic molds. And the builders themselves compare this technology to preparing a giant wedding cake.
Separate song myself concrete. After all, the higher the tower gets, the more difficult it is to deliver it to the top. Everything is important here. First of all, the consistency of the solution - it must be calculated very accurately. Too thin a solution hardens for a long time and delays work, and if you overdo it with thickness, the concrete can harden while still in the transportation pipe and tightly clog it (concrete it). To pump 25 tons of concrete to an unprecedented height, you need a 630 horsepower motor. Concrete was pumped into the tower to a height of 570 meters - again a world record. There is also a danger that the solution under pressure will rub through the steel and then the pipe will rupture. Concrete reaches the 155th floor in 40 minutes. And you can only pour concrete in Dubai at night; during the day it’s too hot and the solution will overheat. But despite all these difficulties, the speed of construction did not slow down.
The Burj Khalifa can withstand a magnitude 6 earthquake thanks to its reinforced concrete frame. Moreover, the lower floors serve as a support, like a camera tripod. In total, 60 thousand tons of heavy-duty steel reinforcement and 330 thousand cubic meters of concrete were used during construction. In July 2007, the tower broke the world height record, but continued to strive upward. When all the floors were erected, it was necessary to figure out how to raise the hundred-meter pipe for the tower boom. It was decided to cut it into 25 pieces and join it on the spot. Brave people worked at such heights!
It's finished!
And now, almost 8 years later, on January 4, 2010, the grand opening took place. Moreover, the tower was no longer called Burj Dubai, as originally planned, but Burj Khalifa. And that's why they renamed it. The completion of construction coincided with the financial crisis, and the Sheikh of Abu Dhabi came to the aid of Dubai. In gratitude for his generosity, they decided to name the tower after him. Construction cost $1.5 billion.
Burj Khalifa has three wings, each with its own entrance. The first wing is apartments. There are 900 apartments here from the 44th floor to the 108th. There is a special 24-hour concierge service and a cleaning team. Moreover, the cleanliness is maintained literally sterile. There is even a special position. The employee wears white gloves and checks with his finger to see if there are any specks of dust. And the presence of tiny specks that are not visible under normal lighting is checked under ultraviolet light. Only very rich people can afford apartments in the tower. Some don't waste time on trifles and buy several apartments. For example, Indian billionaire Shetty bought an entire floor. Now the entire hundredth floor with three apartments of 500 sq. m. meters each, completely at the disposal of the family of the owner of a huge pharmaceutical empire. Offices are located in the second wing from floors 111 to 154. And in the third wing. From the 1st to the 39th floor there are rooms, apartments and restaurants, and maestro Giorgio Armani was personally involved in the design of the premises. On the 124th floor there is a famous observation deck, which is so popular among tourists that access to it is only possible by appointment. The entire 122nd floor is occupied by a restaurant. Here again the world record is broken - this is the highest restaurant in the world. There is hardly anywhere else in the world where a chef can have a better view from his window than here. For safety reasons, there is no gas at this altitude. The restaurant's kitchen has special ovens in which they cook over coals.
You can move around in the tower using 57 elevators - these are the high-speed highways of a vertical city. They especially care about safety here. Even VIP cars are not allowed into the territory without inspection. The designers also took care of safety in case of fire. The building has 9 special rooms - fire shelters. They are protected by layers of special reinforced concrete and fire-resistant coatings. The walls can withstand the onslaught of fire for two hours. These rooms have a ventilation system that forces air through fireproof pipes. The premises are sealed and smoke cannot penetrate inside. They are located every 30 floors. The elevators are also fireproof.
The air for the tower's air conditioning system is taken from the upper floors - here it is not only cleaner, but also 6 degrees cooler than below. And the air is not only cooled, but also aromatized, and the aroma was developed specifically for the Burj Khalifa. And since there is a certain shortage of fresh water in the Emirates, the condensate from the air conditioning is used to water the plants planted around the building. There are a lot of interesting things in this building, for example, a vending machine... for gold. Yes, it is a gold bar weighing from 2.5 to 30 grams with the image of the Burj Khalifa that can be obtained from a machine if you feed it a decent amount of cash. Moreover, the open verandas in the apartments are equipped with special sensors, thanks to which, if the weather worsens, the glass panels will lower themselves. In general, standing on an open veranda at such a height, you can find yourself right inside a cloud. Imagine, you can see a cloud coming right at you. Where else is this possible?
This is it - Burj Khalifa - the greatest skyscraper in the world. Of course, it will remain so until an even higher one is built somewhere... In the meantime, it’s worth it at least to see it all with your own eyes. Believe me, it's worth it!
Video. Construction of Burj Khalifa
About how it was, in more detail and clearly.
Burj Khalifa (UAE) - description, history, location. Exact address, phone number, website. Tourist reviews, photos and videos.
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Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world! The height of the skyscraper located in Dubai is 828 meters, which is 163 floors. Its shape resembles a stalagmite. The opening ceremony took place on January 4, 2010.
The Burj Khalifa was immediately planned to be the tallest building in the world. Its design height was kept secret.
The Burj Khalifa was immediately planned as the tallest skyscraper, but its design height was kept secret. This was done in case a building of greater height was designed somewhere - then adjustments could be made to the project. The Dubai Tower was conceived as a “city within a city” - with its own lawns, boulevards and parks. The total cost of the construction is about 1.5 billion dollars.
Inside the Burj Khalifa complex there is a hotel, apartments, offices and shopping centers. The building has three separate entrances: to the hotel, to the apartments and to the office premises. On the 43rd and 76th floors there are gyms, swimming pools, and observation decks with Jacuzzis. On the 122nd floor is the 80-seat Atmosphere Restaurant, the highest altitude restaurant in the world.
The highest observation deck of the Burj Khalifa is on the 148th floor at an altitude of 555 meters. Two more sites are located on the 124th (472 meters) and 125th floors.
The air inside the building is not only cooled, but also aromatized thanks to special membranes. This scent was created specifically for Burj Khalifa. The glass does not allow dust to pass through and repels sunlight, allowing you to maintain optimal temperature in the building, and they are also washed daily. A special grade of concrete was developed especially for the Burj Khalifa, which can withstand temperatures up to +50 °C. The concrete mixture was laid only at night, and ice was added to the solution.
The building has 57 elevators. In this case, only the service elevator rises from the first floor to the last. Residents and visitors of the skyscraper move between floors with transfers. Burj Khalifa elevators reach speeds of up to 10 m/s.
At the foot of the skyscraper in an artificial lake there is the Dubai musical fountain. It is illuminated by 6,600 light sources and 50 color spotlights. The length of the fountain is 275 m, and the height of the jets reaches 150 meters. The fountain has musical accompaniment.
Figures and facts about Burj Khalifa
Construction of the skyscraper began in 2004 and progressed at a rate of 1-2 floors per week.
Up to 12,000 workers were involved in construction every day.
The creation of the tower took about 320 thousand square meters of concrete and more than 60 thousand tons of steel reinforcement.
The tower contains about 900 apartments, a hotel with 304 rooms, 35 floors are given over to offices. There is parking for 3,000 cars on three underground floors.
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Burj Khalifa on the map: