We all know about the tallest building in the world located in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates which is the Burj Khalifa. It is also the tallest office building in the world as there are quite a number of offices inside the tall tower. The total floor area of the tower is 460000 square meters which includes residential, hotels, commercial, entertainment, shopping, leisure, parking, and offices. Another name for the tower is Burj Dubai. It is the tallest man-made skyscraper in human history followed by the Shanghai Tower located in China and then the Abraj Al-Bait Clock Tower which is located in Saudi Arabia. It is about 828 meters in height and is considered to be one beautiful piece of artwork with a combination of mathematics and engineering. The 162-storied skyscrapers were designed by the architect Adrian Smith of the firm Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill. The construction of the tower began in 2004 and it took about 6 years to get completed.
Burj Khalifa holds the record for being the tallest building in the world currently. Aside from that, the tower also holds six other world records which are as follows:
Tallest freestanding structure in the world
The highest number of stories in the world
Highest occupied floor in the world
The highest outdoor observation deck in the world
Elevator with the longest travel distance in the world
Tallest service elevator in the world
The design of Burj Khalifa is inspired by a desert flower called the Hymenocallis. The design features a triple-lobed footprint i.e. the entire tower is made of three elements that are arranged around a central core. The floor plan is Y-shaped which helps to maximize the views of the Arabian Gulf from the tower viewed from the base or air. Just like the massiveness of the tower, everything about the Burj Khalifa is massive and gigantic. For example, almost 12000 people from all over the world worked on the construction of the tower, for the exterior cladding of the tower almost 26000 hand-cut, glass panels were used, and it took about 90 days to clean the entire tower from top to bottom. Also, it took about 110000 tons of concrete, 55000 tons of steel rebar, and 22 million hours to complete the Burj Khalifa.
The Y-shaped feature of the design provides stability to the entire structure and also makes really good floor plates for residential areas. The spiraling Y-shaped design inspired by the desert flower also helps reduce the impact of wind on the tower. The shape is considered ideal for residential and hotel usage with the wings allowing proper airflow and natural lighting inside the building. At ground level, the tower is surrounded by greenery, water features, and pedestrian-friendly streets.
The tower is built of reinforced concrete and beautifully clad in glass. As the tower grows taller from the bottom, certain setbacks are placed in a spiraling manner that goes upward to the top of the tower. At the end of the tower, the central core emerges and forms a spire. The tower is also built on environmentally friendly designs and is an example of sustainable architecture. 15 million gallons of water is collected sustainably every year by the tower which is utilized for irrigation purposes such as landscaping and watering the plants, for the cooling system, and also for the Dubai Fountain. The tower also uses solar energy for water heating. 378 solar panels with an area of 2.7 square meters each are installed in the tower for the utilization of solar energy. These panels can heat up about 140000 liters of water when supplied with only 7 hours of daylight. There is also air ventilation that is provided at the top of the tower where the air is cooler, has low density, and is relatively humid in comparison to the lower parts of the tower. Through this system, cooler air is drawn from the top of the tower towards the bottom with very little energy consumption.
The Burj Khalifa can be seen from 95 kilometers away i.e. we can see the sky scrapper from most parts of Dubai. Whether we’re exploring the deserts or the waters of the bay, the tower seems to follow everywhere. The world’s highest restaurant which is located at a height of 441 meters is located in this tower. It is said that no matter where you sit at this restaurant, the views are majestic which is due to the segmented floor plan that makes every angle of the tower the best viewpoint. The tallest office building in the world also has an enormous art collection. It is said that there are more than 1,000 pieces of art from some of the world’s best artists mainly from the Middle East. Many of those artworks were made especially for the building.
The tower is used mainly as a commercial mixed-use building that houses a lot of hotels, residences, and offices. On top of that, the building also provides base jumping and climbing options for people with an adventurous spirit. The tower served as the stage for many other records, including the highest base jump from a building and the fastest time to climb the Burj Khalifa by bicycle.
Burj Khalifa has been considered to be the tallest office building in the world for more than a decade now. However, it is about to face competition from yet another tower that is being constructed in Dubai. The construction of the Jeddah Tower, formerly known as the Kingdom Tower began in 2013. The tower is supposed to be at a height of 1000 meters and is being designed by the same architect who made the Burj Khalifa. It was supposed to be completed by 2020, but due to some problems and delays, the tower is set to be completed by 2023 and it shall hold the record of the tallest office building in the world after the Burj Khalifa.
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