15 Interesting Facts about the Burj Khalifa

The Burj Khalifa is the tallest building made and is a landmark in the architectural brilliance of the 21st century. Its height and design are going to leave you mesmerized! The building with quite a few records under its belts and still going is a yardstick for affluence. Some of the interesting facts about the Burj Khalifa are mentioned below.

There are several things about Dubai that many don’t like. Some of them are the extreme heat, the high prices, and the ‘made up’ atmosphere. Even they are going to feel awestruck with this piece of architectural brilliance.

The Burj Khalifa stands tall among the remaining Dubai skyline. It’s contemporary and man-made, but a phenomenon nonetheless.

Taking a good photo of this giant building is difficult and requires a far-reaching angle lens. Many would consider the entry fee as somewhat steep. However, this architectural feat is worth every penny.

So, Should you go to the top of this massive building during your stay in Dubai? The answer is a resounding yes. Still not convinced? Given below are a number of fascinating Burj Khalifa facts that will make you want to know more!

1) It’s the tallest, it is vast, and there is more

Yes, it’s the tallest tower built at 2723 feet! It is thrice the stature of Eiffel Tower and twice that of The Empire State. Moreover, it is the tallest freestanding structure ever. The CN Tower was the holder of this record.

This large building has 163 floors and one underground floor. It is the maximum number of stories that exist. 58 elevators that travel at 10 meters per second are present. Wait, there is more! The building features 304 hotels, 2,957 parking spaces, and 900 apartments! There is also an observatory deck at 1,483 feet that offers an excellent view. The tower covers an area of 3,331,140 sq. Ft. People can see the tower from a distance of approximately 95 kilometers. It was completed in 6 years from 2004 to 2010.

Would you believe it if anyone told you that the amount of water used in Burj Khalifa daily is 250,000 gallons? And that is not all. The overall electricity used in the building is the same as the electricity that 360,000 100-watt bulbs burning simultaneously use.

2) The people who built it

Emaar is the developer of this tower, and Skidmore Owings & Merill is the structural engineer. Skidmore Owings & Merill has also done electrical, plumbing, and mechanical engineering. The project manager was Turner Construction, and the main contractors were Arabtec, Samsung C&T Corporation, and Besix. Dow Corning Corporation made arrangements for the sealants for this tower, and Otis Elevator Company supplied the elevators. Prior to its launch, the name of the tower was Burj Dubai.

3) The tower has a number of records

This tower has made the record book for several things. Some of them are

The ‘tallest freestanding building.’
‘Most number of stories’
‘Elevators with the maximum travel distance.’
‘Highest occupied floor.’
‘An outdoor observatory deck that’s the second-highest Canton Tower has the highest outdoor observation deck. It is among the prime attractions of Burj Khalifa and is on level 148 at an altitude of 555 meters.
‘The tallest service elevator.’
An elevator that is the fastest at 60 km per hour
The tower is the highest building that has been climbed. Alain Robert, also known as French Spiderman, reached the summit of this mega skyscraper in about 6 hours.
This structure holds the record for the highest jump from a building. The date of the leap was the 21^st of April in 2014, and the jumpers were Vince Reffet and Fred Fugen. They performed the jump from the highest point at 828 meters!
Those who’re fond of heights would be pleased to know that Burj Khalifa has the highest housing apartment at 385 meters
Burj Khalifa features the highest restaurant ever that has name Atmosphere. The restaurant is on level 122 at an altitude of 441 meters and is excellent for dining. Visitors get a great view of the city skyline and can choose from numerous luxury items like oysters, and wagyu beef!
The second Armani Hotel is located here. The hotel was made without a reception for keeping Giorgio’s wish that all the guests feel at home
The building featured in the Hollywood starrer Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol. Tom Cruise scaled it in the movie.
The temperature at the peak of Burj Khalifa is about 15°C lesser than the average temperature on ‘ground level.’

4) How did it start?

What was the reason that the Dubai government went ahead with the building of the tower? There were two reasons. One was to broaden from being an oil-based economy, and the other was to gain global recognition. The name of the building was a tribute to the Abu Dhabi ruler and the UAE president Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

5) Materials that had been used in the construction

Coming to the materials used aluminum of the weight of five A380 aircraft and concrete weighing 100,000 elephants were used. As for the Workers, 12,000 worked daily throughout the peak construction days. Summing up, ‘steel rebar of 55,000 tons’ ‘working hours of 22 million’, and ‘concrete of 110,000 tons’ went into this construction.

6) The steel rebar used and the strong support deserve mention

The amount of rebar used in this construction was a great deal. Had they been laid end-to-end they would cover 1/4^th of the total distance across the globe. The enormous height of the tower called for strong support. The firm Skidmore Owings & Merill built a structural system referred to as a ‘buttressed core’ for supporting 163 floors.

7) An interesting fact during the construction of the tower

When the tower was under construction, workers and other people who had to enter the provisional elevators had to fulfill two conditions. They had to sign a disclaimer and attend crisis landing orientation!

8) The tower that you see now was a Military Compound

The spot where the Burj Tower stands tall was a Military compound named “Central Military Command” previously.

9) Excellent exterior and protection from heat

As many as 26,000 glass panels had been cut individually for creating the outside of this building. Sustainability was a prime concern for the period of construction. Three hundred cladding specialists designed a cladding system with a silver coating for the tower to endure the summer heat of Dubai. The builders also installed solar panels for heating water of up to 140,000 liters daily during the construction.

10) A specialty of the building

An important feature of this building is a specially-made elevator system. This elevator allows measured evacuation at times of emergency like a fire or security threats.

11) Maintenance of the tower

Twelve machines that have a weight of 13 tons move down tracks built outside the building. Cleaners board them for cleaning the tower’s 24,000 reflective windows.

12) The story behind the unique design of the tower

The concept of the design of the tower had been drawn from old-style Islamic architecture and the Hymenocallis flower. Hymenocallis is cultivated all over the UAE and is well-known for its lengthy petals that spread out from its middle.

13) The chance of swimming in the second-highest swimming pool

Swimming buffs are going to love the prospect of swimming in the second-highest pool. The one on the 118th floor of hotel Ritz-Carlton in Hong Kong is the highest. The swimming pool in Burj is on the 76th floor.

14) The recycling of resources

A Burj Khalifa fact that is praiseworthy is its recycling of resources. The water of 15 million gallons is collected from the AC system yearly. This water goes into irrigation for watering the topography and plants, the cooling system, and the Dubai Fountain.

15) Fasting problems

This building is so tall that people on the topmost floor see the sun several minutes afterward. There are reports that this phenomenon affects fasting for the duration of Ramadan.

Conclusion

There is much more to this building that was launched to the sound of over 10,000 fireworks in 2010. It’s a paradise for art lovers with numerous custom-built art pieces. A case in point is the figurine by Karim Rashid, an Egyptian-born artist. This figurine features shifting oval forms and stands at the entrance. Another is the ‘World Voices’ installation. Made by the Catalan artist Jaume Plensa, it comprises hanging cymbals that echo when water droplets fall on them. However, Burj Khalifa is going to lose its title of the highest building. If things go as planned, The Kingdom Tower of a height of over 1000 meters will open in Jeddah in 2021.