Burj Khalifa in Downtown Dubai gracefully rises from the desert and high into unsurpassed heights bringing more glitz and wonder to a city already boasting beauty and glamor like no other in the world such as the region's largest shopping mall and dancing water fountain, to mention but a few. Below we go into fine details of the world's tallest building and why it's a must visit with Burj Khalifa tickets.
Interesting to Know about Burj Khalifa
The structure has 162 stories that combine local and cultural influences.
The tower features high-end technology for resilience in the extreme desert climate
The centerpiece hosts offices, retail stores, residential units and Giorgio Armani Hotel
The Y shape assumed by the structure is for maximized, views of the city, the ocean and the Arabian gulf beyond. It also plays a crucial role guarding the structure against strong winds.
On ground level of Burj Khalifa, the surrounding features green space, water features and boulevards
The design of the building was drawn from the regional desert flower and patterns predominant in Islamic culture
The building comprise of reinforced concrete and glass clad. Sculpted volumes are then arranged around a central buttressed core by a series of wings each featuring its own concrete core and perimeter columns.
To help reduce the mass of the building as it rises skywards, the structure is set on a flat base with setbacks occurring in a spiraling pattern. At the peak, the central core is finished as a spire
The building has new structural and constructional efficiencies aimed at reducing material usage and wastage. A 'sky sourced' ventilation system draws in cool, humid air through the top of the building. The building also has the world's largest condensate recovery system. Impressive!
Fun Facts Burj Khalifa
Burj Khalifa is 828 metres high equivalent to 2,716.5 feet which is triple the height of Eiffel Tower in Paris.
The building laid end to end, it would stretch a quarter way around the world.
The structure is popularly known for one world record (world's tallest building), but it holds six other world record titles including: The tallest freestanding structure in the world, highest stories in the world, the longest travel distance elevator in the world and finally the world's tallest service elevator
The weight of the concrete used to build the structure is equivalent to 100,000 elephants. Can you imagine that?! As if that's not insane, the aluminium used to construct the building is equivalent to the weight of not one but five A380 aircraft
Every year, 15 million gallons of water are collected sustainably
The longest single running elevator in the building is 140 floors. The elevators travels at an ear popping speed of 10m/s and among the fastest in the world. Hold on tight!
The building's tip (sphere) can be seen up to 95 km away
In the early stages of the construction, 12,000 workers worked on the building every day
In yet another shocking revelation! The structure comprise 110,000 tons of concrete, 55,000 tons of steel bar and 22 million man hours for its successful completion
The construction of Burj Khalifa kicked off in 2004 and saw its completion in January 2010. This automatically put behind Taipei Financial Center in Taiwan which stood at 1,667 feet (508 metres) and was then the world's tallest building.
In 2010, Tom Cruise and crew travelled to Dubai for the filming of Mission Impossible, Ghost protocol to film him hanging like Tarzan from the top of the tower. To be precise, Tom Cruise was required to hop out of a window and scramble vertically on the side of the tower. Thankfully he was strapped in ropes and harnesses. Quite daring, but worth it!
The material makeup of the building which is steel and aluminium allows for powerful jolts from lightning. This attracts countless photographers and videographers from across the globe to capture the dramatic effect in mid-strike.
During construction, the tower's height remained a closely guarded secret
The building was designed by a Chicago firm Owings & Merrill, whilst Adrian Smith served as the architect and William F Baker as the structural engineer.
The building's spire is constructed inside the building and was moved to its final position using a hydraulic pump
The foundation of the tower is supported by reinforced concrete mat that's nearly 13 feet or 4 metres thick
The exterior of the tower comprise of Aluminium, stainless steel panels, vertical tubular fins and hand cut glass panels
At the Top observation deck is located on Level 124 and the SKY on level 148
Helpful Tips
The observation deck opens from 10am-10pm from Sunday to Wednesday and 10am to midnight on Thursday-Saturday
Expect a bag check at the entrance
Burj Khalifa is accessed from the lower level of Dubai Mall
Getting here
Like most people in Dubai, renting a car is unnecessary. It's totally optional though, but the roads here are immaculate and way easier to take a metro. Then the distance from the metro station to Dubai Mall which is the entrance to the tower will take you approximately 10 minutes. The walkways are enclosed with moving sidewalks to ease the distance. Just to be sure, The entrance to Burj Khalifa is situated near the food courts on the ground level of the mall.
Burj Khalifa magnificence can't be described in words alone. Visit and be part of this noble experience especially this festive season. Book your ticket online in advance to avoid last minute disappointments. Check in itickets.ae for Burj Khalifa tickets that come at a discount and have it confirmed instantly!
Martin Wynn
Priya
