The Burj Khalifa is one of the most marvelous man-made wonders. Situated in Dubai, it is the tallest building in the world. Looming large with 163 floors, 58 lifts, 304 hotels and 900 apartments, this is affluence at its best. It is one of the most popular tourist spots in Dubai, UAE. People throng to this architectural delight to take selfies and photos from a spectacular height! This article will talk about facts about this building that make it unique and one of a kind.
Burj Khalifa – Some cool world records
Along with holding the record of ‘Tallest building in the world’, the Burj Khalifa also holds the place for being the ‘Tallest free-standing structure in the world’, ‘highest number of stories in the world’, ‘highest occupied floor in the world’, ‘elevator with the longest travel distance in the world’ and the ‘highest observation deck in the world’. With so many world records to boast of, no wonder this building is a swanky hotspot for people from all over the world.
Burj Khalifa – Towering Specs!
The tallest building has a height amounting to a whopping 2716.5 feet. Out of this, the height actually occupied by people is 1918 feet. It has a lovely observatory deck located at a height of 1483 feet. Can you imagine? The lifts in Burj Khalifa run at a speed of 10 meters per second. The Burj Khalifa was supposed to be named ‘Burj Dubai’. It is taller than the Eiffel Tower and twice as tall as the Empire state building!
The Construction of Burj Khalifa
The work on this building started in 2004 and was completed in 2010. During the busiest phase of construction, around 12,000 workers were engaged per day. The exterior of the building was designed by 300 experts; around 26,000 glass panels were cut for this purpose. 55,000 tons of steel rebar were used in the construction. It is believed that if these were to be laid on the ground, it would cover almost half of the globe. It took 22 million man-hours to complete the construction.
Burj Khalifa – Splendid Designing
The building is shaped like a Hymenocallis; scientific name for spider lily. This desert flower is known for its tall petals emerging sporadically from the bud. This is what inspired designer Adrian smith to base his design for Burj Khalifa. The Lobby of the building holds around 200 cymbals integrated within the design. Water droplets fall through these cymbals to create a soothing mélange of sounds that represent the people of the world. This is inspired by Jaume Plensa’s sculpture ‘World Voices‘.
The Burj Khalifa is an astounding sight for people looking at it from a distance, or from inside it. It is proof that humans are almost at par with the almighty when it comes to giving birth to beautiful things.
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