The Burj Khalifa^[a] (known as the Burj Dubai prior to its inauguration) is a skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and the world’s tallest structure. With a total height of 829.8 m (2,722 ft, or just over half a mile) and a roof height (excluding antenna, but including a 242.6 m spire)^[2] of 828 m (2,717 ft), the Burj Khalifa has been the tallest structure and building in the world since its topping out in 2009, surpassing Taipei 101, the holder of that status since 2004.^[3][4]

Construction of the Burj Khalifa began in 2004, with the exterior completed five years later in 2009. The primary structure is reinforced concrete and some of the structural steel for the building originated from the Palace of the Republic in East Berlin, the former East German parliament.^[5] The building was opened in 2010 as part of a new development called Downtown Dubai. It was designed to be the centerpiece of large-scale, mixed-use development.

The building is named after the former president of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.^[6] The United Arab Emirates government provided Dubai with financial support as the developer, Emaar Properties, experienced financial problems during the Great Recession. Then-president of the United Arab Emirates, Khalifa bin Zayed, organized federal financial support. For his support, Mohammad bin Rashid, Ruler of Dubai, changed the name from “Burj Dubai” to “Burj Khalifa” during inauguration.

The design is derived from the Islamic architecture of the region, such as in the Great Mosque of Samarra. The Y-shaped tripartite floor geometry is designed to optimise residential and hotel space. A buttressed central core and wings are used to support the height of the building. The Burj Khalifa’s central core houses all vertical transportation except egress stairs within each of the wings.^[7] The structure also features a cladding system which is designed to withstand Dubai’s hot summer temperatures.^[8] It contains a total of 57 elevators and 8 escalators.

Development

Construction began on 12 January 2004, with the exterior of the structure completed on 1 October 2009. The building officially opened on 4 January 2010^[9][10] and is part of the 2 km² (490-acre) Downtown Dubai development at the ‘First Interchange’ along Sheikh Zayed Road, near Dubai’s main business district.

The tower’s architecture and engineering were performed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill of Chicago, with Adrian Smith as chief architect, and Bill Baker as a chief structural engineer.^[11][12] The firm had designed the Sears Tower in Chicago, a previous record holder for the world’s tallest building.

Hyder Consulting was supervising engineer and NORR Group Consultants supervised the architecture. The primary contractor was Samsung C&T of South Korea, together with the Belgian group BESIX and the local company Arabtec.^[13]

Numerous complaints concerned migrant workers from South Asia, the primary building labour force, who were paid low wages and sometimes had their passports confiscated.^[14]

Conception

Burj Khalifa was designed to be the centerpiece of a large-scale, mixed-use development to include 30,000 homes,^[15] nine hotels (including The Address Downtown Dubai), 3 hectares (7.4 acres) of parkland, at least 19 residential skyscrapers, the Dubai Mall, and the 12-hectare (30-acre) artificial Burj Khalifa Lake. The decision to build Burj Khalifa was reportedly based on the government’s decision to diversify from an oil-based economy to one that is service and tourism based. According to officials, projects like Burj Khalifa needed to be built to garner more international recognition and hence investment. “He (Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum) wanted to put Dubai on the map with something really sensational,” said Jacqui Josephson, a tourism and VIP delegations executive at Nakheel Properties.^[16]

The tower was known as Burj Dubai (“Dubai Tower”) until its official opening in January 2010.^[17] It was renamed in honour of the ruler of Abu Dhabi, Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan; Abu Dhabi and the federal government of UAE lent Dubai tens of billions of US dollars so that Dubai could pay its debts – Dubai borrowed at least $80 billion for construction projects.^[17] In the 2000s, Dubai started diversifying its economy but it suffered from the 2007–2008 financial crisis and the Great Recession, leaving large-scale projects already in construction abandoned.^[18]