Jeremy McCullough Architecture Research Paper October 17, 2013 Architecture and Landscape Design

Burj Khalifa (A.K.A. Burj Dubai) Dubai, United Arab Emirates

The building that I chose for this assignment is the Burj Khalifa, also known as another name of the Burj Dubai located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. I chose this building because of the very modern and sleek design of the building itself. The architect of the building is Adrian Smith. The construction of The Burj Khalifa started on September 21, 2004. The structure was completed on October 1st 2009 and was opened on January 4th, 2010. The building is a part of a 490 acre development called Downtown Dubai. The building has a total of 124 floors, which are opened to the public. It is currently the tallest building in the world which is followed by Taipei 101. There is an observation deck at the top of the 124th floor, as well as a restaurant. Its the tallest service building in the world at a height of 2,722 (830 m). To rent an apartment at The Burj Khalifa its a yearly cost of $22,000, and if you wish to have office space the market runs at $4,000 a square foot. There is over 45,000m3 of concrete weighing more than 110,000 tons that was used to construct the concrete and steel foundation. This is a total of 192 piles that are buried 50m deep. There are an estimated 24,348 windows in the Burj Khalifa and each one was hand cut. A staggering amount of rebar was used for the tower 31,400 metric tons, enough if laid end to end would go 1/4th the way around the world.

Red Circle is location of the Burj Khalifa, This might be future plans for Dubai. The reason that this building itself is so historical is because it is now ranked the worlds tallest building and no one thought it could be done. At a height of 2,722 its the worlds tallest free standing structure. The total weight of aluminum that was used weighs that of five A380 aircrafts and the total length of stainless steel bull nose fins is 293 times the height of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. With the completion of the building it has broken many world records that had been set many years before. When they had started the build in January of 2004 they had reached 141 floors in July of 2007 but they didnt stop there they went to 150 floors earning the worlds tallest man made free standing structure. After that the building went to 160 floors which earned the record of worlds tallest man made structure in April of 2008. They completed the spire in January of 2009, and began to work on the exterior of the building. I feel that that building that I chose for this assignment fits in the modern section, because it has a very sleek and flowing structure. As well as the fact that it has a natural modern appeal when you look at the building itself. The Burj Khalifa is historically significant because I has broken so many records for height as well as the highest man made structure, highest building to have concrete pumped up to the top of the building. Also the amount of steel rebar they used in the building is incredible. If the ends are laid end to end it wraps 1/4th the way around the earth, it is also 293 times the height of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. And to think that Dubai has made a building that has broken that many records is incredible, as well as to think about how much farther Dubai is in there technology compared to the U.S. is indescribable. When making the plans for this building they were working with over 300 engineers to make sure that it was possible to build such a building. This piece of art of a building in the Burj Khalifa is incredible everything from design to the actual structure. In a sense it is an art piece because we have come a long way from blocky square/ rectangular buildings from the 70s, 80s, even the 90s. Buildings in the current era arent just for work and living space there for the joys of excitement. They also show how far technology has come over the last decade. We are able to build these magnificent structures and say yeah we built this sky scrapper that is over 800m tall by hand and machinery.

The significant factor of the building has been explained how ever if you were to compare the Burj Khalifa to say the pyramids or to some Roman Coliseum it is obvious that the Burj Khalifa is a completely different style then the pyramids or the Coliseum. There for is a way that expresses how significant the Burj Khalifa truly is and where this world is going to be heading in the next century is going to be astonishing. Im grateful that I have b een able to witness buildings like the Burj to be built in my lifetime.

Bibliography
http://www.tallest-building-in-the-world.com/2008/08/19/under-construction/some-interesting-factson-the-burj-dubai-the-tallest-building-in-the-world-under-construction.htm http://www.burjkhalifa.ae/en/TheTower/Construction.aspx http://www.arabianbusiness.com/top-burj-dubai-facts-27518.html