Burj Khalifa The tallest building in

the world

• Burj Khalifa , known as Burj Dubai before its inauguration, is a skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is the tallest man-made structure in the world, standing at 829.8 m (2,722 ft)

• The building officially opened on 4 January 2010

• The tower's architecture and engineering were performed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill of Chicago, with Adrian Smith as chief architect, and Bill Baker as chief structural engineer.

• The tower's construction was done by the construction division of Al Ghurair Investment group.

• The decision to build Burj Khalifa is 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, it is necessary for projects like Burj Khalifa to be built in the city to garner more international recognition, and hence investment

Plan of Burj Khalifa

• The Y-shaped plan is ideal for residential and hotel usage, with the wings allowing maximum outward views and inward natural light.

• The design of Burj Khalifa is derived from patterning systems embodied in Islamic architecture

• Burj Khalifa uses the bundled tube design of the Willis Tower, invented by Fazlur Rahman Khan.

• The design uses just half the amount of steel used in the construction of the Empire State Building(381m)

Bundled tube system

• As the tower rises from the flat desert base, there are 27 setbacks in a spiraling pattern, decreasing the cross section of the tower as it reaches toward the sky and creating convenient outdoor terraces.

• At the top, the central core emerges and is sculpted to form a finishing spire. At its tallest point, the tower sways a total of 1.5 m (4.9 ft)

More cross section at the

bottom

Less cross section at the

top

• To support the unprecedented height of the building, the engineers developed a new structural system called the buttressed core, which consists of a hexagonal core reinforced by three buttresses that form the ‘Y' shape.

• This structural system enables the building to support itself laterally and keeps it from twisting

Buttressed core helps the building to resist torsional stresses

Construction• The primary structure is reinforced concrete.

Putzmeister created a new, super high-pressure trailer concrete pump, the BSA 14000 SHP-D, for this project.

• Over 45,000 m3 of concrete, weighing more than 110,000 tonnes were used to construct the concrete and steel foundation, which features 192 piles; each pile is 1.5 metre diameter x 43 m long, buried more than 50 m (164 ft) deep.

• Burj Khalifa's construction used 330,000 m3 of concrete and 55,000 tonnes of steel rebar, and construction took 22 million man-hours

• A high density, low permeability concrete was used in the foundations of Burj Khalifa.

• A cathodic protection system under the mat is used to minimize any detrimental effects from corrosive chemicals in local ground water

• Special mixes of concrete are made to withstand the extreme pressures of the massive building weight; as is typical with reinforced concrete construction, each batch of concrete used was tested to ensure it could withstand certain pressures.

• CTLGroup, working for SOM, conducted the creep and shrinkage testing critical for the structural analysis of the building.

• It was difficult to create a concrete that could withstand both the thousands of tonnes bearing down on it and Persian Gulf temperatures that can reach 50°C .

• To combat this problem, the concrete was not poured during the day. Instead, during the summer months ice was added to the mixture and it was poured at night when the air is cooler and the humidity is higher.

• A cooler concrete mixture cures evenly throughout and is therefore less likely to set too quickly and crack. Any significant cracks could have put the entire project in jeopardy.

Air conditioning• The air conditioning system draws air from the

upper floors where the air is cooler and cleaner than on the ground .At peak cooling times, the tower's cooling is equivalent to that provided by 13,000 tons of melting ice in one day, or about 46 MW.

• The condensed water is collected and drained into a holding tank located in the basement car park; this water is then pumped into the site irrigation system for use on the Burj Khalifa park.

Plumbing systems• The Burj Khalifa's water system supplies

an average of 946,000 L of water per day through 100 km of pipes. An additional 213 km of piping serves the fire emergency system, and 34 km supplies chilled water for the air conditioning system.

• The waste water system uses gravity to discharge water from plumbing fixtures, floor drains, mechanical equipment and storm water, to the city municipal sewer

The Dubai Fountain• Outside, WET Enterprises designed a

fountain system at a cost of 217 million US dollars. Illuminated by 6,600 lights and 50 coloured projectors, it is 275 m (902 ft) long and shoots water 150 m (490 ft) into the air.

• On 26 October 2008, Emaar announced that based on results of a naming contest the fountain would be called The Dubai Fountain.

Burj Khalifa park• Burj Khalifa is surrounded by an 27-acre park

designed by landscape architects SWA Group.The design of the park is also inspired by the core design concepts of Burj Khalifa which is based on the symmetries of the desert flower, Hymenocallis.

• The park has six water features, gardens, palm lined walkways, and flowering trees.At the centre of the park and the base of Burj Khalifa is the water room, which is a series of pools and water jet fountains.

• The plants and the shrubbery will be watered by the building's condensation collection system that uses water from the cooling system.

• The system will provide 68,000,000 L (6 crore 80 lakh)annually.

Awards• 2012 • Award of Merit for World Voices

Sculpture, Burj Khalifa Lobby from Structural Engineers Association of Illinois (SEAOI), Chicago.

• 2011 • Interior Architecture Award, Certificate of Merit from AIA - Chicago Chapter.

• 2011 • Distinguished Building Award, Citation of Merit from AIA - Chicago Chapter.

• 2011 • Interior Architecture Award: Special Recognition from AIA - Chicago Chapter.

• 2011 • Design Excellence Award: Special Function Room.

• 2011 • Excellence in Engineering from ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers) - Illinois Chapter.

• 2011 • Outstanding Structure Award from International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering.

• 2011 • Decade of Design, Presidential Commendation in Corporate Space Small from International Interior Design Association (IIDA).

• 2011 Decade of Design Best of Category/Mixed Use Buildings from International Interior Design Association (IIDA).

• 2011 • GCC Technical Building Project of the Year from MEED (formerly Middle East Economic Digest)

• 2011 • Project of the Year from MEED.• 2010 • International Architecture Award.

• 2010 • Arab Achievement Award 2010: Best Architecture Project from Arab Investment Summit.

• 2010 • Architecture Award (Mixed Use) Dubai from Arabian Property Awards.

• 2010 • Architecture Award (Mixed Use) Arabian Region from Arabian Property Awards.

• 2010 • International Architecture Award from Chicago Athenaeum.

• 2010 • American Architecture Award from Chicago Athenaeum.

• 2010 • Commercial / Mixed Use Built from Cityscape.

• 2010 • Best Mixed Use Built Development in Cityscape Abu Dhabi.

• 2010 • Skyscraper Award: Silver Medal from Emporis.

• 2010 • Award for Commercial or Retail Structure from Institution of Structural Engineers.

• 2010 • International Architecture Award (Mixed Use) from International Commercial Property Awards.

• 2010 • Special Recognition for Technological Advancement from International High-rise Awards.

• 2010 • Best Structural Design of the Year from LEAF Award.

• 2010 • International Projects Category: Outstanding Project from National Council of Structural Engineers Associations.

• 2010 • Best of What's New from Popular Science Magazine.

• 2010 • Spark Awards, Silver Award.• 2010 • Excellence in Structural

Engineering: Most Innovative Structure from SEAOI.