Burj Khalifa is over 2700ft and 160 floors, was design by Adrian D. Smith for his

reputation as one of the most recognized architects in the world. Smith was in spired by the

Tower Palace three in S. Korea for his design (Dubai Travel & Vacation Guide). The project

began in September of 2004. The construction required 22million man hours and was completed

successfully in January of 2010(EMAAR). In 2007demanded 380 engineers and on-site

technicians just for exterior cladding which was completed in 2009(EMAAR). During the peak

of construction the project had over 12,000 workers (Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers).

Although the structure was completed with success, they encountered several technical

issues. These issues pushed back the completion from their estimated date of December of 2008

to January of 2010(EMAAR). Because this was something that no one had ever undertaken

before, they had to provide multiple safety tests for wind and materials. One in which they

created a model of the building and placed it in a wind tunnel, forty different times, to ensure that

Burj Khalifa could withstand the stress of high velocity(EMAAR). For a building size, wind

forces were dominant factors when creating the structural design (Jamal).

Another important issue that they needed to figure out had to do with emergency

situation. During a fire it is impossible for people to walk down over 160 floors, to deal with this

issue they created air condition refugee areas for people to go until help arrives ( Ritchie Bros.

Auctioneers). Also for safety in the event of an emergency the elevators were design to be used

for evacuation during a fire or other events. Since the elevators would be carrying more people

they were created to hold over 20 people at once (EMAAR). The Burj Khalifa holds the record

for the biggest elevators and longest traveling distance from lowest to highest stop

(EMAAR) .Also, Burj Khalifa has "refuge floors" at 25 to 30 story intervals that are fire resistant

and have separate air supplies in case of emergency (EMAAR). Its reinforced concrete structure,

fireproof sheeting means that it can withstand the heat for 2hrs.” ( Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers)

Another problem had to do with pouring concrete. “Over 45,000 m3 (58,900 cu yd.) of

concrete, weighing more than 110,000 tons were used to construct the concrete and steel

foundation” (Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers). “…The concrete core walls were pumped using 80 MP

concrete from ground level; a vertical height of 601 meters. Smashing the previous pumping

record on a building of 470m on the Taipei 101…” (EMAAR). Because of Dubai hot and humid

climate the concrete had to be mixed with ice and poured at night. This was done to prevent

cracks in the concrete that could damage the tower due to variance in the cooling of the concrete.

Also they had to pay close attention to the consistency of the concrete mixture; too much

variance could destroy the concrete’s ability to withstand the pressure (Ritchie Bros.

Auctioneers).

Works CitedRitchie Bros. Auctioneers. Burj Khalifa. 2008. November 2011

<http://www.ritchiewiki.com/wiki/index.php/Burj_Dubai>.

Dubai Travel & Vacation Guide. BURJ dubai - the rising star of dubai. n.d. october 2011 <http://www.dubai-travels.co.uk/burj-dubai.html>.

EMAAR. Burj Khalifa. 2009. October 2011 <http://www.burjkhalifa.ae/the-tower/structure.aspx>.

Jamal, Haseeb. "Design, Construction & Structural Details of Burj Dubai - Khalifa | Tallest Skyscraper." 2010. ENGGPEDIA. 5 December 2011 <http://www.enggpedia.com/civil-engineering-encyclopedia/megastructures/burj-khalifa-structural-details>.