BURJ KHALIFA: The Highest Building In The World since 2010

DEVELOPMENT:

Burj Khalifa

Construction began on 6 January 2004, with the exterior of the structure completed on 1 October 2009. 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 primary contractor was Samsung C&T of South Korea. The tower's construction was done by the construction division of Al Ghurair Investment group.

CONCEPT;
Burj Khalifa was designed to be the centerpiece of a large-scale, mixed-use development that would include 30,000 homes, nine hotels , 3 hectares of parkland, at least 19 residential towers, the Dubai Mall, and the 12-hectare man-made Burj Khalifa Lake.

Burj Khalifa hotel interior

FEATURES;
1. The Dubai Fountain

Burj Khalifa model made of chocolate

Outside, WET Enterprises designed a fountain system at a cost of US$217 million. Illuminated by 6,600 lights and 50 coloured projectors, it is 275 m long and shoots water 150 m into the air, accompanied by a range of classical to contemporary world musics.

2. Observation deck
An outdoor observation deck, named At the Top, opened on 5 January 2010 on the 124th floor. At 452 m  it was the highest observation deck in the world and the highest outdoor observation deck in the world when it opened. Burj Khalifa opened the 148th floor SKY level at 555 m. The 124th floor observation deck also features the Tellscope electronic telescope, which allows visitors to view the surrounding landscape in real-time, and to view previously saved images such as those taken at different times of day or under different weather conditions.

BURJ KHALIFA PARK;
Burj Khalifa is surrounded by an 11 ha 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. In addition the railing, benches and signs incorporate images of Burj Khalifa and the Hymenocallis flower.
The plants and the shrubbery will be watered by the buildings's condensation collection system that uses water from the cooling system. The system will provide 68,000,000 L annually. WET Enterprises, who also developed the Dubai Fountain, developed the park's six water features.

The popularity of Burj Khalifa is widespred acroos the world, so some movies used it as a shooting location. there is also a replica of the Burj Khalifa, made entirely from 4,200 kg of high quality Belgian chocolate was displayed on 30 November 2014 at the Dubai International Airport. The 13.5-metre (44.2 ft) tall structure is a Guinness record feat by master chocolatier Andrew Farrugia and is a part of the 43rd UAE National Day Celebration. The 3D model was made also.