The Burj Khalifa in Dubai is the tallest man-made structure ever built at 829.8 meters tall. It was designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill with Adrian Smith as chief architect. Construction began in 2004 and was completed in 2009, involving over 45,000 cubic meters of concrete and 55,000 tons of steel rebar. The Burj Khalifa set numerous height records and received many awards for its innovative engineering and architecture.

1. Burj Khalifa
The tallest building in the
world

2. • 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)

3. • 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.

4. • 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

5. Plan of Burj Khalifa

6. • 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

8. • 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)

9. Bundled tube system

10. • 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)

11. More cross section
at the bottom
Less cross section at
the top

12. • 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

13. Buttressed core helps the building to resist torsional
stresses

14. 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.

15. • 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.

16. • 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

17. • 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.

19. • 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.

20. • 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.

21. 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.

23. 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

25. 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.

27. 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.

28. • 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.

30. 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.

31. • 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).

32. • 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.

33. • 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.

34. • 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.

35. • 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.

36. • 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.