English Project Modern Architecture

ByFătu Adrian, Simona Joghiu, Alexandra

Nastasă

Burj Khalifa, is a skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is the tallest man-made structure in the world, standing at

829.8 m.

Construction began on 21 September 2004, with the exterior of the structure completed on 1 October 2009. The building officially opened on 4 January 2010, and is part of the

new 2 km2 development called Downtown Dubai of  Sheikh Zayed Road

The tower's architecture and engineering were performed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrillof 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.

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.

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. "He wanted to put Dubai on the map with something really sensational,"

The tower was designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, who also designed the Willis Tower inChicago and the new One World Trade Center in New York City. Burj Khalifa uses the bundled tube design. Proportionally, the design uses half the amount of steel used in the construction of the Empire State Building thanks to the tubular system. Its design is reminiscent of Frank Lloyd Wright's vision for The Illinois, a mile high skyscraper designed for Chicago. In its early planning, Burj Khalifa was intended to be entirely residential.

The design of Burj Khalifa is derived from patterning systems embodied in Islamic architecture. According to the structural engineer, Bill Baker of SOM, the building's design incorporates cultural and historical elements particular to the region such as the spiral minaret. The spiral minaret spirals and grows slender as it rises. The Y-shaped plan is ideal for residential and hotel usage, with the wings allowing maximum outward views and inward natural light

Plumbing system

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.

Air conditioningThe 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 short tons of melting ice in one day. The condensate collection system, which uses the hot and humid outside air, combined with the cooling requirements of the building, results in a significant amount of condensation of moisture from the air. 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.

Windows CleaningTo wash the 24,348 windows, totaling 120,000 m2

of glass, a horizontal track has been installed on the exterior of Burj Khalifa at levels 40, 73, and 109. Each track holds a 1,500 kg bucket machine which moves horizontally and then vertically using heavy cables.

Above level 109, up to tier 27 traditional cradles from davits are used. The top of the spire, however, is reserved for specialist window cleaners, who brave the heights and high winds, dangling on ropes to clean and

inspect the top of the pinnacle. The cleaning system was developed in Melbourne, Australia at a cost of $8 million.

The InteriorThe interior design of Burj Khalifa public

areas was also done by the Chicago office of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP and was led by award-winning designer Nada Andric. It features glass, stainless steel and polished dark stones, together with silver travertine flooring, Venetian stucco walls, handmade rugs and stone flooring. The interiors were inspired by local culture while staying mindful of the building's status as a global icon and residence.

Real estate values

In March 2009, Mohamed Ali Alabbar, chairman of the project's developer, said office space pricing at Burj

Khalifa reached US$4,000 per sq ft. He estimated the total cost for the project to be about US$1.5 billion.

Records• Tallest existing structure: 829.8 m• Tallest structure ever built: 829.8 m• Tallest freestanding structure: 829.8 m• Tallest skyscraper to top of antenna: 829.8 m• Building with most floors: 163• Building with world's highest occupied floor:

584.5 m 

Bibliography

• www.google.com/images

• www.burjkhalifa.ae• www.youtube.com• www.blogspot.com• www.wikipedia.com• www.flickr.com• www.facebook.com• www.booking.com• www.constructions.co

m