Burj Khalifa, known as Burj Dubai prior to its inauguration, is a skyscraper in Dubai, and is the tallest man-made structure in the world, at 829.8 m (2,722 ft).
Construction began on 21 September 2004, and officially opened on 4 January 2010, and is part of the new 2 km2 (490-acre) development called Downtown Dubai.
Burj Khalifa was designed to be the centrepiece of a large-scale, mixed-use development that would include 30,000 homes, nine hotels, 3 hectares (7.4 acres) of parkland, at least 19 residential towers, the Dubai Mall, and the 12-hectare (30-acre) 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 (Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum) wanted to put Dubai on the map with something really sensational,” said Jacqui Josephson, a tourism and VIP delegations executive at Nakheel Properties.
Records
Tallest existing structure: 829.8 m (2,722 ft)
Tallest structure ever built: 829.8 m (2,722 ft)
Tallest freestanding structure: 829.8 m (2,722 ft) (previously CN Tower – 553.3 m or 1,815 ft)
Tallest skyscraper (to top of spire): 829.8 m (2,722 ft)
Tallest skyscraper to top of antenna: 829.8 m (2,722 ft)
Building with most floors: 163
Building with world’s highest occupied floor: 584.5 m (1,918 ft)
World’s highest elevator installation (situated inside a rod at the very top of the building)
World’s longest travel distance elevators: 504m (1,654 ft)
Highest vertical concrete pumping (for a building): 606 m (1,988 ft)
World’s tallest structure that includes residential space
World’s second-highest outdoor observation deck: 124th floor at 452 m (1,483 ft) When it first opened, the observation deck was the highest outdoor observation deck in the World, but it has since been surpassed by Cloud Top 488 on top of Canton Tower.
World’s highest installation of an aluminium and glass façade: 512 m (1,680 ft)
World’s highest nightclub: 144th floor
World’s highest restaurant (At.mosphere): 122nd floor at 442 m (1,450 ft) (previously 360, at a height of 350 m (1,148 ft) in CN Tower)
World’s highest New Year display of fireworks.
World’s second highest swimming pool: 76th floor (world’s highest swimming pool is located on the 118th floor of Ritz-Carlton Hotel at International Commerce Centre, Hong Kong).