Burj Khalifa (Arabic: , "Khalifa Tower"), known as Burj Dubai prior to its inauguration, is
a skyscraper in Dubai,United Arab Emirates, and is the tallest man-made structure in the world, at 829.8 m
(2,722 ft).[3][8]
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, [1][9] and is part of the new 2 km2 (490-acre) development
called Downtown Dubai at the 'First Interchange' along Sheikh Zayed Road, near Dubai's main business
district. The tower's architecture and engineering were performed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill of Chicago,
with Adrian Smith as chief architect, and Bill Bakeras chief structural engineer.[10][11] The primary contractor
was Samsung C&T of South Korea.[12]
Conception[edit]
Burj Khalifa was designed to be the centerpiece of a large-scale, mixed-use development that would include
30,000 homes, nine hotels (including The Address Downtown Dubai), 3 hectares (7.4 acres) of parkland, at
least 19 residential towers, theDubai Mall, and the 12-hectare (30-acre) man-made Burj Khalifa Lake.
The building has returned the location of Earth's tallest freestanding structure to the Middle East, where
the Great Pyramid of Giza had claimed this achievement for almost four millennia before being surpassed in
1311 by Lincoln Cathedral in England.
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.[13]
Architecture and design[edit]
The tower was designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, who also designed the Willis Tower (formerly the
Sears Tower) inChicago and the new One World Trade Center in New York City. The Burj Khalifa uses the
bundled tube design,[35][36] invented byFazlur Rahman Khan. Proportionally, the design uses half the amount of
steel used in the construction of the Empire State Building thanks to the tubular system. [35][37] Its design is
reminiscent of Frank Lloyd Wright's vision for The Illinois, a mile high skyscraper designed for Chicago.
According to Marshall Strabala, an SOM architect who worked on the building's design team, Burj Khalifa was
designed based on the 73 floor Tower Palace Three, an all residential building in Seoul. In its early planning,
Burj Khalifa was intended to be entirely residential. [30]
Subsequent to the original design by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, Emaar Properties chose Hyder Consulting
to be the supervising engineer with NORR Group Consultants International Limited chosen to supervise the
architecture of the project.[38]Hyder was selected for its expertise in structural and MEP (mechanical, electrical
and plumbing) engineering.[39] Hyder Consulting's role was to supervise construction, certify SOM's design, and
be the engineer and architect of record to the UAE authorities. [38] NORR's role was the supervision of all
architectural components including on site supervision during construction and design of a 6-storey addition to
the Office Annex Building for architectural documentation. NORR was also responsible for the architectural
integration drawings for the Armani Hotel included in the Tower. Emaar Properties also engaged GHD,[40] an
international multidisciplinary consulting firm, to act as an independent verification and testing authority for
concrete and steelwork.
The design of Burj Khalifa is derived from patterning systems embodied in Islamic architecture.[16] 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.
[41]
The Y-shaped plan is ideal for residential and hotel usage, with the wings allowing maximum outward views
and inward natural light.[16] As the tower rises from the flat desert base, there are 27 setbacks in a spiralling
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).[42]
As part of a study which reveals the unnecessary "vanity space" added to the top of the world's tallest buildings
by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, it was revealed that without its 244-metre spire, the 828-
metre Burj Khalifa would drop to a substantially smaller 585-metre height without any reduction in usable
space. As the report states, the spire "could be a skyscraper on its own". [43]
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. [16]
The spire of Burj Khalifa is composed of more than 4,000 tonnes (4,400 short tons; 3,900 long tons) of
structural steel. The central pinnacle pipe weighing 350 tonnes (390 short tons; 340 long tons) was constructed
from inside the building and jacked to its full height of over 200 m (660 ft) using a strand jack system. The spire
also houses communications equipment.[44]
In 2009, architects announced that more than 1,000 pieces of art would adorn the interiors of Burj Khalifa, while
the residential lobby of Burj Khalifa would display the work of Jaume Plensa, featuring
196 bronze and brass alloy cymbals representing the 196 countries of the world.[45] It was planned that the
visitors in this lobby would be able to hear a distinct timbre as the cymbals, plated with 18-carat gold, are struck
by dripping water, intended to mimic the sound of water falling on leaves. [46]
The exterior cladding of Burj Khalifa consists of 142,000 m2 (1,528,000 sq ft) of reflective glazing, and
aluminium and textured stainless steel spandrel panels with vertical tubular fins. The cladding system is
designed to withstand Dubai's extreme summer temperatures. Additionally, the exterior temperature at the top
of the building is thought to be 6 C (11 F) cooler than at its base. [47] Over 26,000 glass panels were used in
the exterior cladding of Burj Khalifa. Over 300 cladding specialists from China were brought in for the cladding
work on the tower.[44]
A 304-room Armani Hotel, the first of four by Armani, occupies 15 of the lower 39 floors.[3][48] The hotel was
supposed to open on 18 March 2010,[49][50] but after several delays, it finally opened to the public on 27 April
2010.[51] The corporate suites and offices were also supposed to open from March onwards, [52] yet the hotel and
observation deck remained the only parts of the building which were open in April 2010.
The sky lobbies on the 43rd and 76th floors house swimming pools.[53] Floors through to 108 have 900 private
residential apartments (which, according to the developer, sold out within eight hours of being on the market).
An outdoor zero-entry swimming pool is located on the 76th floor of the tower. Corporate offices and suites fill
most of the remaining floors, except for a 122nd, 123rd and 124th floor where the At.mosphere restaurant, sky
lobby and an indoor and outdoor observation deck is located respectively. In January 2010, it was planned that
Burj Khalifa would receive its first residents from February 2010. [53][54]
Burj Khalifa can accommodate up to 35,000 people at any one time. [16][55] A total of 57 elevators and 8
escalators are installed.[44] The elevators have a capacity of 12 to 14 people per cabin, the fastest rising and
descending at up to 10 m/s (33 ft/s) for double-deck elevators.[16][56] However, the world's fastest single-deck
elevator still belongs toTaipei 101 at 16.83 m/s (55.2 ft/s). Engineers had considered installing the world's first
triple-deck elevators, but the final design calls for double-deck elevators.[19] The double-deck elevators are
equipped with entertainment features such as LCD displays to serve visitors during their travel to the
observation deck.[57] The building has 2,909 stairs from the ground floor to the 160th floor. [58]
The graphic design identity work for Burj Khalifa is the responsibility of Brash Brands, who are based in Dubai.
Design of the global launch events, communications, and visitors centers [59] for Burj Khalifa have also been
created by Brash Brands as well as the roadshow exhibition for the Armani Residences, which are part of the
Armani Hotel within Burj Khalifa, which toured Milan, London, Jeddah, Moscow and Delhi. [60]
Statistics
Project: Burj Khalifa
Location: Dubai, UAE
Work started: January 2004 (site excavation)
Completed: January 2010 (official launch)
Developer: Emaar Properties
Contractors: Samsung, BESIX and Arabtec
Architect: Adrian Smith, Skidmore, Owings, & Merrill (SOM)
Height: 828m
Floors (above ground level): 162
Cost: $1.6bn
Nearest rival: Taipei 101 (508m)
Achievements:
- Tallest building in the world
- Tallest free-standing structure in the world
- Highest number of stories in the world
- Highest occupied floor in the world
- Highest outdoor observation deck in the world
- Elevator with the longest travel distance in the world
- Tallest service elevator in the world; worlds highest mosque (158th floor)
- Worlds highest swimming pool (76th floor)
- Worlds highest occupied floor.
Fast facts
45,000 -- Amount, in cubic metres, of concrete used in the foundations
58 -- Number of elevators
900 -- Number of apartments within the building
309,473m3 -- Gross floor area within the building
50 Depth to which piles used in towers foundations were sunk, in metres
3.7 Thickness of concrete mat used in buildings foundations, in metres
1000 Number of pieces of exclusive art that adorn the Burj and adjoining Boulevard
1325 Number of calendar days it took for Burj to become tallest manmade structure
500,000 Weigh4 Number of coats of paint applied to the walls of Armani Hotel and Armani Residences
24 Specified number of hours between application of each coat of paint
11 Area covered by The Park, the green oasis at the towers base, in hectares
4,000 Amount of steel used in the towers spire, in tonnes
2909 Number of steps from ground floor to level 160
t of empty building, in tonnes
Statistics
Building: ADNEC Capital Gate
Location: Abu Dhabi, UAE
Work started: September 2007 (enabling works)
Completed: End of 2010
Developer: Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company
Main contractor: Al Habtoor-Leighton Group
Architect: RMJM Dubai
Incline: 18 degrees
Nearest rival: Leaning Tower of Pisa (4 degrees incline)
Finance
Once youve had the vision, the real work doesnt start until you find a way to pay. The final finished cost of the Burj
Khalifa will be tough to calculate, once a complete interior fit-out is taken into account.
Mohamed Alabbar, Emaar chairman, recently suggested a final budget of US $1.5 billion. Mashreqbank, Emirates
Bank International and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank formed a syndicate to provide finance way back in 2005.
The triumvirate of banks signed a financing agreement with Korean contractor Samsung Corporation and its project
partners Belhasa Six Construct and Arabtec. The good news is that around 90% of saleable space was sold off-plan,
helping ensure that money never ran tight.
Design
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill was the architecture firm behind the design and engineering of the tower.
The design team developed what has become known as a spiraling Y shaped plan, which was used to shape the
structural core of the building.
Key considerations included the impact of wind forces and constructability, architecture cant for practical
construction considerations. The design employs a buttressed core, which has each wing of the building buttressing
the otheIt is this central core that provides the structures torsional resistance. The design of wall and corridor
intersections means that all of the vertical concrete is used to support both gravity and lateral loads.
As the building spirals in height, the wings set back to provide many different floor plates. These setbacks also have
the advantage of providing a different width to the tower for each differing floor plate. This stepping and shaping of
the tower has the effect of disrupting the flow of the wind over the height of the building.
Foundations
If you want to build high, you must first dig deep, driving foundations down well below the surface. The towers
superstructure is supported by a large reinforced concrete mat, which is in turn supported by 192 bored reinforced
concrete piles.
The mat is 3.7m thick, and was constructed in four separate pours totaling 12,500 cubic metres (m) of concrete.
Bauer Spezialtiefbau, with Middle East Foundations, took on much of the piling work, which required bores to be
sunk for cast in-situ piles, to a depth of 43 metres.
Known by some as the Rolls-Royce of the drill rig world, the Bauer BG40 can deliver, as the name suggests, 40nm
of torque. Of course, there isnt a situation that we could imagine where you would need such heavy power for
drilling piling holes half of this would be sufficient for most situations. However, a reserve of torque means there is
less stress put on the machine, so it can get on with what it is required to do.
Around 45,000m of concrete, weighing more than 110,000 tonnes, were poured for the foundations thats
equivalent to 18 Olympic sized swimming pools with 192 piles running to a depth of over 50m.
A high density, low permeability concrete was used in the foundations, as well as a cathodic protection system under
the mat. This is an effort to counter the effects of the highly-corrosive ground water.
Bores for the 192 deep piles were sunk in 2004. Each of them was designed to be cast in situ, and as such needed to
be very deep. Ground conditions at the Burj site were favourable the soft, but not unstable, soil proved easy to dig
into. Other sites in the region are not so fortunate naturally occurring limestone requires breaking with a breaker
attachment first.
rs via a six-sided central core.
Fire safety
Fire safety and speed of evacuation were prime factors in the design of Burj Khalifa. Concrete surrounds all stairwells
and the building service and fireman's elevator will have a capacity of 5500kg and will be the world's tallest service
elevator.
Since people can't reasonably be expected to walk down 160 floors, there are pressurised, air-conditioned refuge
areas located approximately every 25 floors.
MEP
The mechanical, electrical and plumbing services for Burj Khalifa were developed in co-ordination during the design
phase with the co-operation of the architect, structural engineer and other consultants.
Hyder Consulting was appointed as a supervision consultant with responsibility for overseeing execution of the MEP.
An ETA-Hitachi-Voltas joint venture was awarded the buildings MEP contract.
Seven double-storey mechanical floors house the equipment that bring Burj Khalifa to life. Distributed around every
30 storeys, the mechanical floors house the electrical sub-stations, water tanks, pumps and air handling units that
are essential for the running of the building.
The Burj Khalifa's water system supplies an average of 946,000 litres (250,000 gallons) of water daily. At peak
cooling, Burj Khalifa will require about 10,000 tonnes of cooling, equal to the cooling capacity provided by about
10,000 tonnes of melting ice.
Dubai's hot, humid climate combined with the building's cooling requirements creates a significant amount of
condensation. This water is collected and drained in a separate piping system to a holding tank in the basement car
park.
The condensate collection system provides about 15 million gallons of supplement water per year, equal to about 20
Olympic-sized swimming pools. This water is to be redirected to the gardens surrounding the tower.
The tower's peak electrical demand will be an estimated 36mW, equal to about 360,000 100 Watt bulbs operating
simultaneously. According to one report, the tower has more than one hundred thousand light fittings, 375km of fire
alarm cabling and 34km of chilled water pipes.
Elevators & lifts
Burj Khalifa will be home to 57 elevators and eight escalators. The building service/fireman's elevator will have a
capacity of 5500kg and will be the world's tallest service elevator.
The Burj Khalifa features distinct sections: residential apartments, serviced apartments and hotel rooms, and
corporate offices. Elevators have been arranged in zones to serve these different audiences, with what is known as a
sky lobby system.
The sky lobby is an intermediate floor where residents, guests and executives will change from an express elevator
to a local elevator, which stops at every floor within a certain segment of the building. Burj Khalifas sky lobbies are
located on level 43, 76 and 123 and will include a lounge area and kiosk, amongst other amenities.
All elevators have been supplied and installed by Otis. No elevators are installed to travel all 160 floors of Burj
Khalifa. Instead, they are grouped to align with the floor layout, offering passengers a direct express service to their
destination by bypassing other floors.
The main service elevator, positioned in the central core of Burj Khalifa, has the worlds highest elevator rise at 504
metres more than the height of Taipei 101 in Taiwan (448 metres). It travels at nine metres per second and also
has the worlds longest travelling distance for an elevator. Another service lift in the spire has the worlds highest
landing point at 636.9 metres.
Double-deck elevators, with built-in light and entertainment features including LCD displays, will exclusively serve
visitors to At The Top, Burj Khalifa, the worlds highest outdoor observation deck situated on level 124, as well as
office users transferring at the sky lobby at level 123.
These double-deck units used for the first time in the Middle East by Otis are the highest rising double-deck
elevators in the world and will travel at the speed of 10 metres per second. They have a capacity of 12 to 14 people
per cab.
Podium and access
The podium provides a base anchoring the tower to the ground, allowing access from three different sides to three
different levels of the building.
Fully glazed entry pavilions constructed with a suspended cable-net structure provide separate entries for the
Corporate Suites at B1 and Concourse Levels, the Burj Khalifa residences at Ground Level and the Armani Hotel at
Level 1.
The number of underground car parking spaces is reported to be 3000, which suggests that the owners are keen for
people to use the nearby metro station and downtown light railway for access.
Landscaping
At the foot of the mighty Burj sits the The Park, an 11 hectare expanse of gardens, trees and water features. What
is perhaps most noteworthy about The Park is that is irrigated using a water collection system that recovers the
condensation from the towers cooling equipment.
This provides the park with around 15 million gallons of water a year or enough to fill 20 Olympic-sized swimming
pools. The Park was designed by SOM, designer of the tower itself, and SWA Group of California. WET, the designers
of The Dubai Fountain, developed the parks six water features.
Fitout
The interior design of Burj Khalifas public areas was 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.
Over 1000 pieces of art from prominent Middle Eastern and international artists will adorn Burj Khalifa and the
surrounding Emaar Boulevard. Many of the pieces were specially commissioned by Emaar.
The two main contractors for the interior fitout were DEPA and Fino International (click for separate interviews).
At one point, interior contracting specialist DEPA famously told Arabian Business magazine that the job of fitting out
the tower was a nightmare. The company won a US $600 million contact to oversee the fit-out of nearly 1000
residential and serviced apartments as well as corridors and lift lobbies.
Despite the challenges of moving men and materials up to as high as the 100th floor, the company got the job done
in reasonable time.
Spire
The crowning glory of Burj Khalifa is its telescopic spire comprised of more than 4000 tons of structural steel. The
spire was constructed from inside the building and jacked to its full height of over 200 metres (700 feet) using a
hydraulic pump.
In addition to securing the Burj Khalifa's place as the world's tallest structure, the spire is integral to the overall
design, creating a sense of completion for the landmark. The spire also houses communications equipment.
The top four floors of the Burj have been reserved for communications and broadcasting. These floors occupy the
levels just below the spire.
Window Washing
Access for the tower's exterior for both window washing and faade maintenance is provided by 18 permanently
installed track and fixed telescopic, cradle equipped, building maintenance units. The track mounted units are stored
in garages, within the structure, and are not visible when not in use.
The manned cradles are capable of accessing the entire facade from tower top down to level seven. The building
maintenance units jib arms, when fully extended, will have a maximum reach of 36 metres with an overall length of
approximately 45 metres.
When fully retracted to parked position, the jib arm length will measure approximately 15 metres. Under normal
conditions, with all building maintenance units in operation, it will take three to four months to clean the entire
exterior facade.
World Records
At over 828 metres and more than 160 stories, Burj Khalifa holds the following records:
Tallest building in the world
Tallest free-standing structure in the world
Highest number of stories in the world
Highest occupied floor in the world
Highest outdoor observation deck in the world
Elevator with the longest travel distance in the world
Tallest service elevator in the world
Urban Myths
Among the many facts and figures about the Burj Khalifa, here are some that just arent true:
The building will be the headquarters of the Dubai Base Jumping Association
Nothing within a 10km radius of the Burj Khalifa will ever be struck by lightning again
A construction worker, known only as Dev, set the unofficial record for the Burj Khalifa vertical marathon,
running to the top of the building in 23:45
The crane driver lived at the top of the Burj Khalifa for the duration of the construction and has been made
a UAE citizen as a reward for his perilous task
The Burj can be seen from Iran
More levels can be added to the building at a later date, should any other structure surpass its height
The Burj Khalifa can be seen from space
Fantastic Facts:
28,261 Glass cladding panels make up the exterior of the tower and its two annexes.
1325 Days after excavation work started in January 2004, the Burj Khalifa became the tallest free-standing
structure in the world.
12,000 Workers and contractors were on site every day at the peak of construction.
124 Storeys up is the publicly accessible observation deck, with an outdoor terrace.
606 Metres is the height to which concrete was pumped, a world record for concrete pumping.
504 Metres is how high the Burj Khalifas main service lift travels, the most of any elevator.
57 Elevators will move occupants around.
31,400 Tonnes of rebar were used in the structure of Burj Khalifa.
5500 KG is the carrying capacity of the service lift.
Concrete and steel
You know already that over 45,000m of concrete was used to in construction of the towers foundations. The overall
construction process will have used 330,000 m of concrete and 39,000 tonnes (43,000 ST; 38,000 LT) of steel
rebar. Laid end to end, the rebar used in the tower would extend over a quarter of the way around the world.
For the construction of the tower, BASF developed a special concrete mix that was pumped to a height of more than
600 metres (see Pumping) without segregating. Thanks to BASFs admixture Glenium Sky 504, the concrete could
be worked on for more than three hours before hardening took place.
This allowed for a shorter construction time and gives the building a longer useful life, making it more sustainable.
Pumping
In November, 2007, the highest reinforced concrete corewalls were made using concrete pumped from ground level
to a vThis broke the previous pumping record for a building of 470m on the Taipei 101 and the previous overall world
record for vertical pumping of 532 metres for an extension to the Riva del Garda Hydroelectric Power Plant in 1994.
The concrete pressure during pumping to this level was nearly 200 bars.
When the record was set, a photocall was arranged and a distance of 601 metres was reported as the new record.
However, it was discovered shortly afterwards that the concrete needed to go a little further and so an extension was
added to move the concrete to 606 metres.
The mix was able to reach such astounding heights by running through a high-pressure trailer mounted pump (a
Putzmeister 14000 SHP D). The concrete required approximately 40 minutes from the filling of the hopper to its
discharge from the delivery line.
The concrete volume in the line amounted to approximately 11m with this installation height meaning there was
roughly 26 tonnes on the pump after every piston stroke or five big elephants.
Over a period of about 32 months, the high pressure pump and two others delivered more than 165,000m of high-
strength concrete, which, using our preferred unit of measurement, is about 66 Olympic sized swimming pools.
ertical height of 601 metres.
Architectural Concept
y
The context of the BurjDubai being located in thecity of Dubai,
UAE, drove theinspiration for the buildingform to incorporate
culturaland historical particular tothe region.
y
The influences of the MiddleEastern domes and
pointedarches in traditional buildings,spiral imagery in
MiddleEastern architecture, resultedin the tri-axial shape of the
building
Main Structure & Design
y
The tower superstructure of BurjDubai is designed as an
all reinforced concrete building with highperformance
concrete from the foundation level tolevel 156, and is topped
with a structural steel bracedframe from level 156 to the
pinnacle.
y
Designers purposely shaped the structural
concreteB u r j D u b a i Y s h a p e d i n p l a n t o r e d u c e
t h e w i n d forces on the tower, as well as to keep the
structuresimple and foster constructability.
y
The structural system can be described as abuttressed
core. Each wing, with its own highperformance concrete
corridor walls and perimetercolumns, buttresses the others
via a six-sided centralcore, or hexagonal hub
Structural Analysis & Design
y
The top section of the Tower consists of astructural steel spire utilizing a
diagonally bracedlateral system.
y
The structural steel spire was designed
forgravity, wind, seismic and fatigue in accordancewith the requirements
of AISC Load andResistance Factor Design Specification
forStructural Steel Buildings (1999). The exteriorexposed steel is
protected with a flame applied alluminium finish
Armani at the Burj
The first Armani brand hotel opened on 27 April 2010 as part of the Burj Khalifa, and includes 160
guestrooms and suites, eight restaurants, retail outlets and a spa, covering more than 40,000m.
Alongside the hotel, the Burj Khalifa also offers 144 luxury residential apartments located on floors 9 to
16. All residences were designed by Giorgio Armani and are fully furnished with a specially designed line
of products from the Armani Casa home furnishings collection.
Armani Hotels & Resorts occupy all levels up to the 8th floor and levels 38 and 39 of Burj Khalifa, which
provide spectacular views of the city. They also feature conference and banqueting amenities in a
30,000ft area.
Armani Hotel Dubai also features an Armani / Lounge, the Armani / Priv nightclub, an in-hotel 12,000ft
Armani / Spa, the Armani / Dolci store selling sweets and chocolates, an Armani/Fiori florist and an
Armani / Galleria.
"This marks the beginning of a new chapter in the Armani story," said Giorgio Armani. "In this our 13th
anniversary year, I cannot think of a more energising prospect than bringing my philosophy of style and
design to a collection of hotels and resorts.
"Today, more than ever before, fashion has expanded to encompass our way of life, not just how we
dress, but also where we live, which restaurants we eat at, which car we drive, where we go on holiday
and which hotels we stay in.
"I strongly believe that for those people who enjoy the Armani fashion and home furnishings collections
there will be a real enthusiasm for the possibility to now stay at an Armani hotel or resort. This continues
our ongoing strategy of building the Armani universe into a comprehensive lifestyle brand."
Burj Khalifa development complex
The Burj Khalifa development includes The Dubai Mall, the world's largest shopping and entertainment
complex; The Residences, an exclusive upscale series of high-rise apartment towers; an Office Park; the
Burj Dubai Lake Hotel; Burj Views; The Old Town, a low-rise traditional residences community inspired by
the stylist antiquity of Arabian architecture; and The Burj Dubai Boulevard, a 3.5km stretch that binds the
entire district and gives it an international ambience, in addition to man-made lakes and landscaped
parks.
The Dubai Mall is located in Dubai's downtown major retail outlet and is also the world's largest shopping
mall, covering a total area of 12 million square feet and consisting of the largest number of retailers. Burj
Dubai Mall has areas for leisure pursuits, including a world-class aquarium, a fashion show arena, a gold
souk and an ice rink.
The Burj Khalifa was designed to be the centre of a $20bn Downtown Dubai project, a large-scale, mixed-
use development that will include 30,000 homes, nine hotels, six acres of parkland, 19 residential towers,
and the 12ha Burj Dubai Lake. The tower development, which was inaugurated in Jaunuary 2010, covers
a total area of two million square metres.
LAKE
Emaar Properties has unveiled a world-class permanent water fountain with an integral light and sound show in Downtown
Burj Dubai. This new iconic feature is set to be a global water-engineering marvel and will be one of the citys major tourist
attractions, expected to draw over 10 million visitors annually.
The fountain in Burj Dubai Lake will be Dubais complement to the worlds elegant water fountains. The total development
value of the Burj Dubai Lake, the fountain and its advanced filtrations systems is AED 800 million (US$218 million).
At over 900 ft (275 metres) in length equivalent to that of over two football fields - it is about 25 per cent larger than The
Fountains at Bellagio in Las Vegas in area. Powerful water nozzles shoot water sprays to heights of over 500 ft (150 metres)
equivalent to that of a 50-storey building.
Over 6,600 lights and 50 colour projectors create a vibrant visual spectrum of over 1,000 different water expressions that
will appeal to visitors. Different combinations of water-forms perform to selected musical pieces chosen from a range of
classical to contemporary Arabic and world music. The fountain is positioned next to Burj Dubai, the worlds tallest building,
and The Dubai Mall, one of the worlds largest shopping and entertainment destinations.
CLIMATE DATA AND GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS
The city of Dubai is located at 2515 N latitude and 5519 E longitude and is situated
along the coast of the Persian Gulf. Its location coincides with the northern edge of the
earths equatorial region, an area influenced by so-called trade wind patterns. The
climate is classified as arid sub-tropical and is characterized by average diurnal
temperature fluctuations, dampened by its proximity to the gulf. Winter months are mild
with a 50F design temperature while summers temperatures mid-day may reach a 115F
DB design temperature. Dubai also experiences a greater level of humidity than nearby
inland regions, with an 85F WB design temperature. Rainfall is sporadic, though
potentially heavy; typically occurring only during the winter season.
In addition to ambient temperature, the local atmospheric turbidity can have a significant
impact on faade solar loading. Sea-salt aerosols, sand and urban particulate dispersed
into the turbulent atmospheric boundary layer, generally below 1000M in height,
resulting in light scattering and a proportional insulation reduction. While the radiation
reflected from ground level to the upper floors would be greatly attenuated by the
particulate matter in the lower atmosphere, the contrary effect would occur for the direct
solar radiation. Thus, radiant loads are expected to increase with the height of the building
HVAC DESIGN WATER SIDE
Cooling water for the complex, as well as a near by mall, is provided by central plants
located off site. Two (2) incoming lines from different central plants are provided to
allow for redundancy. Due to the extreme temperature, the central plants have ice storage
to allow emergency cooling for selected equipment. The district chilled water is routed
