The World's Tallest Building: 10 Interesting Facts About The Burj Khalifa
- The Burj Khalifa is the highest freestanding manmade structure in the world.
- 12,000 people worked from 2004 to 2010 to complete the Burj Khalifa.
- Only the second ever Armani hotel is located in the Burj Khalifa, with the first one being from Milano, Italy.
The Burj Khalifa is a ground-breaking achievement in architecture, in every sense of the word. The highest freestanding building that currently exists in the world is a neo-futuristic skyscraper located in Dubai, the biggest city of the United Arab Emirates.
Light Show Must Go On!
Another famous building in the world is the Bellagio Hotel, in the desert of Las Vegas, Nevada. The same company that put up the light show that is practically a symbol of the hotel was hired to create another sophisticated display of light and sound. The Dubai Fountain in Burj Khalifa is the largest system in the world of dancing fountains.
Art Show Hotel
Unique art pieces were ordered when Burj Khalifa was put up together. Across the whole building, numerous sculptures impress visitors. Some of the most exciting pieces are oval shapes that embellish the corporate entrance, a work of Egyptian artist named Karim Rashid.
Jaume Plensa put up a series of drum cymbals that create a unique sound experience when they are hit by water. Also, all the 26,000 glass panels that cover Burj Khalifa were individually cut. By hand!
Armani Exclusive
There are only two Armani hotels in the whole world. One is in its homeland, Milano, Italy. The other one is exclusive to the experience of Burj Khalifa. As per Giorgio Armani’s request, there is no reception there, to emphasize the feeling of hospitality.
Eco-Friendly
The gardens of Burj Khalifa are watered with water that is, technically, recycled. The engineers working on Burj Khalifa have come up with a way to use the water that drips during condensation in the air conditioning systems. On top of that, in a single day, the solar panels found on the building can heat up to 37,000 gallons of water (140,000 liters).
Concrete Giant
To create this monumental structure, the builders used 330,000 cubic meters of concrete and so much aluminum you could construct an Airbus A380 five times. Also, if you could spread out all the steel bars used during building, they would cover a quarter of our planet’s radius!
Heavy Lifting
During the busiest hours of construction, there would be up to 12,000 people working on the site. It took the workers, mostly coming from various countries of Southeast Asia, six years to complete the Burj Khalifa (2004-2010).
Extreme Sports Magnet
People like to climb and jump off significant buildings. It really gets the adrenaline pumping.
Alain Robert was the man who climbed all the way to the top of Burj Khalifa. The French Spiderman needed six hours for that accomplishment. Another two adrenaline addicts from France, Fred Fugen and Vince Reffet, went the other way around, but more quickly. In 2014, both of them jumped from the top of the building. Base jumping performance indeed!
Elevation For Days
Almost needless to say, the world’s tallest building also has the tallest elevator. Unless you want to travel with stairs, you can go up to the top with an elevator that travels at 37 mph (60 km/h). Once you get there, you can check out how the world looks from 1820 ft (555 m) up in the air. Deck 148 is, of course, the world’s tallest outdoor observation site.
Top Floor Apartment, Please!
If you would like to reserve your accommodation 1200 ft (385 m) up in the air, you can do so in Burj Khalifa! In case you wish to have a nice dinner there as well, you will have to go just a few floors up to find a restaurant on deck 122 and enjoy your meal at 1450 ft (441 m).
Top Of The World
The Burj Khalifa breaks many records that take the height of something into account. This building is the world’s tallest structure, standing high at 2716 ft (828 m). Burj Khalifa is two times bigger than the Empire State Building in New York.
