Burj Khalifa

The Burj Khalifa (known as the Burj Dubai prior to its inauguration) is a megatall <a href="/facts/Skyscraper/5nM0naVB">skyscraper</a> located in <a href="/facts/Dubai/v44jdkJK">Dubai</a>, United Arab Emirates. With a total height of 829.8 m (2,722 ft, or just over half a mile) and a roof height (excluding the antenna, but includes a 242.6 m spire) of 828 m (2,717 ft), it is the <a href="/facts/List_of_tallest_structures_in_the_world/kEBANsK2">world's tallest structure</a>. And it also has held the record of the <a href="/facts/List_of_tallest_buildings_and_structures/4IYIEmBB">tallest building</a> in the world since its <a href="/facts/Topping_out/G1dP66eX">topping out</a> in 2009, surpassing the <a href="/facts/Taipei_101/0jMXvJgB">Taipei 101</a>, which held the record since 2004.
Construction of the Burj Khalifa began in 2004, with the exterior completed five years later in 2009. The primary structure is <a href="/facts/Reinforced_concrete/aUTUKAQF">reinforced concrete</a> and some of the <a href="/facts/Structural_steel/u5UsVypD">structural steel</a> for the building originated from the <a href="/facts/Palace_of_the_Republic%2c_Berlin/6rpslwkU">Palace of the Republic</a> in East Berlin, the seat of the former <a href="/facts/Volkskammer/34xnYxII">East German parliament</a>. The building was opened in 2010 as part of a new development called <a href="/facts/Downtown_Dubai/gsALGsWg">Downtown Dubai</a>. It was designed to be the centerpiece of large-scale, mixed-use development. 
The building is named after the former president of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Sheikh <a href="/facts/Khalifa_bin_Zayed_Al_Nahyan/2p7WLtUQ">Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan</a>. The <a href="/facts/United_Arab_Emirates_government/o1bEjgbR">United Arab Emirates government</a> provided Dubai with financial support as the developer, <a href="/facts/Emaar_Properties/lbQnRgwf">Emaar Properties</a>, experienced financial problems during the <a href="/facts/Great_Recession/9LoVUhLf">Great Recession</a>. Then-president of the United Arab Emirates, Khalifa bin Zayed, organized federal financial support. For his support, <a href="/facts/Mohammad_bin_Rashid/VQtNz4zN">Mohammad bin Rashid</a>, <a href="/facts/Ruler_of_Dubai/sUBTxdrN">Ruler of Dubai</a>, changed the name from "Burj Dubai" to "Burj Khalifa" during inauguration.
The design is derived from the Islamic architecture of the region, such as in the <a href="/facts/Great_Mosque_of_Samarra/FNM1C8Gt">Great Mosque of Samarra</a>. The Y-shaped tripartite floor geometry is designed to optimise residential and hotel space. A <a href="/facts/Buttressed_core/8VINJlUN">buttressed central core and wings</a> are used to support the height of the building. The Burj Khalifa's central core houses all vertical transportation except egress stairs within each of the wings. The structure also features a <a href="/facts/Cladding_(construction)/unSXcCeI">cladding</a> system which is designed to withstand Dubai's hot summer temperatures. It contains a total of 57 elevators and 8 escalators.

Burj Khalifa open-in-new

Burj Khalifa