Recognized as the world famous man made structure, even before the completion of the building, is already incredible achievement obtained by Burj Dubai. Now, that the building has topped out, completed, and opened for public on 4th January 2010 as the world tallest man made structure as well.
A landmark of Dubai, an icon of the nation, and the symbol of human achievements, this tower stands at an official height of 828m (previously the height is 818m, after new measurement being introduced by Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, the new height is 825m, then now, another 3m is added, making it at 828m…what a nice number). The building has 168 occupied floors too (with over a certain number of mechanical floors above).
It’s really cool to see something from the drawing turned to reality:
Something incredible…the height of the tower can be raised with the addition of spire at the top. Currently, the spire looks short compared to overall of the building, giving hints that the spire can be added without interfering the proportion of the building. Hence, it will gives tougher challenge to future world tallest building projects.
The building’s name is suddenly changed from Burj Dubai to Burj Khalifa, after being announced shockingly by Sheikh Mohammed on the opening night. The ruler of Dubai renamed it as the gesture to Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed al Nahyan, President of United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Abu Dhabi, the capital of the country.
More details are finally revealed by the architects of the building (previously, all the architects do not expose much details on the building as to keep it as secret till opening). The design of the building is inspired by the shape of desert flower, an Arabic flower, built in the shape of letter Y. Elevators in the building can travel up to 1600 feet in two minutes. The temperature difference between the top and the bottom of the building is up to 10 degree Celsius. It will have the most elevated place of worship in the world with plans for a mosque on the 158th level. It boasts luxury apartments, offices, four swimming pools, a private library and a hotel designed by Giorgio Armani. The main architect for the building is Adrian Smith.
Some pictures of the fireworks display of the tower during the opening:
The video from Dubai channel showing the opening ceremony of the building:
The video from ITN News showing the opening ceremony too:
The video from rooftop of Millenium Tower, showing the fireworks of Burj Dubai:
Great, isn’t it??? I’m currently in a very happy mood, because I love this building a lot, I have been watching the building from the proposal, till the construction, till the completion, and now, the opening…really wish to get there and take a breathtaking look at the impressive structure, which might hurt my neck for looking up too high…it is not merely a building, it is a pride of the world…
Vincent Loy's Online Journal 