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Top 10 interesting facts about Burj Khalifa Construction of the Burj Khalifa began in 2004, with the exterior completed 5 years later in 2009. The primary structure is reinforced concrete. The building was opened in 2010 as part of a new development called Downtown Dubai. It is designed to be the centrepiece of large-scale, mixed-use development. The decision to build the building is reportedly based on the government's decision to diversify from an oil-based economy, and for Dubai to gain international recognition. The building was named in honour of the ruler of Abu Dhabi and president of the United Arab Emirates, Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan; Abu Dhabi and the UAE government lent Dubai money to pay its debts. The building broke numerous height records, including its designation as the tallest tower in the world. Burj Khalifa was designed by Adrian Smith, then of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), whose firm designed the Willis Tower and One World Trade Center. Hyder Consulting was chosen to be the supervising engineer with NORR Group Consultants International Limited chosen to supervise the architecture of the project. The design of Burj Khalifa is derived from patterning systems embodied in Islamic architecture, incorporating cultural and historical elements particular to the region, such as in the Great Mosque of Samarra. The Y-shaped plan is designed for residential and hotel usage. A buttressed core structural system is used to support the height of the building, and the cladding system is designed to withstand Dubai's summer temperatures. It contains a total of 57 elevators and 8 escalators. Critical reception to Burj Khalifa has been generally positive, and the building has received many awards. However, the labour issues during construction were controversial, since the building was built primarily by workers from South East Asia, who were allegedly treated poorly. 10 Fun Facts about the Burj Khalifa 1. The Burj Khalifa stands at 828 meters (2,716.5 feet) tall, soaring over Dubai. It’s three times as tall as the Eiffel Tower and nearly twice as tall as the Empire State Building. Laid end to end, it pieces stretch over a quarter of the way around the world You are here: Home / Middle East / United Arab Emirates / 10 Fun Facts about the Burj Khalifa 10 Fun Facts about the Burj Khalifa By Jennifer Dombrowski 69 Comments Burj Khalifa It seems this year was the year for us to visit some of the world’s record setters like the world’s largest pumpkin festival, the world’s northernmost city, and the world’s largest wine barrel. So it should be no surprise that standing on the observation deck of the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, was also on our bucket list. Not only is the Burj Khalifa the world’s tallest building, it impressively breaks several other records. Here are 10 fun facts about the Burj Khalifa we learned on our visit: 1. The Burj Khalifa stands at 828 meters (2,716.5 feet) tall, soaring over Dubai. It’s three times as tall as the Eiffel Tower and nearly twice as tall as the Empire State Building. Laid end to end, it pieces stretch over a quarter of the way around the world. Views of the Dubai Fountain from the top of the Burj Khalifa 2. Aside from holding the World Record for being the tallest building in the world, Burj Khalifa holds six other World Records: tallest freestanding 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 longest travel distance in the world, and tallest service elevator in the world. 3. The weight of the concrete is equivalent to 100,000 elephants. The total weight of aluminum used on Burj Khalifa is equivalent to that of five A380 aircraft. 4. Every year 15 million gallons of water are collected sustainably. 5. It has the longest single running elevator, which is 140 floors. The elevators go 10 meters per second and are among the fastest in the world. It took us approximately only one minute to reach the observation deck on the 124th floor. 6. The tip of the sphere of the Burj Khalifa can be seen up to 95 kilometers away. 7. At the peak of construction, 12,000 workers worked on the building per day. 8. It took more than 110,000 tons of concrete, 55,000 tons of steel rebar, and 22 million man-hours to complete the Burj Khalifa. 9. Excavation began in January 2004. Six years later, the Burj Khalifa finally opened in January 2010. 10. Burj Khalifa is designed to resemble the Hymenocallis flower; the central core emerges at the top and culminates in a sculpted spire.