Architectural Wonder: Burj Khalifa

Burj Khalifa (Arabic: برج خليفة‎ "Khalifa Tower"), known as Burj Dubai prior to its inauguration it’s a magnificent centrepiece of Dubai and it’s a skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and the tallest man-made structure ever built 828m/2,717 ft. 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, and is part of the new 2 km2 (490-acre) flagship development called Downtown Dubai at the 'First Interchange' along Sheikh Zayed Road, near Dubai's main business district.

Burj Khalifa Armani Hotel

The Dubai Mall project comprises a 12.1-million square foot mall and residential and retail facilities. The total number of final floors is 189 will have 700 private apartments. The actual mall covers the equivalent of 50 international-sized soccer pitches, and when it opened in November 2008, it became the largest shopping space in the world, larger than any existing malls in the US.

Burj Khalifa Camel Statue

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. The primary contractor was Samsung C&T of South Korea. In June 2010, Burj Khalifa was the recipient of the 2010 Best Tall Building Middle East & Africa award by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.

Burj Khalifa Inside view

There is also room for a 14,000 underground car parking spaces, with additional parking above ground.The project to build three district cooling plants that offers a total capacity of 145,000t of refrigeration, an estimated 41,000t of air conditioning equipment will be involved in servicing the tower and The Mall.