BURJ KHALIFA
“WORLD’S TALLEST BUILDING EVER”
INTRODUCTION
This world is indeed beautiful but some man made structures have made it even more. Some skyscrapers have been the trade mark of their countries. Burj Khalifa is also a skyscraper which is raised from the desert and provided the Dubai a new glow. This tallest building of the world is situated in the heart of Dubai and in the hearts of the people. When the project started it was given name Burj Dubai but before its inauguration it was declared Burj Khalifa. This name was given to honour the UAE president Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan for his tremendous support. The total cost of the project was $1.5 billion. This great architectural and engineering work is the result of Skidmore, Owings and Merill of Chicago. The main contractor of the project was Samsung C&T from South Korea. This is the world’s tallest structure with the residential space.
OBJECTIVE OF PROJECT
The development of this project is based on an objective. All of us know that the economy of the country is oil based. The government wanted shift from oil based economy to tourism and service based economy. This was being a great change and it required a big shift. For this purpose they approved a development project with the cost of $20 billion and which was named Downtown Dubai. Other than the construction of world’s tallest freestanding structure Burj Khalifa this project include 30,000 homes, 9 hotels, a parkland covering 3 hectares, 19 residential towers, Duabi mall and a man made lake named Burj Khalifa Lake which is spread over 12 hectares. This project has another distinction of bringing the title of world’s tallest structure back to Middle East after the Great Pyramid of Giza.
ATTRACTIONS
Burj Khalifa is no doubt an architectural masterpiece. The whole building is really a must see sight. This is not the whole attraction. Following are the some other attractions attached to the Burj Khalifa.
Dubai Fountain
Outside the building there is world’s longest fountain which is called Dubai Fountain. This fountain is 275m (902ft) long and throws the water 150 m or 490 ft in air. It is illuminated with 6,600 lights and 50 colour projectors are spreading the beautiful colours. Music from all over the world is played to cherish the atmosphere. This fountain was designed by Wet Design which is a California based company.
Observation Deck
At the 124th floor you will find the world’s second highest observation deck in the world. This is the world’s highest outdoor deck in the world at the height of 452 m. an other interesting feature of the building is the installation of Behold Telescope. This telescope allows the visitors to view the surroundings in real time and also facilitates to view the pictures which were previously saved during the day and in different weather conditions.
Burj Khalifa Park
Burj Khalifa Park is also a great attraction. The Burj Khalifa is surrounded by the Burj Khalifa Park and is spread over 11 hectares. The design of the park is based on the concept of Burj Khalifa which has resemblance with the desert flower Hymenocallis. At the center of the park there is a series of pools and fountains which extinguish the beauty of the park and of the Burj Khalifa. Additionally the park has a railing, benches, hymenocallis flowers in bulk and images of Burj Khalifa.
This is really a wonderful luxurious place to see.