BURJ DUBAI PHOTOS BURJ KHALIFA PICTURES

The world’s tallest building has been officially opened in Dubai, the Burj Khalifa, renamed after the President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan.

Burj Dubai opening ceremony Photo Gallery

"Burj" is Arabic for "Tower"

Burj Khalifa (Arabic: برج خليفة‎ "Khalifa Tower"), formerly known as Burj Dubai, is a skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and is the tallest man-made structure ever built, at 828 m (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.

The tower's architecture and engineering was performed by Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill of Chicago. Adrian Smith, who worked with Skidmore, Owings and Merrill until 2006, was the chief architect and Bill Baker was the chief structural engineer for the project.

The primary contractor was Samsung C&T of South Korea, who also built the Taipei 101 and Petronas Twin Towers. Major subcontractors included Belgian group Besix and Arabtec from the UAE.

The building was developed by Emaar Properties, is believed to have cost $1.5bn and taken about 12,000 labourers to build – around 22 million man hours.

Over 330,000 cubic meters of concrete and 31,400 metric tonnes of steel rebar was used at the completion of the tower.

Burj Dubai is the tallest man-made structure in the world, surpassing the KVLY-TV Tower in North Dakota as well as Warszawa Radio Mast, the previous tallest structure ever built.

A total of 45,000 cubic metres of concrete are used in the foundations with a weight in excess of 110,000 tonnes.

The building was rotated 120 degrees to allow for less stress from the prevailing winds.

World Wonder Burj Dubai Photo Gallery

Official Burj Dubai website : www.burjdubai.com

More Info about Burj Dubai : Wikipedia