Perhaps you’ve been to some of the world’s record-breaking locations, such as the world’s largest pumpkin festival, the world’s northernmost city, or the world’s largest wine barrel. So it’s no surprise that climbing to the top of the Burj Khalifa’s observation deck was also on your bucket list. The Burj Khalifa is not just the world’s tallest structure, but it also holds several other world records. The following are 32 interesting facts about the Burj Khalifa:
32 Fun Facts about the Burj Khalifa
1. Tallest Building in the World
The Burj Khalifa hovers over Dubai at an incredible height of 828 meters (2716.5 feet). It’s roughly twice as tall as the Empire State Building and three times as tall as the Eiffel Tower. Its components reach nearly a fifth of the way around the planet when laid end to end. One of the most astounding features of Burj Khalifa is its cloud-piercing height. The Burj Khalifa is the world’s tallest building, standing at over 828 meters
2. Six World Records
In addition to having the world record for being the world’s tallest skyscraper, the Burj Khalifa owns six other world records. The Burj Khalifa is also the world’s tallest freestanding construction, with the most storeys, the highest occupied floor, the highest outdoor observation deck, the world’s longest elevator travel distance, and the world’s tallest service elevator. The Burj Khalifa also holds the record for having the most floors in the world, at 160. If you enjoy heights, you’ll be happy to learn that the Burj Khalifa has the highest residential flat in the world, at 385 meters!
3. Weight of Materials Used in Burj Khalifa
One of the most astounding Burj Khalifa statistics is the weight of the materials. The structure required 330,000 cubic meters of concrete, the equivalent of 100,000 elephants. The total weight of aluminum utilized in the construction of the Burj Khalifa is equivalent to five A380 planes. When discussing interesting statistics about the Burj Khalifa, it’s impossible to ignore how the materials and man hours compare. The Burj Khalifa was built using almost 110,000 tons of concrete, 55,000 tons of steel rebar, and 22 million man-hours.
4. Environmental Sustainability
Burj Khalifa interesting facts include its environmental sustainability and resource usage. Every year, 15 million gallons of water are gathered in an environmentally friendly manner. The water is utilized to irrigate the landscape and plants, as well as to cool the building and supply the Dubai Fountain.
5. Longest Single Running Elevator
Burj Khalifa elevator trivia: the building features the world’s longest single-running elevator, which runs for 140 storeys. The elevators at the Burj Khalifa travel at a speed of 10 meters per second, making them among the fastest in the world. The Burj Khalifa elevator takes barely one minute to reach the 124th level observation deck.
6. Tip of Burj Khalif can be seen from 95 KM
The tip of the sphere of the Burj Khalifa can be seen from up to 95 kilometers away, which is one of the lesser known and more interesting facts about the building.
7. Dine-In With a View
How about dining with a view? On level 122 of the Burj Khalifa, you may dine while looking out over the city skyline from a height of 441 meters, the world’s tallest restaurant. Naturally, the menu features high-end fare like as wagyu beef, oysters, and caviar.
8. World’s 3rd Highest Observation Deck
Let’s come to the real reason for visiting the Burj Khalifa: the world’s 3rd Highest outdoor observation deck, located on level 148, from where you can see Dubai from a height of 555 meters!
9. Record by Alain Robert
As a world-record-breaking structure, it’s no wonder that the Burj Khalifa has been the site of numerous world-record-breaking feats! Let’s start with the biggest building climb, which was completed by Alain Robert aka French Spiderman on the Dubai gigantic tower in just over 6 hours — he did it alone, with no help!
10. Highest Base Jump
What about the highest building base jump? It could only happen on the world’s tallest building! French jumpers Fred Fugen and Vince Reffet performed it on April 21, 2014. They jumped from the pinnacle at 828 meters, the highest point of the Burj Khalifa.
11. Shape of Burj Khalifa
The design of the Burj Khalifa was influenced by traditional Islamic architecture as well as the spider lily, a desert flower popular in the UAE. You can see the similarity if you look at the tower from above!
12. Started in 2004
The Burj Khalifa took six years to construct. Construction began in 2004 and continued until 2010. During peak construction, around 12,000 construction workers, mostly from South Asia, worked on the site. The construction project was completed in October 2009. It first opened to the public on January 4, 2010.15. The architectural height of Burj Khalifa is 2716.5-feet (828.0-meters)
13. Deaths During Construction
Surprisingly, there were only a few deaths – One according to some stories, four according to others. However, the number might be much higher because it does not account for the appalling working conditions that many workers endured, which resulted in long-term health issues. For the construction of the world’s tallest building, migrant workers from several nations were hired. Low pay caused a backlash among the contractors.
14. Glass Panels
The Burj Khalifa’s superstructure is made up of 26,000 glass panels that were completely hand-cut.
15. Sustainability to Boost Insulation
During construction, sustainability was prioritized: the outer cladding was silver coated to boost insulation, and solar panels were placed to heat up to 140,000 gallons of water each day.
16. Condensation
Condensation from the air conditioning system is used to water the gardens.
17. Second Armani Hotel in the World
The skyscraper also houses the world’s second Armani Hotel, after the one in Milan. Giorgio wanted guests to feel as if they were entering his home, hence the hotel has no reception.
18. Tom Cruise Climbed the Burj
In Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Tom Cruise scaled the Burj.
19. Previous Name Burj Dubai
Burj Dubai was the previous name for Burj Khalifa. The skyscraper was renamed Burj Khalifa to honor the president of the United Arab Emirates, Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
20. Dubai Fountain
The Dubai Fountain, which is the size of two football fields, surrounds the Burj. Traditional abra boats can be used to sail around the Dubai Fountain.
The popular sound and light show was produced by the same team that designed the Bellagio Hotel Lake’s fountains. The Dubai Fountain is the largest dancing fountain system in the world!
21. Temperature is Nearly 15°C Lower
The temperature is about 15°C cooler at the top of the Burj Khalifa than it is at ground level.
22. Takes 3 Months to Clean the Windows
Cleaning the windows from top to bottom takes three months. It’s time to restart after they’ve done!
23. 10,000 Fireworks
The Burj Khalifa launched around 10,000 fireworks to commemorate its opening in 2010.
24. Highest Residential Apartment
At 385 meters, the highest residential apartment is located. So, if you enjoy heights, you now know where to live.
25. Second-Highest Swimming Pool
Burj Khalifa is home to the world’s second-highest swimming pool. It is located on the building’s 76th floor.
26. Jeddah Tower
In the near future, the Burj Khalifa will have a competitor. The Jeddah Tower is currently under development and will likely be the highest skyscraper in Saudi Arabia when completed.
27. Designer of Burj Khalifa
Skidmore, Owings & Merill (SOM), an American engineering architecture firm, designed the world’s tallest building.
28. Gardens Around the Burj Khalifa
Condensation from the air conditioners is used to water the plants that surround the Burj Khalifa.
29. Total Cost of Burj Khalifa
The Burj Khalifa cost Two Billion Dollars to construct.
30. Enjoy Sunset Twice
You can see the sunset twice from the Burj Khalifa. One from the ground floor, while the other from the observation deck.
31. 20 Seconds For a Human to FreeFall
A human will freefall from the top of the skyscraper and hit the ground in 20 seconds.
32. 2 Basement Levels of Parking Spaces
The Burj Khalifa features two basement levels with parking.
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