The world’s tallest tower is famous not just for its scale, but also for its groundbreaking design and beguiling beauty. Here are some fun tidbits about the 828m-tall landmark in Downtown Dubai.
Architect Adrian Smith drew inspiration from the spider lily plant to create Burj Khalifa’s distinctive three-leafed shape. Spider lilies can be found throughout the gardens surrounding Burj Khalifa, alongside other traditional flora.
Burj Khalifa’s exterior features 26,000 hand-cut glass panels. The almighty structure takes up to four months to clean at a time, using a combination of high-tech equipment and manual scrubbing with squeegees and buckets of water.
While undeniably state-of-the-art, Burj Khalifa is also firmly rooted in the region’s heritage. The building’s design motif of interlocking circles pays homage to Islamic geometric patterns, as does the mashrabiya-carved latticework on the 125th floor observation deck.
Burj Khalifa’s steeped design of 27 tiers is both aesthetically pleasing and an innovative way to reduce wind impact. Before construction began, the design was tested extensively in wind tunnels – and the building was then rotated 120 degrees to further minimise the effects of the wind.