Owner of Burj Khalifa. Where is the Burj Khalifa: city and country

Despite the lack of time, we still decided to visit the famous Burj Khalifa tower. And they didn’t regret it at all.

The city of Dubai is known to have the tallest buildings in the world. The Burj Khalifa Tower is the tallest skyscraper not only in Dubai, but throughout the world. It resembles the shape of a giant stalagmite and is one of the main attractions of the city. The height of this building including the spire is 828 meters, and the building has 163 floors in total.

The tower was opened in early January 2010, it was originally planned to be the tallest building in the world. Even when the building was still being erected, its design height was kept secret; if a building of even greater height was designed somewhere, adjustments would be made to the project.

I will say right away that the queues at the entrance and exit, in which you can stand for about 30 minutes, slightly spoil the overall impressions of visiting this tower. But it's worth it!

Inside the complex there are apartments, shopping centers, offices and a hotel. The building has three entrances: to the hotel, to the office premises and to the apartments.

The air inside the tower is aromatized and cooled thanks to special grilles in the floor.

The glass of the building repels the rays of the sun and does not allow dust to pass through, thereby maintaining an optimal temperature in the premises. The building's surface area is approximately the size of 17 football fields.

We got to the Burj Khalifa tower itself from a nearby shopping center called Dubai Mall. When planning a trip to the tower, plan your time well, this shopping center is incredibly huge and even knowing the way, you can lose quite a lot of time.

We paid about $30 to enter the tower.

This is where the tour begins.

At the beginning, we went through metal detectors; the only thing you can take with you is drink. Then we found ourselves in a long dark corridor with a moving belt that carried us past large screens. By the way, the yellow stripes in the photo seem to be hanging in the air, although in fact they are nothing more than the borders of the wall where the new screen begins.

Having passed the corridor, we entered a high-speed elevator, which is another visual illusion. In almost complete darkness, the walls in the elevator suddenly begin to glow and the information panels light up. The elevator in the tower moves at a speed of 18 m/s and literally a minute later we found ourselves on the 124th floor and went to the observation deck.

The observation deck offers an excellent view of the entire city. All of Dubai at your fingertips. Here, for a fee, you can use a telescope and see everything up close, multi-level overpasses of road junctions, tall skyscrapers at your feet - all this is simply breathtaking.

Having thoroughly enjoyed these magnificent views, we headed back. In total, we spent almost 1.5 hours on the entire excursion.

In the evening, when the tower is illuminated, it looks like something extraordinary.

I really enjoyed the tour, except for the queues! The view from the observation deck is simply mesmerizing.

In the early 2000s, the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, began implementing a plan to transform his emirate into one of the main centers of world tourism. One of the points of this plan was the construction of a new area - Dubai Downtown, which includes more than 100 residential and office buildings, hotels, the largest shopping center, impressive fountains and many other projects. But the key element of the new area was to be the world's tallest skyscraper.

2003 Burj Khalifa will be built on this site

In the spring of 2002, Dubai-based construction company Emaar approached architect Adrian Smith with a proposal to design the tallest building in the world. Adrian Smith was chosen for his Jin Mao skyscraper, built in the heart of Shanghai. The original design was 518 meters high, enough to overtake the then record holder Taiwan's Taipei 101 skyscraper, which is 509 meters high. But at the initial stage of construction, the project was changed at least 7 times, the latest options provided for a height of 705 and 750 meters. Smith was not happy with the constant demands to change the design and proposed 5 final versions of the tower, which would not be changed. Emaar chose a project with a height of 828 meters.
The project was launched under the name Burj Dubai, construction work began in January 2004.

In December 2004, the foundation of the tower was completed.

It took almost a year to construct the first 10 floors of the building. September 2005:

A special grade of concrete was developed especially for the Burj Khalifa, which can withstand temperatures up to +50 °C for a long time. It was poured only at night, and ice was added to the solution. Otherwise, too high a temperature would not allow the concrete to gain the necessary strength when hardening. April 2006:

The average speed of tower construction was 1-2 floors per week. October 2006:

October 2007: Burj Khalifa reaches 160 floors, followed by construction of a 200-meter steel spire.

Glass designed specifically for the Burj Khalifa will transmit enough light, but at the same time reflect some of the heat, which will significantly reduce air conditioning costs. In addition, they must withstand enormous wind loads on the tower. March 2008.

A very important point. There are two observation decks on the Burj Khalifa. This is important, since ticket prices vary significantly, and Prime hours (the best hours to visit) are different.

AT THE TOP– these are observation platforms on the 124th (open) and 125th (indoor) floors, height – 452 meters.

– this is an observation deck on the 148th floor (open), height – 555 meters.

To understand why this is so, we will dive a little into the history of the Burj Khalifa, although we will tell the whole story in facts and figures in the second part of this article. At first, there was no upper observation deck at all; the platform on the 124th floor (452 ​​meters), which was the highest in the world, was sufficient.

However, in December 2011 (a year after the opening of the Burj Khalifa), the Canton Tower opened in Guangzhou (China) with an observation deck at an altitude of 488 meters, Dubai residents were left without a record.

On October 15, 2014, Dubai regained its record by opening a site on the 148th floor (555 meters). But already in June 2016, an observation deck opened on the Shanghai Tower (China) at an altitude of 561 meters, and the Dubai residents again lost their record.

Now Dubai has nothing to “cover” with. Let us remind you that the Burj Khalifa building is only 585 meters high, and the remaining 243 meters is a large metal spire, in which, according to all safety standards, an observation deck cannot be organized.

Opening hours

Seven days a week, from 8-30 to 22-00. The entrance closes at 21-15.

Prime hours for AT THE TOP venues – from 15-00 to 18-30.

Prime hours for the AT THE TOP SKY site – from 9-30 to 18-00.

Prime hours are subject to change by the administration.

Ticket price

There are two types of tickets - Immediate Entry Admission and General Admission. Children under 4 years old are always free. Further, all prices are given in dirhams; for the current exchange rate, see our article “”.

Immediate Entry Admission. This ticket is purchased at the box office on the day of the visit. It would seem that the simplest and most convenient option.

In practice, this is the worst option. Firstly, this type of ticket is sold only on AT THE TOP, and AT THE TOP SKY does not have them at all.

Secondly, tickets may simply not be available, because a limited number of people are allowed onto the observation decks.

Thirdly, the price is very high: 315 dirhams, versus 210 and 135 dirhams for a ticket purchased on the website. Below is a table of prices for Immediate Entry tickets.

General Admission. This ticket can be purchased on the official website https://tickets.atthetop.ae/. When purchasing a ticket, you need to select the date and time of your visit. Below is a table of prices for General Admission tickets.

General Admission tickets are available on the website one month before the date of visit. Payment is made by VISA, MasterCard and JCB cards. There is an additional charge of 5 dirhams for purchasing a ticket online. That is, add 5 to the prices in the table above.

And one more important point. You cannot buy a ticket for children separately, only together with at least one adult, the system does not allow this. If you are traveling with a child, buy all tickets at once in one transaction. Don’t forget about the children’s ticket, otherwise you won’t be able to buy it later in a separate transaction.

Probably, the Burj Khalifa can be safely given another record - for the most expensive tickets to the observation decks. For comparison, looking at Shanghai from the currently record-breaking observation deck of the Shanghai Tower costs 180 (at the time of writing, $27).

Special offers

When purchasing on the website, you can use combo tickets, some of which are very profitable.

AT THE TOP SKY + Dubai Fountain Boardwalk. Together you buy a ticket to the AT THE TOP SKY venue and watch the show from a special platform at the foot of the Burj Khalifa (pictured below, click to enlarge). Valid from 19-00, price – 360 (+5) dirhams.

A ticket to AT THE TOP SKY costs 350 (+5) dirhams, and viewing the fountains from the platform can be purchased separately for 20 (+5) dirhams. This results in a saving of 15 dirhams.

ATT + Dubai Aquarium. This is a great offer. You get tickets for AT THE TOP (not during Prime hours) and . Price – 180 (+5) dirhams.

A ticket to the Burj Khalifa costs 125 (+5) dirhams, a ticket to the aquarium costs 100 dirhams. This results in a savings of 45 dirhams.

FAST TRACK. This ticket allows you to go everywhere without queuing. Price – 300 (+5) dirhams, regardless of age. This ticket can only be used to enter the AT THE TOP venues; this type of ticket is not available for the AT THE TOP SKY venue. If you see someone skipping the line, don’t be surprised or indignant, he bought himself a FAST TRACK ticket.

There are several more combo tickets, but we won’t talk about them in detail now, since we don’t think they are very popular. If you are interested, you can read their description on the website tickets.atthetop.ae. If you don’t know English, use the browser’s built-in translator, it will be more or less clear.

Burj Dubai (Khalifa) was recognized as the tallest building in the world on July 21, 2007, although it was opened only two and a half years later - at the beginning of 2010.

The construction of the tallest skyscraper, somewhat reminiscent of a giant stalagmite, began in 2004. Initially, Burj Dubai was supposed to become a kind of “city within a city”, with its boulevards, lawns and even entire parks, so it is not surprising that the initial budget of the project was one and a half billion dollars, and upon completion of construction the figure turned out to be much higher - $4.1 billion.

For the construction of the huge structure, a special type of prestressed reinforced concrete was developed, which was poured only at night, and ice was added to the solution. The main distinguishing feature of such concrete is that it overcomes the inability of concrete to resist significant tensile stresses.

Changing the project from the initial version to the final one, in reverse order)

Construction was carried out at an accelerated pace, but as a result of some delays (the return of a defective batch of exclusive reflective glass panels that reduce the heating of the interior, changes to the design due to deviations from the central axis, financial problems of the developer, etc.), the opening of the building was postponed from September 9, 2009 as of January 4, 2010.

The height of the finished 162-story structure was 828 meters. At the grand opening of the skyscraper, the Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashed Al Maktoum, said that this building is dedicated to President Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan, and therefore the building is officially named Burj Khalifa. But by that time, the whole world had become so accustomed to calling the skyscraper Burj Dubai that no one except the emirates themselves paid attention to this renaming.

Burj Dubai is an energy self-sufficient building - the skyscraper is always supplied with electricity thanks to a 61-meter wind turbine and a huge array of solar panels occupying 15,000 sq.m.

The air conditioning system of the skyscraper is also unique - air is driven from the bottom up along the entire height of the tower, and sea water and underground cooling modules are used for cooling.

Directly in front of the Dubai Tower is the world's most beautiful musical fountain, Dubai, which cost $217 million to create.

Some interesting facts about the Burj Dubai skyscraper:

There are exactly 3,000 steps from the base of the skyscraper to the top floor;

The air temperature at the tip of the spire is 10 degrees lower than the temperature at the base of Burj Dubai;

26,000 glass panels were used to finish the facades;

The construction of the Dubai Tower took 22 million "man hours";

The spire of the high-rise building is visible 100 kilometers away from it in any direction;

The 160 hotel rooms occupying the lower floors of the Tower were designed by Giorgio Armani himself;

There are observation decks on the 43rd, 76th and 123rd floors, and on the 124th floor there is the “At the Top” observatory;

The world's largest swimming pool is located on the 76th floor;

The world's largest nightclub is located on the 143rd floor;

The world's tallest mosque is located on the 158th floor;

Equipping the skyscraper with 65 elevators cost the developer $36 million. This cost is due to the fact that these elevators are the fastest in the world and reach speeds of up to 18 m/s;

The Burj Dubai, a key part of downtown Dubai, was completed at a total cost of $20 billion.

The tallest skyscraper in the world, Burj Khalifa, was built in 2010 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, according to a design developed by architect Adrian Smith of the American architectural bureau Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM). The idea of ​​​​building the tallest and most beautiful building in the world belongs to the Sheikh of Dubai Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who publicly voiced his dream in 2002.

Construction of the tower began in 2004. The developer was the Dubai developer EMAAR, and the general contractor was the South Korean company Samsung Engineering and Construction. Even these few facts testify to the enormous scale of construction. Up to 12,000 workers were employed daily for construction. Every week the building increased by 1-2 floors. Its construction required approximately 320 thousand m³ of concrete, more than 60 thousand tons of steel reinforcement and 26,000 glass panels. Taking into account the complexity of the city’s climatic and geological features, a special grade of concrete was developed that can withstand heat exceeding 50 degrees. The building has 57 of the world's most reliable and safe high-speed elevators, which reach speeds of up to 10 m/s.

The total cost of the construction was about $1.5 billion. The building was originally called "Burj Dubai", which means "Dubai Tower". However, during its opening, during a ceremonial speech, the country's Prime Minister gave it a new name - "Burj Khalifa", in honor of the Grand Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE. Burj Khalifa is the most majestic and most beautiful high-rise building in the whole world. The height of the building is 828 meters, which is 163 floors, not including the technical floors in the spire and foundation. The highest residential floor is located at an altitude of 584 meters.

The design of the Burj Khalifa was inspired by the beauty of the hymenocallis, a flower with long petals extending from the center, and the pattern system embodied in Islamic architecture. The shape of the skyscraper is asymmetrical, this allows the building not to sway from strong winds, the gusts of which are quite noticeable at high altitudes.

The foundation of the building is not fixed in rock, as was done during the construction of New York skyscrapers. To secure the foundation, about 200 suspended piles with a length of 45 meters and a diameter of 1.5 meters were used. Concrete work was carried out until the construction of the 160th floor, and then a 180-meter spire was assembled from metal structures. The facades of the building are finished with tinted glass thermal panels. Glass does not allow dust to pass through and repels sunlight, allowing you to maintain a comfortable temperature in the premises. Every day, 12 machines, weighing about 13 tons each, wash them. The machines move on special rails on the outside of the building.

Burj Khalifa is a “city within a city”, with its own infrastructure, squares and fountains. Its total area is 454249.0 square meters. It has 3 main entrances - to the hotel, to the apartments and to the office premises. The Armani Hotel occupies floors 1 to 39 and has 304 luxurious rooms. The hotel was designed by the world famous Italian couturier Giorgio Armani. The tower houses many shopping centers, bars, cafes, gyms, and swimming pools. Burj Khalifa has the world's highest restaurant, Atmosphere, with 80 seats, located on the 122nd floor.

Movement between floors is carried out with transfers; only a service elevator can rise from the first floor to the last. Burj Khalifa has several observation decks - the highest is on the 148th floor at an altitude of 555 meters. There is parking for 3,000 cars in the underground floors. The interior of the Burj Khalifa impresses with luxury and sophistication. Thanks to special membranes, the air in the rooms is constantly cooled and aromatized. The scent was specially developed for this project.

Low buildings are built around the Burj Khalifa, with solar panels installed on the roofs to generate electricity to power the tower. At the foot of the skyscraper there is an artificial lake with a musical dancing fountain, which was designed by the Californian company WET. This is the most beautiful and expensive fountain in the world. Its project cost was 218 million dollars. The fountain is illuminated by 6,600 light sources and 50 color spotlights. The length of the fountain is 275 meters. The height of the jets rises to 275 meters, this is the level of the 50th floor of the Burj Khalifa. The fountain simultaneously lifts 83 thousand liters of water into the air. A majestic skyscraper with a stunning fountain at the foot is a mesmerizing sight that leaves an indelible impression on everyone who saw this miracle!