SkyscraperCity Forum banner

DUBAI | Burj Khalifa (Burj Dubai) | World's Tallest Structure | 828m | 2717ft | 163 fl | Com

13M views 32K replies 3K participants last post by  Engineer guy_31 
#1 · (Edited)
Height: 818m
Floors: 162
Use: Mixed (hotel, res and office)
Architect: SOM
Developer: Emaar





----------------------------------------------------------

I felt a new thread for this project was necessarily because of the insane amount of non-stop drivel being posted in the previous one. The entire thread is filled with either people posting crap or people complaining about others posting crap and it's time for that to end.
Of course there has been a massive positive contribution as well, loads of renders, 1000s of photos, inside info and so on, I just think it's time to give this thread a fresh start.

We're going to need some new guidelines, otherwise we'll just end up with the same old drivel filled thread again so here they are:

1: When posting lots of photos at once you can have a few large photos in the same post but if you have a lot more the rest should be thumbnailed, not everyone has an ultra-fast connection. To do this you can go to http://imageshack.us and do it there. A model post can be found here
2: Quoting other people's pictures should not be done (unless there's a good reason for doing so). If you want to comment about someone's photos you can quote their text or just refer to the photo but don't repost it.
3: Reposting loads of old photos will not be allowed unless the photos are reposted for a good reason (ie, to explain something) or just happen to be insanely good (such as the night shot in this thread).
4: Please do not post trivial info that everybody already knows, or exists just a few pages back (ie, "I think the building will have about 160 floors", "when was the last update?", etc).
5: Please limit the amount of "great updates" type posts. If you want to make such a comment you can but make sure a lot of people haven't said similar things right before you.
6: Any post complaining about another member will be deleted, if you have problems with someone else PM the mods and we'll sort it out. This was a real problem in the previous thread and will NOT be tolerated this time.
7: If you post someone else's photo then please give a link where you got it from or else mention the creator's name.
8: When quoting multiple posts please combine them all into one post rather than creating lots of posts in a row.

There are probably some more I could list but can't think of them off the top of my head. They're more like guidelines anyway rather than black and white rules but you get the idea, ie, more quality vs quantity.
The best thing to do before you click the "submit reply" button is read back over your post and ask yourself, will people be interested in reading my post? If the answer is no then it might be better not to bother posting it.



----------------------------------------------------------

Now for the Burj Dubai stuff :)

The previous thread


Some websites:

www.emaar.com
www.burjdubai.com
www.burjdubaiskyscraper.com
www.dubaimegaprojects.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burj_Dubai



Model:




More pictures of a different model (of the entire burj dubai downtown project):







October 10th, 2007 diagram from Culwulla:




Burj Dubai Downtown render:




Amazing night shot (Old):




Skyline shot:




Latest photo update (October 2007):







I will add more stuff to the first post when new info comes out.
 
See less See more
13
#32,087 ·
Hope this render will become a reality one day and we will have a Hyperloop station here. Dubai to Abu Dhabi in 12 minutes. However there is no news about this Hyperloop Project for quite some time.
Testing is currently ongoing. A few days ago they reached 300 km/h speed. They are still working on reaching the final speed, 1000km/h! :)
 
#32,095 ·
I was reading other days I noticed that 168 floors not 162 floors
They’re said 162 floors real public buildings so it’s actually 6 floors private area totally 168 floors look like we not know that they’re not saying anything about this
When they opened in 4 January 2010 said 162 floors then would be 6 floors slip away from public community people meanwhile reminded unknown 6 floors not show any at all
If you saying “Burj Khalifa 828 metre tall 162 floors are mixed use and some of them not show public probably 6 floors we are cannot entry”
Fact this tallest only totally 185 floors nothing more 10 floors area phones or wifi or computer or sky television or telephone and 7 floors access to top area which they have equipment for BASE jumping or climbing or washing windows all stuff way to top
Where 200 floors come from? There no mention to 200 floors of this
 
#32,096 · (Edited)
Hi Perheps
I made this years ago as part of my BK information.
This may help.





CTBUH - LEVEL COUNT - RECORDS - AREA - CLADDING


CTBUH Official Measurements

(All 3 of the official measurements are measured from the finished floor at the threshold of the office entrance on level B1)

The CTBUH measures the official heights from the level of the lowest, significant, open air, pedestrian entrance.
1 - level. - The measure is taken from the top of the finished floor at the threshold of the entrance.
2 - lowest. - Even though the main office entrance is one level up, on the concourse level, the design has the entrance pavilion extending down to level B1 where there is an entrance from parking that leads to escalators that take people up to the same elevators that people who enter from the concourse level, use. This is therefore the lowest entrance.
3 - significant.
--- above grade or above pre-existing grade. - Level B1 is one of the two lower levels (three, counting the raft level). The pre-construction grade was + 2.50 meters Dubai Municipal Datum. Level B1 is +1.50 DMD so is below the pre-construction grade by 1 meter. An exception was made for this project in regards to both aspects of this point of the 'significant' criteria.
--- permits access to a primary use via elevators. - This is the case via the escalators.
---access to car park areas are not considered significant. - Another exception for this project perhaps because the water sculpture adds another use to the level other than parking.
4 - open air. - The sculpture sticks up through a large hole in the concourse level podium above level B1. This hole is quite close to the entrance allowing it to fit the open air criteria.
5 - pedestrian. - This is a tenant entrance and not just a service entrance.

Height to architectural top - 828.0 meters.
(measured to the top of the pinnacle / the top of tier 30 which is the top of the parapet / handrail for the top platform)

Height to tip - 829.842 meters.
(measured to the tip of the lightning rod)

Highest occupied level - level 154 at 584.5 meters.
(measured to the finished floor)


Level Count

1 - The actual physical count.

Level 160 is the highest number in the level count.
Add to that 7 levels - concourse, ground, 155 mezz., 158 mezz., 160 mezz. 1, 160 mezz. 2, and 160 mezz. 3.
Take away from that 4 for the skipped levels - 41, 74, 110, and 137.
That gives us 163 above 'grade' levels.
The concourse is the lowest above 'grade' level because it has an entrance for the offices that opens onto the office podium.
There are two lower levels - B1 and B2 (there are actually 3 counting the unused raft level but it is not counted).
This gives a grand total of 165 levels.

2 - The plans count.

The plans have the same grand total with 165 levels.
They consider the concourse as a lower level because they have the 0.00 starting elevation at the ground level.
Therefore they count the levels as 162 above 'grade' and 3 lower.

3 - The official CTBUH count.

The council has the grand total at 164 levels.
They count level B1 as an above 'grade' level because they have the 0.00 starting elevation at level B1. They also don't count a mezzanine as fitting the criteria to be counted as a level (not sure which one). Therefore they count the levels as 163 above 'grade' and 1 lower.


There are some sources that call the level count much higher than that, some as high as 205, using the sections and/or staircase landings. These sources are equating the height above the highest named level with a continued level count that is totally unofficial and unrelated to the plans.


I agree with the council on their decision to have level B1 as the starting point for the official height measurements. I don't agree with the sources that call the count more than it actually is by using sections or landings. As for the count, I go by number 1 above, 163 + 2 = 165 total.


Tenant Levels

Level 154 is the highest tenant level.
Add to that 2 levels - concourse and ground.
Take away 4 for the skipped levels - 41, 74, 110, and 137.
Take away 7 for the MEP only levels (that don't include some tenant storage) - 17, 40, 73, 109, 111, 136, and 138.
That gives us 145 above 'grade' tenant levels plus 2 lower levels.


Records

• Tallest man made structure in history

• Tallest free-standing structure in the world

• Tallest building in the world

• Highest number of levels in the world

• Highest occupied floor in the world

• Highest outdoor observation deck in the world

• Elevator with the longest travel distance in the world

• Tallest service elevator in the world


Area

Total area - 465,000 square meters.

Tower and Base - 279,000 square meters.

Podiums - 186,000 square meters.

Level B2 - 49,345.4 square meters.

Level B1 - 43,612.2 square meters.

Concourse level - 36,600.0 square meters.

Ground level - 22,105.0 square meters.

Level 1 - 8,499.0 square meters.

Tier Base 1 - Levels 3 to 4 - 4,550.0 square meters each.

Tier Base 2 - Levels 5 to 6 - 3,564.0 square meters each.

Tier 0 - Levels 7 to 18 - 3,122.2 square meters each.

Tier 1 - Levels 19 to 25 - 2,969.4 square meters each.

Tier 2 - Levels 26 to 33 - 2,816.6 square meters each.

Tier 3 - Levels 34 to 42 - 2,663.8 square meters each.

Tier 4 - Levels 43 to 52 - 2,494.0 square meters each.

Tier 5 - Levels 53 to 63 - 2,324.2 square meters each.

Tier 6 - Levels 64 to 75 - 2,154.3 square meters each.

Tier 7 - Levels 76 to 86 - 1,939.2 square meters each.

Tier 8 - Levels 87 to 98 - 1,724.0 square meters each.

Tier 9 - Levels 99 to 111 - 1,508.8 square meters each.

Tier 10 - Levels 112 to 123 - 1,255.6 square meters each.

Tier 11 - Levels 124 to 138 - 1,002.2 square meters each.

Tier 12 - Levels 139 to 143 - 748.9 square meters each.

Tier 13 - Levels 144 to 147 - 654.4 square meters each.

Tier 14 - Levels 148 to 151 - 559.8 square meters each.

Tier 15 - Levels 152 to 155 - 465.3 square meters each.

Tier 16 - Levels 156 to 158 - 383.6 square meters each.

Tier 17 - Levels 159 to 160 - 301.9 square meters each.


Cladding

24,348 panels.

132,190 square meters total facade area.

103,000 square meters of glass.





Cheers
Ray
 
#32,098 · (Edited)
Hi Fury, (or Ray if you prefer to be called so)

huge respect for your contribution here, especially of what i could see on the Burj Khalifa thread.

Sadly at that ime i wasn't ready to understand the complexity and didn't partake in the activities on this forum.

Even then and more so the past few weeks i read some of the early day posts, nice work! I am now aware of the amount of your knowledge on the burj, something i didn't grasp at the younger age in 2007 and 2008.

Maybe you are the one with the most knowledge or material that i seek, the floor plans, exact structural dimensions and visual diagrams, cross sections, to help understanding the real structural layout.



Finally i have the opportunity to directly respond to a post of you on this thread and not overextend to a many years old post.

The thing now is, i'm trying to create an accurate structural 3D model of the Burj, so first i created an Excel to compare the stated floors and tiers, giving exact numbers for EVERY level/floor height to understand where inaccuracies were or which source used which starting and counting point - sometimes very confusing, it really helped to visualise what matched.

But that way i also found some inconsistencies along the sources and adjusted the mostly small errors (except yours, i take them as the reference points to check the others, but i still have to fill in missing numbers), even when regarding the different measurement starting points (mostly unintentional errors due to typos (level count unintentionally shifted by one from B1 to 14 with the heights of each floor directly below in the "Burj Dubai Evolution" video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3B2KRj844w), rounding up in CULWULLA's diagram (technically not an error) or the burjdubaiskyscraper.com page). I sometimes understood when numbers where errors due to the at that time still changing information, mostly regarding the top part and the spire.

I came to understand the CTBUH's +10m height difference to the plan's counting by visually comparing all the sources (the mentioned ones plus Wiki in german end english, dubai-tower.blogspot.de, Emporis, CTBUH, Bauer AG for concrete) in my chart.

Right now you still gave me some info i didn't know about the criteria (the protruding water sculpture for example). I thank you for that.

2 - lowest. - Even though the main office entrance is one level up, on the concourse level, the design has the entrance pavilion extending down to level B1 where there is an entrance from parking that leads to escalators that take people up to the same elevators that people who enter from the concourse level, use. This is therefore the lowest entrance.
...
An exception was made for this project in regards to both aspects of this point of the 'significant' criteria.
--- permits access to a primary use via elevators. - This is the case via the escalators.
---access to car park areas are not considered significant. - Another exception for this project perhaps because the water sculpture adds another use to the level other than parking.
4 - open air. - The sculpture sticks up through a large hole in the concourse level podium above level B1. This hole is quite close to the entrance allowing it to fit the open air criteria.

CTBUH gives 309,473 m² Tower GFA "Tower GFA refers to the total gross floor area within the tower footprint, not including adjoining podiums, connected buildings or other towers within the development" and "over 185,800 sq m (2,000,000 sq ft) of interior space designed for Burj Khalifa"

So what are the 279,000 square meters subtracting? The technical (MEP) areas and unusable space?

Area

Total area - 465,000 square meters.

Tower and Base - 279,000 square meters.
Also in respect to the records you listed, by mentioning the outdoor observation deck i suppose you mean the yet standing ones. (since at the time of opening it was the highest observation deck, indoor and outdoor)

Records

• Highest outdoor observation deck in the world

• Elevator with the longest travel distance in the world

• Tallest service elevator in the world
Today, the longest elevator travel distance of 504 m falls behind CTF Finance Center (516.7 m), Ping An Finance Centre (573.5 m) and Shanghai Tower (578.55 m) http://www.ctbuh.org/Publications/C...ration/tabid/7633/language/en-US/Default.aspx

the Burj still has the highest situated service lift stop, by OTIS https://images.adsttc.com/media/ima...alifa_elevator_section_(c)_SOM.jpg?1508608082
- which does extend from Level 137 to 160 Mezz1, or Mezz3?
from 49X m to 160 Mezz1 617.7 m would be strange, since OTIS states 638 m like Skyscraperpage... measured from -20 m? in that case the lift would have to stop at a higher point, since B1 would only account to +10m from the technical plans' ground level measurement... i don't think the SOM graphic is faulty, so i am bad at counting -> it'd make more sense if they start counting at B2 -13.2 m and the stop is at 160 Mezz3 (624.1m), that would add to 637.3 m, maybe it stops slightly above that, or starts slightly below B2?


Take away 4 for the skipped levels - 41, 74, 110, and 137.
What do "skipped levels" mean?


Take away 7 for the MEP only levels (that don't include some tenant storage) - 17, 40, 73, 109, 111, 136, and 138.
So the other MEP levels are "mixed"?


What really still confuses me, is sometimes the level count or designation, for example in CULWULLA's diagrams, where Level 111 is a Mech, but on Wiki it states either Bureau (German) or corporate office (English). Also CUL's diagram (maybe he didn't know at that time) gave some erroneous floor heights to the tiers, which were not always accurate, e.g. Level 16 isn't 3.2 m but higher than Level 18, a Mech floor. Also if i count the real picture's floors, it seems like some Tiers fall short one floor sometimes compared to the diagram. (not to disrespect Richard, i'm glad for his diagrams, they helped alot)

Do you have the height to every floor/level of the Burj? I really would like to have the exact number of every single one. So far i've covered through combination of the sources all heights except Levels:
15-19
21&22
24-27
29-33
35-38
40-42
44-47
49-53
54-58
60-69
71-74
76(261.30 m? from Ground)-82
84-90
92-99
101-104
107
110
114&115
118&119
127-129
131-134
136&137
139

above and below that everything matches and is covered by what i found of your posts

Oh, also the exact distances from the imaginary center of structure to the furthest points (edges) on each wing per tier on all 3 sides throughout the tower and if possible the dimensions underground would help alot!
Based on one of your posts (November 16th, 2007, 12:47 AM) "So the 3 tips of podium 1 are 78 meters from the edge of the inner core and 102 meters from the center of the structure" i could calculate the (perceived) sideways dimension between two podium edges to be 176.669 m, or 88.3345 m each from the center (120° between 102 m wings)

Previously i got confused by the 150m statement on CUL's diagram, which didn't match the ratio on the real pictures.


If i may ask, do you have some site or kind of folder, where i can access all the relevant drawings and plans? Or should i dwell in the forum pages (where sometimes sadly the pictures aren't displayed anymore for me) - i guess i have to create accounts on imgur and the likes?

If i finally could be sure about the heights, i would be very relieved and evene more thankful than i already am.

Cheers!
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top