Burj Khalifa

The elegant, tapering wonder in Dubai is the world's tallest building. This architectural triumph soars 822 meters (2617 feet) into the sky, 60% higher than our earth's second tallest building.

  Burj Khalifa
world records

---

It set many records. The most significant:

Highest structure ever built

Warsaw Radio Tower

Click this link for my expanded list of the world records and other interesting facts about the building:

Burj Khalifa facts

---

Windows

There are nearly 25,000 - a window-washer's nightmare.

---

Coincidence?

Modern "world highest" structures have a propensity to be planned during boom years, but completed during economic downturns. This includes the Burj Khalifa (Global Recession) and Empire State Building (Great Depression).

---

Timeline

Construction began in 2004. It officially opened in 2010 with great fanfare of a light show and fireworks.

---

Name

The skyscraper was originally called Burj Dubai (burj means "tower" in Arabic). It was renamed to honor Sheikh Khalifa, the ruler of oil-rich Abu Dhabi. That sister emirate state helped bail out the struggling Dubai economy in 2009 with billions of dollars in financial aid.

---

Cost

The building cost 1.5 billion US dollars to build. It is the focal point of a vast in-development office-and-residential building complex that will eventually cost 20 billion US dollars.

---