Secretary's Column - The Tallest Building in the World

By Tapas Dutta, PE

On January 4, 2010, the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa (formerly known…

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In This Issue


Secretary's Column - The Tallest Building in the World

By Tapas Dutta, PE

On January 4, 2010, the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa (formerly known as the Burj Dubai) was formally opened in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).  At 2,717 feet (828 m) it is the tallest man made structure ever constructed. Construction began on September 21, 2004 with the exterior of the structure completed on October 1, 2009. The building is part of a 490-acre developmemt called the Downtown Burj Khalifa. The total cost of the building was aboit $1.5B and for the entire Downtown development about $20B.  The Downtown, a 7.4 acre development will consist of at least 19 towers, the Dubai Mall and a man-made lake. The building consists of 160 habiltable -floors, 46 maintenance levels and two parking levels in the basement. The total floor area is about 3,595,100 square feet. The building was named in honor of the current President of the UAE and ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan.

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