Cover:Serum Institute Burj Khalifa - Elevator World India

for tourists because of the traditional
Arabic architecture and design characteristics
of the area.
Design and Construction
Standing at a height of more than
828 meters, with more than 160
stories, its design was initiated by
American Adrian Smith before being
handed over to Skidmore, Owings
and Merrill (SOM) of Chicago. In the
design of Burj Khalifa, one can find
an apparent shadow of patterning
systems, usually integral to embossed
Islamic architecture. The tower’s
base and geometry have a triplelobed
footprint of the building,
reflecting the six-petal abstract desert
flower native to the region, as well
as an indigenous Islamic pattern.
The base of the Burj Khalifa blossoms
to allow the tower a graceful
transition from the ground to maximize
views, while the dome-shaped
plan profile accentuates a series of
steps, up the vertical height of the
building. A subtle reference to the
onion domes of Islamic architecture
can be found in the building’s silhouette
when looking up the lobes
from near the base.
Structural engineer William F.
Baker, a partner in the Chicago office
of SOM, explained that designers
purposely shaped the structural concrete
Burj Khalifa – a thick Y in plan
Burj Khalifa opens to the world.
with a stepped-back profile – to
“dramatically” reduce forces on the
tower, by keeping the structure simple
and to foster constructability.
The tower was built by South
Korea’s Samsung Corp. New Yorkbased
Turner Construction International
was the project and construction
manager. The owners of the
project are Dubai-based Public Joint
Stock Co. Emaar Properties developed
the project.
The building’s vertical transportation
includes 24 Gen2 MRL elevators
that feature flat, polyurethanecoated
belts that reduce energy
consumption up to 50% compared
with conventional units. The hotel
group’s Gen2 elevators run in the
wings of the building (serving from
B2 and B1 up to the third floor). One
of the circular observation lifts
serves three floors in the hotel’s
restaurant area and is capable of
accommodating 21 passengers. Two
of the Gen2 systems run in the pool
annex building in the hotel spa area.
Eight Gen2 elevators run in the
Office Annex building, including a fivecar
group featuring the Compass®
system. One of the Gen2 units runs
for VIP private use, serving floors
107, 108 and 112, and two run in the
residential parking area.
The Foundation
The Burj Khalifa, which weighs about 500,000
tons, rests on a 3.7m-thick triangular frame foundation,
supported by rounded steel piles measuring
1.5 m in diameter and extending 50 m below the
ground.
Bracing for the Wind
Over 40 wind tunnel tests were conducted on
Burj Dubai to examine the effects the wind would
have on the tower and its occupants. These
ranged from tests to establish the wind climate of
Dubai, to pressure tests on the building facade.
In super-tall buildings, there are changes in
pressure and temperature with height. Special
studies were conducted to determine the magnitude
of the changes that would have to be dealt
with in the building design.
Spire
The crowning touch is its
telescopic spire that is comprised
of more than 4,000 tons
of structural steel.
• Issue 4, Volume 3 • elevatorworldindia.com
53
All photos, figures and text were provided by James W. Fortune and M.J. Mohamed Iqbal