The world's tallest building is the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. It just opened on 4 January 2010. Since its opening the skyscraper has undergone a surprise name change, a grand opening of its observation deck titled "At the Top" on the 124th floor, and a sudden closing of this deck on 5 February because of major electricity issues, despite the media hyping it as a problem related to overcrowding by tourists. It continues to be in the news today as everyone waits for its grand re-opening which is supposedly slated for this week. (sorry scott!) Hopefully it is all fixed so no one gets stuck in the elevator for an hour+ like last week!
Before the power problems, I did manage to get to the "At the Top" observation deck a few weeks ago and I had a really enjoyable time learning about the skyscraper, the construction issues, and the overall story behind this incredible project. Originally the skyscaper was called the Burj Dubai. However, on the day of the Burj Dubai grand opening, the name was suddenly changed and announced as the Burj Khalifa, named after the Abu Dhabi leader who bailed out Dubai in the debt crisis. This was done basically as a BIG THANK YOU to Abu Dhabi. However, the name change continues to cause hundreds of thosands of dollars because of branding changes - tshirts, hats, signs all over downtown, maps, books, and basically tons of campaigns that have been in the works based on the Burj Dubai opening. So...if you have a Burj Dubai t-shirt, keep it as they are disappearing fast!
The Burj Khalifa has been described as beautiful, amazing, evil looking, weird, futuristic, and even, ugly. However you feel about it, its interesting to know that the construction of the tower is patterned based on the structure of the Hymenocallis flower, a regional desert flower, good for wind pressure resistance. If you look closer, the layout is designed in the shape of a Y, which is apparently best for light exposure and views for residential buildings. The elevator that we took up was so smooth, you could not even tell you were going up 100+ floors. And, the entire ride only took a few minutes, maybe 5. Karen, Brak and I went up at 6pm so we got a night view. You can see great views of Dubai and the best time to get is 530pm so you can watch the sunset as well, and then catch the Dubai Fountains starting at 6pm from up high.
Hopefully they get everything fixed soon. Once they do, book ahead! Its 100 AED if you book ahead and its a ridiculous 400 AED if you don't book ahead and try to go in immediately. Also check out the crazy photo of the window washers hanging on the side of the building....be thankful that you dont have that job.
If you look closer, the layout is designed in the shape of a Y, which is apparently best for light exposure and views for residential buildings.
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