The tallest buildings and structures in the world. Tallest buildings in the world
Human nature cannot be changed; people have always tried to surpass their own achievements and set new records in absolutely any area of their activity.
So in architecture, in an attempt to conquer the limits of height, people erect the tallest buildings in the world. With the development of technology, the invention of modern composite materials and the creation of fundamentally new building designs, only in the last 25 years has it become possible to construct the tallest buildings on the planet, the sight of which is simply breathtaking!
In this rating we will tell you about the 15 tallest buildings in the world that are definitely worth seeing.
15. International financial center - Hong Kong. Height 415 meters
Construction of the Hong Kong International Financial Center was completed in 2003. The building is completely commercial, there are no hotels or residential apartments, but only offices of various companies.
The 88-story skyscraper is the sixth tallest building in China and is one of the few buildings to have double-deck elevators.
14. Jin Mao Tower - China, Shanghai. Height 421 meters
The official opening ceremony of the Jin Mao Tower in Shanghai took place in 1999, at a construction cost of more than $550 million. Most of the building's premises are office, there are also shopping centers, restaurants, nightclubs and an observation deck, which offers a gorgeous view of Shanghai.
More than 30 floors of the building are rented by the largest hotel, the Grand Hyatt, and the prices here are quite affordable and affordable for tourists with average incomes; a room can be rented for $200 per night.
13. Trump International Hotel and Tower - Chicago, USA. Height 423 meters
Trump Tower was built in 2009 and cost the owner $847 million. The building has 92 floors, of which boutiques and various shops occupy the 3rd to 12th floors, a luxurious spa salon is located on the 14th floor, and the elite Sixteen restaurant is located on the 16th floor. The hotel occupies the 17th to 21st floors; above are penthouses and private residential apartments.
12. Guangzhou International Financial Center - China, Guangzhou. Height – 437 meters
This tallest skyscraper was built in 2010 and has 103 floors, is western part Twin Towers complex in Guangzhou. Construction of the eastern skyscraper should be completed in 2016.
The cost of constructing the building was $280 million; most of the building is occupied by office space, up to the 70th floor. From the 70th to the 98th floor is occupied by the five-star Four Seasons Hotel, and on the top floors there are cafes, restaurants and an observation deck. There is a helipad on the 103rd floor.
11. KK 100 – Shenzhen, China. Height 442 meters.
The KK 100 skyscraper, also known as Kingki 100, was erected in 2011 and is located in the city of Shenzhen. This multifunctional building was built in the modernist style and most of the premises are for office purposes.
The 23rd floor of this one of the tallest buildings in the world is occupied by a six-star premium business hotel “St. Regis Hotel”, there are also several chic restaurants, beautiful garden and the first IMAX theater built in Asia.
10. Willis Tower - Chicago, USA. Height 443 meters
The Willis Tower, formerly known as the Sears Tower, rises 443 meters in height and is the only building in this ranking built before 1998. Construction of the skyscraper began in 1970 and was fully completed in 1973. The cost of the project was more than $150 million at the prices of that time.
After completion of construction, Willis Tower firmly occupied the status of the tallest building in the world for as long as 25 years. On at the moment, in the list of tallest buildings, the skyscraper is on the 10th line of the list.
9. Zifeng Tower - Nanjing, China. Height 450 meters
Construction of the 89-story skyscraper began in 2005 and was completed in 2009. This building is multifunctional, there are office spaces, restaurants, cafes and a hotel. There is an observation deck on the top floor. There are also 54 freight lifts and passenger elevators built in Zifeng Tower.
8. Petronas Towers - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Height 451.9 meters
From 1998 to 2004, the Petronas Twin Towers were considered the tallest buildings in the world. The construction of the towers was financed by the Petronas oil company, and the project amounted to more than $800 million. Nowadays, building premises are rented by many large corporations - Reuters agency, Microsoft corporation, Aveva company and others. It also houses high-end shopping establishments, an art gallery, an aquarium and a science center.
The design of the building itself is unique; there are no other skyscrapers in the world built using the Petronas Towers technology. Most high-rise buildings are built from steel and glass, but in Malaysia the cost of high-quality steel was very high and engineers had to look for another way to solve the problem.
As a result, high-tech and elastic concrete was developed, from which the towers were built. Experts carefully monitored the quality of the material and one day, during routine measurements, they discovered the slightest error in the quality of concrete. The builders had to completely dismantle one floor of the building and build it anew.
7. International Commerce Centre, Hong Kong. Height 484 meters
This 118-story skyscraper rises 484 meters. After 8 years of construction, the building was completed in 2010 and is now the tallest building in Hong Kong and the fourth tallest building in China.
The upper floors of the skyscraper are occupied by the five-star Ritz-Carlton hotel, located at an altitude of 425 meters, making it the tallest hotel on the planet. The building also features the world's highest swimming pool, located on the 118th floor.
6. Shanghai World Financial Center. Height 492 meters
Built for $1.2 billion, the Shanghai World Financial Center is a multi-functional skyscraper that houses office space, a museum, a hotel, and a multi-story parking lot. Construction of the center was completed in 2008, and at that time the building was considered the second tallest structure in the world.
The skyscraper has been tested for seismic resistance and is able to withstand tremors of up to 7 points on the Richter scale. The building also houses the highest observation deck in the world, located at an altitude of 472 meters above the ground.
5. Taipei 101 – Taipei, Taiwan. Height 509.2 meters
The official operation of the Taipei 101 skyscraper began on December 31, 2003, and this building is the most stable and resistant to natural disasters structure ever created by man. The tower is able to withstand wind gusts of up to 60 m/s (216 km/h) and the strongest earthquakes that occur in this region once every 2,500 years.
The skyscraper has 101 ground floors and five floors underground. On the first four floors there are various retail outlets, on the 5th and 6th floors there is a prestigious fitness center, from 7 to 84 various office premises are occupied, 85-86 are rented by restaurants and cafes.
The building holds several records: the fastest elevator in the world, capable of transporting visitors from the fifth floor to the 89th floor to the observation deck in just 39 seconds (elevator speed 16.83 m/s), the world's largest countdown board, which turns on New Year and the world's tallest sundial.
4. World Trade Center - New York, USA. Height 541 meters
The construction of the World Trade Center, or as it is also called the Freedom Tower, was fully completed in 2013. The building stands on the site of the World Trade Center.
This 104-story skyscraper is the tallest structure in the United States and the fourth tallest building in the world. The construction cost was a whopping $3.9 billion.
3. Royal Clock Tower Hotel - Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Height 601 meters
The grandiose structure “Royal Clock Tower” is part of the Abraj Al-Bayt complex of buildings built in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Construction of the complex lasted for 8 years and was fully completed in 2012. During construction, two major fires occurred, in which, fortunately, no one was injured.
The Royal Clock Tower can be seen from a distance of 20 km, and its clock is considered the tallest in the world.
2. Shanghai Tower - Shanghai, China. Height 632 meters
This skyscraper is the tallest in Asia and ranks second on the list of tallest buildings in the world. Construction of the Shanghai Tower began in 2008 and was fully completed in 2015. The cost of the skyscraper was more than 4.2 billion dollars.
1. Burj Khalifa - Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Height 828 meters
The most tall building in the world - the monumental skyscraper Burj Khalifa, rising to a height of 828 meters. Construction of the building began in 2004 and was fully completed in 2010. Burj Khalifa has 163 floors, most of which are occupied by office space, hotels and restaurants, several floors are reserved for residential apartments, the cost of which is simply incredible - from $40,000 per sq. m. meter!
The cost of the project cost the developer, Emaar, $1.5 billion, which paid off literally in the first year after the building was officially put into operation. The observation deck at Burj Khalifa is especially popular, and to get to it, tickets must be purchased in advance, several days before the visit.
Kingdom Tower
In the hot sands of the Arabian desert, construction began on the largest and grandest structure in the history of mankind. We did not include this building in our rating, since a lot of time will pass before its construction is completed. This is the future Kingdom Tower, which will rise to a height of 1007 meters, and will be 200 meters higher than the Burj Khalifa.
From the highest floor of the building it will be possible to view the area at a distance of 140 km. The construction of the tower will be very difficult; due to the enormous height of the skyscraper, building materials will be delivered to the highest floors of the structure by helicopters. The initial cost of the facility will be $20 billion
When they talk about the most big houses planets, they are usually divided into record holders by volume (the largest buildings) and area (the most spacious). Today we bring to your attention the second category towers of babel, with record-breaking floor space. Considering the development and popularity of air communications and international tourism, it is not difficult to guess that the most spacious houses are airports and hotels. But there are exceptions; military men and traders also like it when there is a lot. However, about everything and everyone - in order.
The Grand Prix in the “Gigantomania” nomination is rightly awarded Terminal 3 of Dubai International Airport. Everything that the Indians and Pakistanis build for the rich Arabians is amazing in scale and luxury. Terminal 3 opened in October 2008, cost $4.5 billion and covers an area of 1.5 million square meters(or 150 hectares). This, for comparison, is 5 times larger than the Moscow Kremlin. Inside the terminal there are 82 moving walks, 97 escalators, and 157 elevators.
(Holland) occupied 990,000 “squares” of precious Dutch land. This is the second largest building in the world and the first in Europe. Every day many thousands of flowers from all over the world are brought here and sold here. Every second bouquet purchased in the underground passage comes from here.
Beijing Capital International Airport Terminal 3 with an area of 986 thousand m2, they built it specifically for the 2008 Olympics. Its construction and filling cost China 3.5 billion US dollars. The terminal is connected to the metro, which takes about 20 minutes to reach the center of the Chinese capital. According to the architects, from the sky the new terminal looks like a red fiery dragon, but many observers admit that the shape of the building is more reminiscent of a girl’s heavily stretched thong panties.
Hotel-casino Venetian in the city of Macau, the gambling capital of Asia, has 40 floors with a simply indecent level of luxury. At the service of millionaires, Venetian offers 3,000 multi-room suites, 3,400 slot machines, 800 gambling tables. This is the largest hotel in Eurasia, one night in which costs at least $180, which is not so expensive for such luxury.
In Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) - a complex of skyscrapers in American style(203 meters in height), with an area of 700 thousand m2. This “city within a city” is considered the most massive building built “in one go.” Inside Berjaya Times Square there are two five-star hotels, a huge shopping center and an amusement park, residential residences and offices.
The hotel and casino is owned by the American Automobile Association (AAA, not to be confused with Batteries and Alconauts Anonymous). Area - 645 thousand square meters. The moneybag resort opened in January 2008 and cost $1.8 billion to build. The building houses the most luxurious car store in America, where you can touch and buy the coolest and most expensive cars such as Lamborghini, Bugatti, Saleen and Spiker.
In 7th place in the list of the most spacious houses on the planet - everyone knows. The US Department of Defense building boasts an area of 610,000 m 2, it is the most crowded office building on Earth. The Pentagon employs 23 thousand civil servants with and without uniform, as well as 3,000 service personnel. These people drink 5 thousand cups of coffee per day and go to 234 toilets. The Pentagon's perimeter is one and a half kilometers, and there are 7,754 windows in its five above-ground floors.
Object K-25 in Oak Ridge, Tennessee - the 8th largest building in the world by total area (60 hectares), a former uranium enrichment plant. K-25 was built simultaneously with the Pentagon and is designed for 12 thousand jobs. In 1987, the K-25 facility was officially closed; work on the deconstruction and disinfection of the nuclear plant continues to this day, because this is a complex and dreary task, but it still needs to be done.
Hong Kong International Airport ranks 9th and 570 thousand m 2. Among local residents it is known by the exotic name Chek Lap Kok. This is one of the busiest airports in the world in terms of passenger and cargo traffic; it has repeatedly won prizes as the best airport in the world. The $20 billion airport was built on an artificial island in 1998 and is still considered China's main air gateway.
And in 10th place in the ranking of unusually spacious buildings is another Asian miracle. This is the airport again and it's called . Location: Bangkok town. Area – 56.3 hectares. In addition to being one of the top ten, Suvarnabhumi is proud of the tallest control tower in the world of aviation (132 m), as well as two parallel runways, allowing aircraft to receive and depart simultaneously. They say that during the construction of the airport, Thai officials received simply insane kickbacks, and this is also a record.
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To have something to compare with When it comes to talking about large areas, they are often compared to a football field. This is convenient, but not always accurate, since it is often forgotten to indicate what size field is meant. We will not measure the buildings in our selection in football fields, but to make it easier for you to imagine their scale, we will point out here that the world's main football organization FIFA recommends that matches be played on a field of 7,140 square meters. m (i.e. 0.714 hectares) and size 105x68 m. Here we will give two other landmarks: Red Square in Moscow has an area of approximately 2.5 hectares (approximately 330×75 m), and Palace Square in St. Petersburg - 5.4 hectares. Let us remind you: one hectare is 10,000 square meters. |
By volume
Here the undisputed leader is the company's plant Boeing in the city of Everett, pc. Washington (USA). Its volume is 13,385,378 cubic meters. m, and the area is 399,480 sq. m (number three in the world in terms of base area). This giant, almost a kilometer long, 500 meters wide and the height of a five-story building (to accommodate more than 20-meter keels of airliners and still have room) was built in 1966–1968, when Boeing began producing the Boeing 747. Even today they collect the most large aircraft companies, and many at the same time. Up to 30 thousand people work at the plant under the light of one million lamps.
“This building is so large that clouds gather in it under the roof and from them it's raining", they say on the Internet. This is a myth: the building has effective ventilation, and despite the humid and cool climate of Washington State, advanced modern airliners are assembled in dry and fairly comfortable conditions
Number two in the world in terms of volume is the Al-Haram Mosque in Mecca: almost half the volume, about 8 million cubic meters. But number three (5.6 million cubic meters) is also an aircraft plant, and it belongs to the main competitor Boeing, companies Airbus. The largest airliner in the world is assembled at the Jean-Luc Lagardère plant in Toulouse (France). A380.
During the Hajj, up to 4 million people can be in the Al-Haram Mosque
Deserves special mention Aereum- hangar built in the mid-1990s by a German company Cargolifter AG 50 km south of Berlin for the construction of airships. This dome measures 360×210 meters and is up to 107 m high (St. Basil's Cathedral from Red Square can easily fit into it - with all the turrets, domes and basement, and there will still be room left) covers the largest space in the world undivided by partitions - a volume of 5.2 million cubic meters. Business Cargolifter AG I didn’t go, so in 2004 they opened a year-round tropical theme park with groves, ponds and waterfalls. It's called Tropical Islands Resort.
The park is open 24 hours a day - you can even stay there overnight
By area on a piece of land
Here we are talking exactly about what plot of land the building occupies. According to this indicator number one - Bloemenveiling Aalsmeer, a building in the Dutch town of Aalsmeer where a flower auction is held every morning from Monday to Friday. Millions of flowers from all over the world are brought annually into this structure, measuring 700x750 m and with an area (on the surface) of half a million square meters, most reminiscent of a warehouse about two floors high. Here they are sold, bought and immediately hit the road again, fortunately Amsterdam airport is nearby and seaports are nearby.
About 20 million flowers pass through this building every day.
Number two - with a slight lag - the automaker's factory Tesla in Fremont, pc. California: about 427 thousand square meters. m. In general, among the largest buildings in terms of surface area, there are a lot of logistics centers and warehouses. The top ten largest structures in the world by this indicator, in addition to those mentioned, also include logistics centers Michelin, Nike And John Deere(all in the USA). This makes sense: products ready to be shipped around the world are easiest to place in these long, flat spaces.
By total area of premises
Unlike the previous point, this takes into account the area of all premises of the structure. And Asia is in the lead here: the largest building in the world by this indicator is located in China, in the city of Chengdu. This is the Global Center " New century» with an area of about 1.76 million sq. m. For comparison: the total area of the premises of the Aviapark shopping center, one of the largest in Moscow, is about 460 thousand square meters. m. The length of the “New Century” is 500 meters, width - 400 meters, height - 100 meters, and inside, in addition to cinema and hotel shops, there are also offices, a center for contemporary art and a water park with an artificial beach (sunrises and sunsets are depicted on giant screens) .
The cyclopean complex in the new district of Chengdu was built in three years - from 2010 to 2013
The main competitors of this kind of complexes around the world are airports. Thus, number two in terms of total premises area is the terminal of the 3rd Dubai International Airport in the UAE with an indicator of 1.71 million square meters. m. It was built to serve up to 43 million people (this is more than the entire Sheremetyevo airport in 2017), despite the fact that only two airlines use the terminal - local Emirates and Australian Qantas. Also in the top ten (in sixth position) is the 3rd terminal of Beijing Capital Airport (also known as Beijing Capital). It is noteworthy that the leader in the previous category - the flower auction building in Aalsmeer - entered the top five in this one: usable area the building is almost twice as large as the surface area - 990,000 thousand square meters. m.
Special categories
Speaking about the largest buildings and structures in the world, it is impossible not to mention a few more. Let's say - the largest structure ever built on the planet, stretching for 9 thousand kilometers through China (its total length - with all its branches - is even greater: 21 thousand kilometers).
The tallest building on the planet today is the 828-meter Burj Khalifa tower in Dubai (UAE).
Apparently, the Burj Khalifa skyscraper does not have long to bear the honorary title of the tallest building in the world: in 2020, in the same emirate of Dubai, it is planned to open a building 100 meters higher. And if everything goes according to plan, then at the other end of the Arabian Peninsula, in Jeddah ( Saudi Arabia) in the same year a tower with a height of 1004 meters will be completed
The heaviest building in the world - for readers Palace of Parliament in Bucharest (Romania). It weighs more than 4 billion kilograms. It was laid in 1984 on the orders of dictator Ceausescu in the center of Bucharest, destroying a significant part of the historical buildings of the city and even tearing down a hill, and it took more than ten years to build. Today, in addition to the Romanian parliament, it houses a museum of modern art and several government institutions. However, the building is only 70% full and, apparently, will never be fully used.
Photo: Maurice King / en.wikipedia.org, julhandiarso / Getty Images, Tropical Islands Resort / en.wikipedia.org, Visions Of Our Land / Getty Images, Sino Images / Getty Images, Momentaryawe.com / Getty Images
Burj Khalifa is the main attraction of Dubai. This is one of the world's record-breaking buildings, located in the United Arab Emirates. Firstly, it is the tallest building created in the entire history of mankind, and secondly, it is the building with the most a large number floors, and, finally, the most expensive building in the world.
And this would seem like something completely unheard of and unprecedented if the Emirates had not surprised the world earlier by building the largest singing fountain, the most prestigious area with the largest artificially created beaches and canals, the most exclusive metro and much, much more, the most diverse and unusual. The skyscraper rises 828 meters high, the number of floors of the building is more than 160. And the total cost of the structure is more than one and a half billion dollars. By the way, controversy and rumors surrounded the Burj Khalifa all the time before the opening of the skyscraper. About height, for example. Initially, it was assumed that the 705 m high tower project would be a modified project of the Australian “Grollo Tower” (560 m). The project managers said that the height would in any case be more than 700 m (that is, the Burj Khalifa, after completion of construction, in any case, would become the tallest structure on Earth). In September 2006, rumors spread to society about the final height of 916 m, and then even 940 m. But still, the final height was 828 meters with 163 floors (not including technical levels).
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The city of Dubai in the UAE, for many centuries it was a small trading port where fish and pearls were caught in the coastal waters of the Persian Gulf. In recent decades, the city's wealth has risen sharply thanks to the discovery of oil and the desire of its rulers to turn Dubai into a business center. In 2003, two hundred skyscrapers had already been built or were under construction. And then the Emir of Dubai, Mohammed ibn Rashid, gave a simple order - to build the tallest building in the world. The construction of the tallest building begins with digging a hole, a very large hole.
Several months have passed since Dubai-based developer Emaar signed a contract with Chicago-based SOM. Oddly enough, this building does not have a foundation firmly anchored in the rocky ground. Here in the desert you won't find as much stone as in New York or other geological areas. We used hanging piles. These piles were screwed into sand and soft rocky soil, and their bearing capacity provided by diameter and length. These are 45-meter piles, approximately one and a half meters in diameter. In total, we screwed in about 200 of these piles, says one of the project architects.
The skyscraper construction project included the construction of a so-called “city within a city” - its territory had its own parks, boulevards, and lawns. The total cost of the tower construction project was about one and a half billion dollars.
The author of the Burj Khalifa tower project was an architect from the USA, Adrian Smith, who had sufficient experience in designing similar structures. For example, Smith was directly involved in the design of the Jin Mao skyscraper, located in China, whose height is more than 400 meters. The construction division of Samsung from South Korea, which had previously taken part in the construction of similar objects, for example, the famous Petronas Twin Towers located in Malaysia.
Construction of the tallest skyscraper in the world was carried out quite quickly. Every week the building became 1-2 floors higher. After the 160th floor was built, concrete work stopped and the assembly of a giant 180-meter spire of metal structures. Construction of the skyscraper lasted for 5 years.
According to the project, 108 floors are allocated for residential premises: a luxury hotel is located on 37 of them, and ordinary apartments are located on the remaining floors. Although we can call “ordinary” apartments built in the most expensive and high skyscraper peace, my tongue can’t turn my head! As noted above, the Burj Khalifa skyscraper is completely autonomous. To provide energy for such a large-scale structure, an equally large 61-meter turbine is used. In addition, numerous solar panels placed on the walls of the tower help provide the building with energy.
Despite its size, the building is well designed and protected, so in the event of a fire, complete evacuation takes only about half an hour!
The Sheikh of Dubai talks about plans to build the tallest building in the world Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, first announced in 2002. The tower was to become a key element of the new area, designed to attract tourists from all over the world to Dubai. The developer of the tower was a Dubai company Emaar, general contractor - South Korean Samsung Engineering. The tower was originally called Burj Dubai, from the Arabic Dubai Tower, but the completion of the project coincided with the global financial crisis and Dubai was forced to turn to the neighboring emirate of Abu Dhabi for help. In gratitude for the multi-billion dollar support received, the skyscraper was renamed in honor of the Sheikh of Abu Dhabi:“From now on and forever, this tower will bear the name “Khalifa” - “Burj Khalifa.”
In the outlines of the foundation one can see the outlines of the desert pancrat flower. This form facilitates the construction of buildings several hundred meters high. And when construction had already begun, lead architect George Estafio and his client accepted bold decision- increase the height of the building from the original 550, which exceeded the tallest Taipei Tower at that time (509.2 meters) by only a few meters, and not just increase it, but almost double it.
After laying the foundation, the tower began to grow rapidly. Work on site took place 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There were about 100 designers, architects, and engineers, and up to 12,000 workers worked on the site every day.
Every three days a new floor appeared. But the higher you go, the more problems there are. And the main one is the wind. It is impossible to build a single tower of such height and uniform shape. Then the effect of the wind will be too strong, the vibrations will become too significant.
The terraces were built according to a certain pattern, rising in a spiral. The shape of the building is asymmetrical. This way the wind creates less vibration of buildings and as it rises the asymmetry changes, but also creeps up.
When you build the tallest building in the world, every centimeter counts. When pouring concrete, engineers needed to know where the center of the building would be, and with constant movement it is not easy to calculate it. The contractor installed 3 different devices GPS on the ground and another one at the very top of the building.
The building's exterior panels presented a major challenge to engineers. The glass had to reflect heat but transmit light. It should also be water-, wind- and dust-proof. About 200 of these panels were required for each floor.
During construction, the creators took into account literally everything - from the high temperatures in the Arabian sun to the angle of incidence of light into the premises of the tower. The building is equipped with special solar protection and reflective glass panels that reduce the heating of the rooms inside (temperatures in Dubai reach 50°C), reducing the need for air conditioning. Well, for air conditioning in a skyscraper, a convection system is used, driving air from the bottom up along the entire height of the tower, and it will be used for cooling sea water and underground cooling modules. A special brand of concrete was created especially for the Burj Khalifa - such concrete is heat-resistant and does not deform under the scorching sun of the United Arab Emirates. By the way, the skyscraper will completely independently generate electricity for its own use: for this there will be a 61-meter turbine rotated by the wind and an array of solar panels (some of them are located on the walls of the tower).
The entire building project costs more than one and a half billion dollars - a huge amount, albeit for a highly developed country. at this stage countries. Due to problems with financing the construction of the Burj Khalifa, the official opening of the skyscraper was postponed from September 9, 2009 (this date was originally planned - the opening date of the Dubai metro) to January 2010.
The Burj Khalifa project was created according to the idea of a “city within a city.” The building is surrounded by adjacent roads, convenient parking spaces, private lawns, boulevards and parks. In addition, the high-rise building hosts independent sponsored entertainment for young people and business people. Again, open for business. new site in the Khalifa building. In addition to the hotel located on the first 37 floors, as well as luxury apartments between the 45th and 108th floors, most of the floors are still given over to office areas and business premises. Spacious, comfortable and air-conditioned rooms for meetings and presentations today attract business people from all over the world, which once again brings Dubai to the level of the business capital of the world - since almost every complex of buildings that open every year has a corner, so to speak, investor. The 123rd and 124th floors are equipped with an observation deck. Thousands of tourists who come here every year say that the sensations cannot be expressed in words - it is so breathtaking and filled with wonder, how could a person create such a thing!
In Arabic, "burj" means "tower".
The creators of the Dubai skyscraper also claim that distinctive feature The building has the highest residential floor and an observation deck located on the 124th floor. In the skyscraper, which can be seen from a distance of 90 kilometers, 57 elevators of the world's fastest system, the cabins move at a speed of 18 meters per second. There is also an autonomous power supply system - a 60-meter wind turbine and huge solar panels. At the tower modern design, but its architecture also shows the influence of Islamic traditions.
According to the designers, the building is resistant to strong wind loads and can also withstand an earthquake. "We were struck by lightning twice, last year we felt the echoes of a powerful earthquake in Iran. In addition, during construction we experienced all possible types of wind. The results are good," Mohamed Ali Alabbar told the BBC. head of Emaar Properties, which built the tower.
Some of the apartments in the skyscraper were sold at a price of 24.3 thousand dollars per sq.m., but now their price has dropped by about half. The project, which has demonstrated resilience to natural disasters, did not remain unaffected by the global financial crisis. According to analysts, there will be especially many problems with delivery office premises to Burj Dubai, as fewer and fewer companies can afford such luxury.
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The opening ceremony of the skyscraper was timed to coincide with the fourth anniversary of the reign of the current Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashed Al Maktoum, in the emirate of Dubai, who came to power on January 4. At the ceremony, the sheikh renamed the skyscraper, which was known as Burj Dubai during construction, to Burj Khalifa, dedicating it to the President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. “From now on and forever, this tower will be called Khalifa - Burj Khalifa,” he said.
Sheikh Khalifa is also the emir of Abu Dhabi, which has allocated $10 billion to Dubai to help pay off debt obligations, including to support the investment company Dubai World.
The long-awaited opening of the legendary building took place with fireworks and festive concerts. The event was amazing in its incredible scope - the public saw the promised fireworks, theatrical performances, and a laser show. The list of honored guests invited to the opening ceremony included six thousand people. Others were able to watch a tour of the building on huge screens installed on the streets or on TV. In total, more than two billion people around the world watched the opening ceremony on television.
From the first to the 39th floors of the building are occupied by the Armani Hotel. Above are office and technical premises, as well as separate apartments. In addition, there are special observation floors that serve as a high-altitude observatory. The 180-meter spire is located special equipment communications. Burj Khalifa (Burj Dubai) boasts 65 double-decker elevators. True, you will have to make several transfers on the way up or on the way down. From the first to the very last floor there is only one rise technical elevator. By the way, the Burj Khalifa elevator system is the fastest in the world, as the elevators reach speeds of up to 18 meters per second.
Here are some technical specifications Burj Khalifa:
— Style: Modernism
— Materials: structures - reinforced concrete, steel; facade - stainless steel, aluminum, glass.
— Purpose: office and retail space, residential real estate and hotel.
— Height: 828 meters.
— Floors: 164 (including two underground floors).
— Area: 3595100 sq. m.
— The highest observation deck is located at an altitude of 442.10 m.
- The Armani Hotel (the first of its kind) will occupy the lower 37 floors.
— From the 45th to the 108th floor there are about 700 apartments.
— The remaining floors will contain office and retail space.
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Interesting facts about Burj Khalifa:
— The skyscraper has the world's fastest 57 elevators. They are designed to serve their group of Burj Khalifa visitors - staff and attendants, cargo, office workers, visitors and residents of the building, VIPs.
— From the 124th floor, two-story observation elevators operate - they accommodate from 12 to 14 people. The ascent speed is 10 meters per second.
— It took 330,000 to build the tower cubic meters concrete and 31,400 tons of steel reinforcement.
— The tower is located in the center of an artificial lake
— The Burj Khalifa has several recreational areas for visitors to relax - fitness and spa are located on the 43rd, 76th, 123rd floors, and swimming pools (the highest in the world), rooms for relaxation and other events are located on the 43rd and 76th floors.
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— The shape of the building plan (three rays emanating from the center) is based on a desert flower bud growing in this region.
— The highest residential floor is 109.
— The highest observation deck is located on the 124th floor.
— The depth of the foundation piles is more than 50 meters.
— The building’s water supply system uses recycled rainwater (about_0 rain in the desert?)
— The tower will independently generate all its own electricity: for this, a 61-meter turbine rotated by the wind will be used, as well as an array of solar panels (partially located on the walls of the tower) with a total area of about 15 thousand m².
— The building is equipped with special sun protection and reflective glass panels that will reduce the heating of the rooms inside (in Dubai there are temperatures of up to 50 °C). For air conditioning in the skyscraper, a convection system is used, driving air from bottom to top along the entire height of the tower, and sea water and underground cooling modules will be used for cooling. It is stated that the air temperature in the building will be about +18 °C.
Burj Khalifa was created according to the principle vertical city- floors are arranged in blocks designed for different functions. The tower contains about 900 apartments, a hotel with 304 rooms, 35 floors are given over to offices. There is parking for 3,000 cars on three underground floors.
| Floor | Purpose |
| 160-163 | Technical |
| 156-159 | Communications and broadcasting |
| 155 | Technical |
| 139-154 | Offices |
| 136-138 | Technical |
| 125-135 | Offices |
| 124 | Observation deck |
| 123 | Sky lobby |
| 122 | Restaurant At.mosphere |
| 111-121 | Offices |
| 109-110 | Technical |
| 77-108 | Apartments |
| 76 | Sky lobby |
| 73-75 | Technical |
| 44-72 | Apartments |
| 43 | Sky lobby |
| 40-42 | Technical |
| 38-39 | Hotel apartments |
| 19-37 | Hotel rooms |
| 17-18 | Technical |
| 9-16 | Hotel rooms |
| 1-8 | Hotel |
People are sometimes ready to do amazing things just to get into the most famous directory of achievements on the planet - the Guinness Book of Records. But not everyone can spend millions and billions of dollars on the architectural embodiment of their ambitions. Nevertheless, many record-breaking buildings have been built in the world, glorifying their creators and owners.
Parliament building in Bucharest. Photo: Lori
The heaviest building and largest parliament in the world
The Palace of Parliament in Bucharest, built at a time when Romania was a socialist republic, breaks several records at once. It is the largest administrative building, the largest parliament building and the heaviest structure in the world. Its construction took 700 thousand tons of steel and bronze, 3.5 thousand tons of crystal glass, 1 million cubic meters of marble, 900 thousand cubic meters of wood various breeds and 480 thousand cubic meters of concrete.
The height of the building located on the hill is 86 meters, but its underground part is even larger - it goes 92 meters deep. The length of the main facade is 270 meters, the side is 245 meters. The palace has more than a thousand rooms - halls for receptions, meetings and negotiations, numerous offices, office premises, restaurants.
Construction of the Palace of Parliament began in 1984 by order of the President Socialist Republic Romania Nicolae Ceausescu. In order to clear construction site, a fifth was destroyed historical center city, and during the construction of the palace, such a shortage of marble arose in the country that even tombstones began to be made from other materials. Construction and finishing work continued after the overthrow of Ceausescu in 1989, but they have not yet been fully completed.
The New Century Global Center in Chengdu. Photo: Thomas/Flickr
The largest building in the world by area
One of the most impressive construction records is set in China, which throughout history has been famous for its penchant for gigantomania. Now, in addition to the largest architectural monument - the Great Chinese wall, as well as the world's largest palace complex - the Forbidden City in Beijing, the Celestial Empire also boasts the largest building on the planet. It was The New Century Global Center, which opened last year in the city of Chengdu, the administrative center of Sichuan province. The height of the giant structure is 100 meters, width - 400 meters, and length - 500 meters. The area of 1.7 million square meters houses numerous offices, shopping centers, two five-star hotels, cinemas, a water park with its own beach, a world-class ice skating rink, a university complex and even a stylized Mediterranean village.
The building is built in the shape of a sea wave; its interiors also remind of the seas and oceans: there is even a life-size pirate ship built here. In the center of the complex there is an artificial beach with an area of 5 thousand square meters, above which stretches a giant screen, equal in height to the American Statue of Liberty, on which tropical sunrises and sunsets are reproduced. The entire complex is illuminated by its own “sun” - the world’s largest artificial lighting system, manufactured in Japan.
Skyscraper Burj Khalifa in Dubai. Photo: Lori
Tallest building in the world
The title of the tallest building on Earth has been held by the Dubai skyscraper Burj Khalifa for seven years now. Having overtaken its competitors during the construction process, after its completion in 2010, the giant building reached a height of 828 meters. The Burj Khalifa's 163 floors contain offices, shopping malls, the Armani Hotel and numerous apartments. The world's highest restaurant is located on the 122nd floor, and the highest observation deck is located on the 124th floor, at an altitude of 452 meters.
Especially for weather conditions Dubai, where temperatures can reach +50 °C, a special variety has been developed concrete mixture, which can withstand so much high temperatures. During construction, concrete was poured only at night, adding ice to it. Tinted glass thermal panels that line the building reflect sun rays and reduce room heating. At the same time, the air inside the building is not only cooled, but also aromatized with a scent specially created for the Burj Khalifa. The Dubai skyscraper is also famous for its highest top floor and highest elevator.
Capital Gate skyscraper in Abu Dhabi. Photo: Lori
The building with the greatest slope
One of the most extravagant records belongs to a structure built in another UAE emirate - Abu Dhabi. The Capital Gate skyscraper is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the building with the greatest slope in the world. It deviates from the vertical axis by 18 degrees, which is 4.5 times more than the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa. True to its name, which translates as “Capital Gate,” the building is located at the entrance to Abu Dhabi and is one of the tallest in the city (its height is 160 meters). The 35 floors house a five-star Hyatt hotel and premium offices.
During the construction of Capital Gate, many of the latest technical developments were used. On 490 piles, which go into the ground to a depth of 30 meters, there is a mesh of reinforcing steel. It has 728 diamond-shaped glass panels fixed at specific angles. For the first time in the Middle East, diagonal mesh technology was used here, which allows it to absorb and redirect the force of wind and seismic pressure. An unprecedented angle of inclination was achieved due to the fact that the floor plates of the tower, starting from the 12th level, were located with gaps from 30 to 140 centimeters. The most expensive building in the world
The construction of Capital Gate cost $2.2 billion, but the record for the cost of construction belongs to another building. The Marina Bay Sands hotel complex in Singapore is recognized as the most expensive building in the world. According to various estimates, its construction (including the cost of unusually expensive Singaporean land) cost between $4.7 and $8 billion. The building was built as a resort with a luxury hotel and the most expensive casino in the world with 1000 gaming tables and 1500 slot machines.
The unique structure consists of three 55-story towers 200 meters high, on which there is a huge gondola-shaped terrace with an area of 12.4 thousand square meters. According to architect Moshe Safdie, he used the image of a deck of cards when designing the building. The design of the building is approved by Feng Shui masters.
Marina Bay Sands features 2,561 hotel rooms, a museum, an exhibition hall, two theaters, seven restaurants, and two ice skating rinks. On the upper terrace there is a 146-meter swimming pool overlooking the city, an observation deck that can accommodate 3,900 people, restaurants and a nightclub.
Elena Mamonova
