Information on Building the Burj Dubai

The Burj Dubai is a skyscraper under construction in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. The building is the centerpiece of a 500-acre development that contains retail, residential and office areas. Burj Dubai is Arabic for Dubai Tower, and the building will be the tallest man-made structure in the world when it is completed in January 2010.

Building Height

1. Although it is clear that that the Burj Dubai will be the tallest building in the world, the exact height has been kept confidential. This is done to keep the designers of competing buildings from increasing the size of its buildings. The last reported height of the Burj Dubai is approximately 2,500 feet.

Burj Dubai Designer

2. Skidmore, Owings and Merrill is designing the Burj Dubai. This architectural firm has built other skyscrapers including the Sears Tower and the John Hancock Center in Chicago, Illinois.

Shape Of The Building

3. One of the issues that skyscrapers face is the effect of the wind on the completed structure. The Burj Dubai was designed with a "Y" shape, with each part of the "Y" supporting each other with concrete walls and columns. The building is also designed with a spiral step back pattern as the building rises, which helps the wind resistance as well.

Foundation

4. The foundation of the Burj Dubai is a 12-foot thick concrete raft, supported by 194 piles that are 40 meters long, that are rated to support 3,000 tons each. A study of the foundation design determined that the maximum long-term settlement of the building would be 3.1 inches.

Corrosion

5. The groundwater that the foundation will be exposed to is especially corrosive and contains high levels of chloride and sulfate. The building was designed to protect against this corrosion by using a custom concrete mix, specialized waterproofing systems and a titanium mesh for protection.

Other Information On The Burj Dubai

6. The construction of the Burj Dubai will require 31,500 tons of steel rebar. The potable water system on the building will require 250,000 gallons of water per day. Since the outside air near the building is so hot and humid relative to the inside cooled air, a condensate collection system is being built into the building to collect the runoff. This system will handle 15 million gallons per year.