First Time Burj Khalifa Opened To The Public In History Today, January 4, 2010

Burj Khalifa (Foto Unsplash/ZQ Lee)

JAKARTA - On January 4, 2010, for the first time the tallest building in the world Burj Khalifa opened to the public. Burj Khalifa opened with a spectacular fireworks display in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Citing the BBC, the Burj Khalifa has a height of 828 meters, much higher than the previous record holder, Taipei 101. Taipei 101 in Taiwan has a height of 508 meters. Previously Taipei 101 beat the height of the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The Burj Khalifa was designed by Adrian Smith, of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, whose company designed the Willis Tower and One World Trade Center. Hyder Consulting was selected to be the supervising engineer with NORR Group Consultants International Limited selected to oversee the project architecture.

The chairman of Emaar Properties who is the developer of the Burj Khalifa, Mohamed Ali Alabbar, said that the design of the building posed unprecedented technical and logistical challenges. Not only because of its elevation, but also because Dubai is prone to strong winds and is close to geological fault lines.

“We were struck by lightning twice, there was a big earthquake last year that came from Iran, and we've felt all kinds of winds hitting it while it was building. The results are great and I applaud the designers and professionals who helped build it," said Alabbar.

Construction of the Burj Khalifa (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

The opening ceremony, which was held 1,325 days after excavation work began, was attended by around 6,000 guests. While incomplete on the inside, it was officially opened by the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

A dramatic display of fireworks and lights takes place around the tower where there is a screen displaying the previously undisclosed height of the building. The design incorporates ideas from traditional Islamic architecture, while the open desert flower petals served as inspiration for the base of the minaret.

Clad in 28,000 glass panels, the tower has 163 floors and more than 500,000 square meters of space for offices and apartments. The tower is also known to have the highest occupied floor, the highest service elevator, and the highest observation deck in the world. In addition, Burj Khalifa is also claimed to have the highest mosque and swimming pool located on floors 158 and 76.

Behind the construction of the Burj Khalifa

During construction, the building was known as the Burj Dubai. But the building was renamed in honor of the ruler of Abu Dhabi and the president of the United Arab Emirates, Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Prior to the opening, Abu Dhabi provided Dubai with $10 billion in aid to help it pay off debt. Construction of the Burj Dubai began in 2004, at the height of the economic boom.

A view from the Burj Khalifa (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

Citing the official website of the Burj Khalifa, the construction of the building is not just beating other tallest buildings in the world. The Burj Khalifa is considered an unprecedented example of international cooperation, a beacon of symbolic progress, and the epitome of a new, dynamic and prosperous Middle East.

Moreover, the successful construction of the Burj Khalifa is also a clear testament to Dubai's evolving role in a changing world. In less than 30 years, Dubai transformed itself from a regional hub to a global hub. This success is not based on oil reserves, but on reserves of human talent, ingenuity and initiative. The Burj Khalifa embodies that vision.

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