2010 Galleries
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Galleries // 2010 Spark:Pro // Burj Khalifa
Burj Khalifa
Winner - Silver
Competition: Spark:Pro
Designer: George Efstathiou & SOM Team
Design Type: Architcture, Spaces
Company / Organization / School: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP
Standing tall at 828m, Burj Khalifa holds the record in all three categories as recognized by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (highest architectural top, highest occupied floor and highest tip). The architects and engineers redefined what’s possible with supertall buildings in the design and engineering of Burj Khalifa. By combining cutting-edge technologies and cultural influences, SOM, created a global icon. The design team worked towards attaining three main goals - to recognize and acknowledge the building’s height, to integrate its structural and architectural rationale, and to appreciate the locale’s heritage, history and culture. Burj Khalifa’s architecture has embodied references to Islamic architecture and reflects the modern global community it is designed for. The building’s “Y” shaped plan provides the maximum amount of perimeter for windows in living spaces without developing internal unusable area. As the tapering tower rises, setbacks occur at the ends of each “wing” in an upward spiraling pattern that decreases the mass of the tower as the height increases.
