CASE STUDY

ON
Burj khalifa, dubai

PRESENTED BY : SRISHTI KHANNA, SWATI YADAV, L VAHNAI

 INDEX

S.NO TOPIC
.
1 Itroduction

2 Foundation
2.1 Type of foundation used in Burj Khalifa

3 Column

4 Burj Khalifa interior design

4.1 Doors
4.2 Windows
4.3 Ceilings
4.4 Staircase
1. INTRODUCTION

The Burj Khalifa known as the Burj Dubai prior to its inauguration in 2010 is a skyscraper in Dubai.
With a total height of 829.8 m (2,722 ft), the Burj Khalifa has been the tallest structure and building in the
world since its topping out in 2009. Construction of the Burj Khalifa began in 2004, with the exterior
completed five years later in 2009. The building was opened in 2010 as part of a new development
called Downtown Dubai. The decision to construct the building is based on the government's decision to
diversify from an oil-based economy, and for Dubai to gain international recognition. The building was
originally named Burj Dubai but was renamed in honor of the ruler of Abu Dhabi and president of the
United Arab Emirates, Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Abu Dhabi and the UAE government lent Dubai
money to pay its debts. The building broke numerous height records, including its designation as the
tallest building in the world.

2. Foundation

Foundation is the lowest part of the building or the civil structure that is in direct contact with the soil
which transfers loads from the structure to the soil safely. Generally, the foundation can be classified into
two, namely shallow foundation and deep foundation. A shallow foundation transfers the load to a
stratum present in a shallow depth. The deep foundation transfers the load to a deeper depth below the
ground surface. Foundation is the main reason behind the stability of any structure. The stronger is the
foundation, more stable is the structure.

Table 2.1 Types of foundations

SHALLOW FOUNDATION DEEP FOUNDATION
A. Individual/Isolated Footing A. Pile Foundation
B. Combined Footing B. Drilled Shafts/Caissons
C. Strip Foundation
D. Raft or Mat Foundation

A tall building like a skyscraper or a building constructed on very weak soil requires deep foundation. If
the constructed building has the plan to extend vertically in future, then a deep foundation must be
suggested.

2.1 Type of foundation constructed in Burj Khalifa

The Tower foundation consists of a pile supported raft. Piles were utilized as settlement reducers. Ground
conditions at the site generally range from medium dense to very loose silty sand overlying weak to
moderately weak Calcarenite and very weak to weak calcareous sandstone imbedded with cemented sand.
The ground water table is high, located approximately 2 m (6 ft) below the surface and is also very
corrosive.

The Tower raft is supported by 194 bored cast-in-place piles. The piles are 1.5 meter (4.9 ft) in diameter
and approximately 43 m (141 ft) long, with a capacity of 3,000 tonnes each. The diameter and length of
the piles represent the largest and longest piles conventionally available in the region.

Tower raft under construction Pile load test

3. Column

A column is a vertical structural member intended to transfer a compressive load. For example,

a column might transfer loads from a ceiling, floor or roof slab or from a beam, to a floor or foundations.
Columns are typically constructed from materials such as stone, brick, block, concrete, timber, steel, and
so on, which have good compressive strength.

The Burj Khalifa employs a ‘Y’ shaped floor plan. This plan provides higher performance and provides a
full view of the Persian Gulf. The shape and the upward setbacks help the structure to reduce the wind
forces that is acting on the structure. The structural system employed for Burj Khalifa can be called as the
Buttressed Core System. The whole system is constructed by using high performance concrete wall. Each
wing buttresses the other through a hexagonal central core.

There are corridor walls that extend from the central core to the end of the wing. At the end, these walls
are thickened by means of hammer walls. These walls resist the wind shears and moments by acting like
the web and the flanges of the beams. There are perimeter columns which are connected to the
mechanical floors. The connection between the perimeter columns and the mechanical floors is provided
by means of outrigger walls. This help to resists higher wind loads laterally. 

4. Burj khalifa interior design 

The interior design of Burj Khalifa’s public areas was done by the Chicago office of SOM and was led by
award-winning designer Nada Andric. It features glass, timber, stainless steel, and polished dark stones,
together with silver travertine flooring, Venetian stucco walls, handmade rugs, and stone flooring. 

4.1 Doors

 Skidmore, Owings & Merril's design includes an observation platform on the 124th floor of the
building. Two glass revolving doors provide access to this room. 
 At 442 meters above the ground, these are the highest positioned revolving doors ever installed in
the façade of a building. The revolving doors must also be able to withstand an extremely high
wind load of at least 3000 Pascal, which corresponds to an F3 class tornado. 
 The Burj Khalifa required two automatic revolving doors with a diameter of 3,000 mm and a total
height of 2,700 mm; the cover could only be 300 mm high with the motor installed. Generally
speaking, a revolving door with these specifications would only be able to withstand wind loads
 of up to 689 Pascal. It was clear, then, that not every revolving door manufacturer could supply
an entrance that met these requirements. 

Revolving door

4.2 Windows 
Altogether, there are an incredible 24,348 windows in the Burj Khalifa totaling 120,000 m2 (1,290,000 sq
ft) of glass, the building has three horizontal tracks which each holding a 1,500 kg (3,300 lb) bucket
machine. Under normal conditions, when all building maintenance units are operational, it takes 36
workers three to four months to clean the entire exterior.

Windows of Burj Khalifa

4.3 Ceiling
The ceiling on the shop floor has a double-curved wood ceiling. A unitized panel approach was taken on
early in the design process by the team. Panels were fabricated in Imperial’s shop in Chicago and then
transported in groups, sequencing the fabrication and the installation to meet the schedule. The detailed
ceiling was built, shipped and installed in an 11 month timeframe. The design is not only beautiful but it
also takes on the complexity of the tower that hosts it.

4.4 Staircase
A glass walled spiral staircase connects the levels 124 and 125 to give a 360 panorama view of Dubai
city.  The spiral flight, with 36 steps is made in white oak and spans a length of 100 metres. It is also
adorned with a crystal LED chandelier making the glass-walled staircase magnificent. The construction
was done in a 24 hour shift over 1200 man-hour without disturbing the existing services for the daily
visitors. The spiral flight is built with 60 metric tonnes of steel, 700 square metres of glass, and 350 sq
metres of stainless steel cladding. At any point in time, 150 people can pass through the stairway .