After Burj Khalifa: How did the tallest building in the world change Dubai?

Long-time residents of the UAE might still recall the inauguration night of Burj Khalifa on January 4, 2010. Light, fire and water joined forces to help unveil the iconic 2,722-ft skyscraper as the dancing fountain swayed to the music and fireworks erupted everywhere — even sideways from the building — making it look like an impossible Christmas tree that seemed to puncture the sky. Glittering lights, strategically placed, teasingly hinted at its record-breaking height and kept the structure cloaked in mystery for a few seconds before strong flashing lights beamed across Dubai, the UAE and TV screens around the world, to confidently deliver the message that the tallest building in the world now stands in Dubai.

Shwan Alhashimi, managing director and founder of the architectural firm Archiplexus, remembers watching the broadcast on TV at Auckland in New Zealand, where he was working as an architect. It was a “world event”, he says. “All eyes were on Dubai at the time for its amazing architecture and the incredible projects that were coming up.”

Alhashimi, who was raised in Dubai, grew up at a time when the Dubai World Trade Centre was the tallest building around. “We used to visit our family in Abu Dhabi and on the way back, when you see the Trade Centre in the distance, that’s when you knew you were very close to Dubai,” he smiles.

It’s perhaps only natural for people to seek a sense of direction from iconic buildings. In 2010, the world was still reeling from the aftermath of the global financial crisis of 2008-09 and everyone longed for stability or a sign of better times ahead. So when Burj Khalifa towered over the rest of the world, it seemed like a symbol of hope, strength and resilience to many. “The Burj Khalifa opened a new chapter in world history,” says Alhashimi. “It is an incredible feat and an incredible piece of engineering — a symbol of ambition and vision.”

Ahmad Al Matrooshi, executive director, Emaar Properties (which developed Burj Khalifa), says, “As we celebrate 15 years of Burj Khalifa, we are reminded of the transformative power of bold ideas and visionary leadership. The building has become a key part of Dubai’s identity, attracting millions of visitors from around the world, and inspiring generations to come. This milestone reflects the steadfast commitment to excellence that has guided Emaar since its inception.”

Reaching for the sky

Mohammed Adib, founder of architecture and interior design firm Intercon, remembers the building back from when it was in the middle of a desert. “There was so much dust and land as there was almost nothing built around it at the time,” he says. Adib explains that before Burj Khalifa, Dubai was home to very few luxurious buildings as it was transitioning from being a “little town in the desert to a cosmopolitan city”. “The symbol of Dubai, for a long time, was the control tower at the airport… Then came Burj Al Arab, which had an aura for being the most luxurious seven-star hotel. And then came Burj Khalifa, which put Dubai on the map.”

Adib closely followed Burj Khalifa’s development for at least five years before its inauguration. “We went close to the building with friends and other architects, to see what was happening.” He remembers the secrecy around the height and design of the structure. “No one knew,” he says. “There were rumours in the industry about what sort of lifts will be developed, whether they would be fast enough, whether they would work properly, how people would access the building and things like that. Everyone had a theory about how it would (or wouldn’t) work, but it was all proven wrong at the end.”

Mega cities like London, Hong Kong and New York have distinct skylines composed of their own iconic buildings and Tariq Khayyat, co-founder and managing director of Tariq Khayyat Design Partners (tkdp), says architects around the world were curious to see how Burj Khalifa would fit in with Dubai’s existing skyline and maintain visual harmony. And it fits in perfectly, like the missing piece of a puzzle.

Khayyat marvels at how “elite and elegant” it looks and explains that its beauty lies not only in its scale and height, but also in the balance in architectural proportions. “The seamless transition between the tower’s main components — the podium, the hotel, the offices, and the apartments ­— made this architectural giant sit perfectly within the city’s silhouette,” he says. “Show anyone in the world a silhouette of the city’s skyline and they will immediately be able to recognise it as Dubai.”

Redefining limits

The project seemed to defy rules and expectations from the very outset. For instance, Adib explains that tall towers are notoriously bulky but the Burj Khalifa rose above such limitations, looking elegant with each floor. And the city lies on tricky sand, not solid ground. “Anywhere else in the world, they would have gone for another solution,” he says. “But it (the project) just changed the limits, you know, and made everything seem possible.”

“And you can see now everyone’s trying to beat it,” he continues. “Now they’re talking about the Dubai Creek Harbor, they’re talking about the 2km tower… All these things would never have happened if this wasn’t done. It really changed aspects of engineering and architecture worldwide.”

Alhashimi says Burj Khalifa is incomparable to other skyscrapers. “Normal skyscrapers try to maximise the amount of land it’s built on to maximise the amount of floor plates and maximise the profits. Effectively, it’s commercially-driven. But when you’re building a project like the world’s tallest building, it needs to serve as a symbol of elegance and needs to be a storytelling entity,” says the architect, who has spent considerable time watching documentaries on Burj Khalifa and studying it on Google Earth. The structure is incredible, he says, even from an architectural standpoint. “It has to counteract the wind pressure… And of course, the piles go way deep — designing those piles that extend into the ground is like a PhD in itself.”

• Living in Dubai's Burj Khalifa: Residents reveal intense New Year’s Eve preparations