Skip to main content

The Burj Dubai, the world's tallest building, by the numbers

By Sandy Smith on 2010-01-04

The Burj Dubai, which opens with a free public celebration tonight at 8 p.m. Dubai time (11 a.m. Eastern Time), is the world's tallest building, rising some 2,680 feet (818 meters) into the air, more or less -- the building's developer won't divulge the exact height before tonight's public opening. But those aren't the only impressive numbers attached to this super skyscraper.

Here are more (all numbers rounded to nearest whole number unless given otherwise):

  • 1.5 billion - the cost to construct the building, in US dollars
  • 34,613 - number of tons of steel rebar (31,400 metric tons) used in the building's structure
  • 28,261 - the number of glass cladding panels used to cover the tower and its two annexes
  • 3,000 - number of parking spaces in the building's underground garage
  • 1,985 - the height in feet of the tower's concrete pour (605 meters), a world record for concrete pumping
  • 1,653 - the vertical rise in feet (504 meters) of the tower's main service elevator, the longest distance traveled by any elevator
  • 1,044 - the number of apartments in the tower
  • 1,000 - the approximate number of feet separating it from the world's second-tallest building, Taipei 101 in Taiwan (in meters, the number is approximately 309)
  • 900 - length in feet of the Dubai Fountain, the world's tallest performing fountain, which lies at the building's base
  • 164 - approximate number of floors in the tower, the most of any building on the planet
  • 124 - floor number for the "At the Top, Burj Dubai" observation deck, the highest publicly accessible observation deck with an outdoor terrace in the world
  • 59.375 - distance in miles (95 km) from which the Burj Dubai's spire is still visible
  • 57 - total number of elevators in the building
  • 49 - number of office floors, including the 12-story annex
  • 40 - top speed, in miles per hour (64.8 km/h), of the building's elevators, which are among the world's fastest; they take two minutes to ascend from ground floor to building summit
  • 20 - number of Olympic swimming pools that can be filled with the condensation produced annually by the building's cooling system (3,961 gallons / 15,000 liters); the condensation will be used to water the building's grounds
  • 6.05 - capacity in tons (12,100 lbs / 5500 kg) of the building's main service lift

Written by Sandy Smith
Sources: gulfnews.com; theage.com.au

Comment and add to the story without registration, but keep the comments meaningful please. Links are not accepted.