ABSTRACT
Dubai experienced tremendous growth and financial success during the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, evolving from a small trading port to the business and tourism capital of the Middle East’s Gulf Region. At the height of the city’s economic explosion, Dubai-based real estate developer Emaar Properties PJSC envisioned a supertall tower that would become the
centerpiece of the new downtown Dubai. In 2003, as part of a competition, Emaar hired Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) to design what would become the world’s tallest building-the Burj Khalifa. The construction of the Tower began in January 2004, with its official opening occurring on January 4, 2010. Today, the tower tops all three categories designated by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat as defining the tallest building in the world, eclipsing the previous height record-holder by 319 meters.
