Dubai and the Burj Khalifa

My Sunday was highlighted by my visit to the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the World….and this was an experience to behold.  First, I bought the ticket on the internet before I left home….and then when I got here I checked out where the entrance was as part of the Dubai Mall….in that the actual Burj building is somewhat separate from the Mall itself. I might have already said this, but the Dubai Mall is the largest Mall in the World…based on number of stores, acreage, restaurants, etc….so they put the entrance to the Burj on the lower level at one of the corners of the Mall. They have a very detailed ticketing and check in procedure, including a bag security check as in the airport…then you go through about 4 check points to show your ticket. A couple of reasons for this….one being security…but one to give you a chance to see the photos of the building and build up interest and excitement, as if one didn’t have enough. They let about 50 people in about every 10 minutes….and then you start through a series of moving sidewalks and escalators, all with videos and hi-tech lighting showing the building in construction stages. Really interesting….and gets you in the right state of mind…..and then you get to the elevator….and again, you are surrounded by sounds and lights…quite exciting. Once you get into the elevator they have video screens up high as well as the floors indicator….they close the door and subtle lights start as the elevator starts to climb, without a sound, up the 124 floors in 1 minute. You feel nothing, other than your ears pop….I kept my camcorder on the floors indicator and it kind of shows the speed and sounds. Really exciting.
Then the doors open and you step out into an open glassed in area and you are looking down on the world below. Fortunately I got my ticket for 6 PM…so I was able to get good photographs all around, and then actually got the sunset just after 6:30 PM….Unfortunately, the haze at this time of the year with the high humidity, the salt in the air from the Gulf, and this heat….and it is almost brutal heat, even for me….causes this extreme haze which really limits your visibility. ( I thought at first it was smog, but then found that there is a good breeze…that this condition is just unique to the UAE due to its position at the bottom of the Saudi peninsula, and it is the desert, etc….)
The “view from the top” is incredible, in that you are looking down on the massive construction that has happened and is still taking place. And, the various architectural styles with the use of water in the developments in the area of the Burj is so interesting….and I got most of this on camera, for it is hard to describe without the photos.  As I have mentioned, with my travels over the years, including the 10 years with World Vision, I have never seen anything like the building and development here…both in Dubai and in Abu Dhabi.
Well, 45 minutes on top and I started down and down we went….ears popping, etc….and at the bottom you then go into another series of video and sounds and lights….and they take you through the entire process of how the building was built. They have video recordings of the architect, who as an American, and the design firm engineers, which were  American and European, and then testimonies from the general contractors, etc. Really very interesting, and clearly illustrated that this was a world project; that various engineers and architects and designers from all over the world were brought into this early on. This Emarr Corporation, and I need to look them up…was the developer, and from what I can gather they are part of the Monarchy family….but my take is that when they started the planning and design and idea development of the Burj, that “someone” said, “do not let money influence what you are going to do….but this should be the most incredible building in the world when it is done”…..and that has been, in fact, realized. I could have spent another hour in this section, for each person that had a key part, such as the woman interior designer from Europe, told about what they did on the project.  The wind factors, and they do get wind here, for example, was totally researched by a Canadian company whose specialty is wind impact on buildings…and they told their story. Really interesting, and my advice for anyone that is going to be visiting the Burj,…give yourself about  2 hours if you want to get the “whole story”.
There is a lot written about the Burj Khalifa…and, at first in my trip planning I thought, just another Empire State Bldg or Chicago Tower, or whatever…but now, after having been up it and then seeing how it was built….this is almost another “Wonder of the World”…for all of the new “tallest buildings” will look back to what was done here at the Burj, for they set new building and design standards that will influence buildings for years to come. This, to me, is certainly one of the most incredible structures that I have seen over the years…..and as the Pyramids and the Taj Mahal were structures that significantly influenced their societies at that time….so will the Burj Khalifa. The high rise world of the future has a new standard….the Burj.
Quite a day for me….and a fitting end to my last full day in Dubai….as Monday I am going back to finish up my visit in Abu Dhabi. Stay tuned.