Although Burj Khalifa opened in January 2010, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) only issued its formal certification of the tower as the world’s tallest building two months later, in March 2010.
The Chicago-based organisation, regarded as the global authority on skyscraper measurements, confirmed the building’s official height at 828 metres after reviewing detailed architectural drawings submitted by the tower’s developer, Emaar.
The announcement cemented Burj Khalifa’s place at the top of the global skyline, surpassing the previous record holder, Taipei 101 in Taiwan. Completed in 2004, the 101-storey tower stands 508 metres tall and had held the title of the world’s tallest building for about five years before being overtaken by the Dubai landmark.
Rising above Downtown Dubai, Burj Khalifa has become one of the UAE’s most recognisable buildings.
Designed by Chicago architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and led by architect Adrian Smith, construction began in 2004. The tower was conceived as the centrepiece of the wider Downtown Dubai development. Its distinctive stepped form draws inspiration from Islamic architecture and the geometry of the desert flower Hymenocallis, also known as spider lily.
The building contains a mix of residential apartments, corporate suites and hospitality spaces, including Armani Hotel Dubai, which occupies several of the tower’s lower floors. Observation decks on the 124th, 125th and 148th levels have become some of Dubai’s most visited attractions, offering sweeping views across the city and the Arabian Gulf.
CTBUH determines building height using a standardised set of criteria that measure structures from the lowest significant entrance to the architectural top, including spires but excluding antennas. After examining the submitted plans and measurements, the organisation confirmed Burj Khalifa met the criteria and set a global benchmark for supertall buildings.
More than 15 years after its completion, the tower still holds several world records, including tallest building, tallest free-standing structure and highest occupied floor. Today, it continues to define Dubai’s skyline and stands as one of mankind's most recognisable architectural achievements.
