Burj Khalifa (Arabic: برج
خليفة),
known as Burj Dubai prior to its inauguration, is a skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab
Emirates, and is the tallest
man-made structure in the world, at 829.8 m (2,722 ft).
Construction began on 21
September 2004, with the exterior of the structure completed on 1 October 2009.
The building officially opened on 4 January 2010, and is part of the new
2 km2 (490-acre) development called Downtown Dubai at the
'First Interchange' along Sheikh Zayed Road, near
Dubai's main business district. The tower's architecture and engineering were
performed by Skidmore,
Owings and Merrill of Chicago,
with Adrian Smith
as chief architect, and Bill Baker
as chief structural engineer.
The opening of Burj Khalifa was
held on 4 January 2010. The ceremony featured a display of 10,000 fireworks,
light beams projected on and around the tower, and further sound, light and
water effects. The celebratory lighting was designed by UK lighting designers Speirs and
Major. Using the 868 powerful stroboscope lights that
are integrated into the façade and spire of the tower, different lighting
sequences were choreographed, together with more than 50 different combinations
of the other effects.
The event began with a short film
which depicted the story of Dubai and the evolution of Burj Khalifa. The
displays of sound, light, water and fireworks followed. The portion of the show
consisting of the various pyrotechnic, lighting, water and sound effects was
divided into three. The first part was primarily a light and sound show, which
took as its theme the link between desert flowers and the new tower, and was
co-ordinated with the Dubai Fountain
and pyrotechnics. The second portion, called 'Heart Beat', represented the
construction of the tower in a dynamic light show with the help of 300
projectors which generated a shadow-like image of the tower. In the third act,
sky tracers and space cannons enveloped the tower in a halo of white light,
which expanded as the lighting rig on the spire activated.
The ceremony was relayed live on
a giant screen on Burj Park Island, as well as several television screens
placed across the Downtown Dubai development. Hundreds of media outlets from
around the world reported live from the scene. In addition to the media
presence, 6,000 guests were expected.
Photo Legacy: Making your memories last forever http://www.photolegacy.com
Research courtesy of Wikipedia
Images courtesy of Wikimedia under The Commons Agreement http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Burj_Khalifa_building.jpg
No comments:
Post a Comment