The Burj Khalifa rose above famous skyscrapers as the world’s tallest when it was completed in 2009. 

Standing at over 828m (2,716ft) tall, the 162-storey structure is more than twice the height of the Empire State Building and close to three times as high as the Eiffel Tower.

Inspired by a regional desert flower, the Hymenocallis, the building’s architecture features a triple-lobed design, where the three sections of the tower are arranged around a central buttressed core.

The Y-shape of the structure reduces the impact of wind forces and its stability is sustained by reducing the floor space of each level in an upward spiralling pattern.  At the pinnacle, the central core emerges and forms a spire.

The structural steel facades and frames of the skyscraper were produced via waterjet cutting with GMA ClassicCut™ garnet - the world’s most popular waterjet cutting garnet that delivers the optimum balance between cutting speed and edge precision.

Besides its height, the Burj Khalifa also holds several world records:

• Tallest free-standing structure in the world 
• Highest number of floors in the world 
• Highest observation deck in the world 
• Tallest service elevator with the longest travel distance in the world. 

This beautiful skyscraper stood uncontested as the tallest building in the world for a decade, but this title will be soon be passed on to the next tallest building in Saudi Arabia – The Jeddah Tower. The 1,000m (3,280 ft) tall skyscraper is expected to be completed in 2020. 

The structural steel facades and frames of the skyscraper were produced via waterjet cutting with GMA ClassicCut™ garnet.

By Stephanie Cheong, GMA Group