Downtown Dubai-Burj Khalifa

Like petals from a stem, the Burj Khalifa’s wings extend from its central core. This building is a work of art, and as beautiful inside as it is out. It has come to symbolize this city, built but a generation ago, from sand.

Dubai @ 6PM: NIKON D3000 f/16 ; Exposure 60/sec; ISO-100

Dubai @ 6PM: NIKON D3000 f/16 ; Exposure 60/sec; ISO-100

Heavily influenced by Middle Eastern design, architect Adrian Smith incorporated patterns from traditional Islamic architecture throughout the Burj Khalifa. But his most inspiring muse was a regional desert flower, the Hymenocallis, whose harmonious structure is one of the organizing principles of the tower’s design.

The architecture features a triple-lobed footprint, an abstraction of the Hymenocallis flower. The tower is composed of three elements arranged around a central core. The modular, Y-shaped structure, with setbacks along each of its three wings provides an inherently stable configuration for the structure and provides good floor plates for residential apartments. Twenty-six helical levels decrease the cross section of the tower incrementally as it spirals skyward.

Burj Khalifa Hymenocallis

Burj Khalifa Hymenocallis

The central core emerges at the top and culminates in a sculpted spire. A Y-shaped floor plan maximizes views of the Arabian Gulf. Viewed from the base or the air, Burj Khalifa is evocative of the onion domes prevalent in Islamic architecture. Its tapered outside gives the Burj Khalifa its beauty and ensures it does not overwhelm everything around it. What a flower in the desert.

Hymenocallis Inspiration

Hymenocallis Inspiration

 

About Alice

I run, I jump, I sing, I dance. Whether climbing trees, walls or stairs I do it at a clip. When out, my date is always Trusty Nikon (who never lets me down in the attire stakes; so smart in his black, with a pop of red!). Where does it lead, this love affair of mine? Well, its lead me to Dubai, via the matrimonial aisle, thanks to a gorgeous husband who whisked me from Coogee beach, Sydney into the Arabian Peninsula - to my new home, Dubai. I am a freelance writer and photographer and my wish is to snap away, to scribe and to share it all with you. Enjoy.
This entry was posted in Architecture, Buildings & Exteriors, Shooting Architecture, Skyline, Urban Life and tagged , . Bookmark the permalink.

1 Response to Downtown Dubai-Burj Khalifa

Leave a Reply