The Burj Khalifa - Coursework Example

The Burj Khalifa The Burj Khalifa Architectural brilliance and the beauty that comes out of it has always fascinated people around the world. Therefore, considering architectural brilliance around the world, Burj Khalifa stands out very well. Currently, it is the tallest man-made structure in the world, being 828 meters high. Hope (2012, 51) describes it as a "living wonder." It is a stunning work of art. As both a concept and an execution, the Burj Khalifa is unique. Located at the heart of the metropolitan city, the Burj Khalifa, formerly referred to as Burj Dubai, was part of the project known as the Burj Downtown or the Downtown Dubai. The Burj Khalifa is the pride and tourist attraction in Dubai, people around the world have always been amused by the view of the beautiful architecture. Burj Khalifa holds some of the world’s records such as the building with the most number of floors and the one with the fastest elevators. There is no doubt that the Burj Khalifa is a unique structure that gained the world’s attention. The essay aims to analyse the construction of the building and the time line from conception to the completion. Construction Engineers all over the world are amazed by a structure such as Burj Khalifa. It represents pure genius from engineers and architects. The engineers and architects persevered pain and hard work to make the project work. Burj Khalifa was built to be a large scale, multiuse development plan. It would include 30,000 homes, hotels, a 3 hectare parkland, 19 residential towers, Dubai Mall, and the Burj Khalifa Lake. The government of Dubai depended highly on oil export and it is their main source of income. Dubai’s oil reserves have dropped significantly are expected to get worse. Projections are that they will be exhausted in 20 years. By that given time, the country will have a serious economic problem. However, the government decided that it was going to diversify from an oil-based economy to a tourist based economy. The officials argued that it was important for projects such as the Burj Khalifa for Dubai to gain international recognition. The goal of constructing Burj Khalifa was not only to be the highest skyscraper, but also be a milestone of ingenuity, accomplishment and inspiration. The government proposed the idea with the aim of becoming a hub for finance tourism in the Middle East and an international trade centre. The idea of construction of the mega structure sounded overwhelming. The political and economic leaders of United Arab Emirates had the strong will to accomplish the goal of the task of creating, handling and managing the worlds tallest building. The construction was announced near the end of 2003. They expected to start the construction soon. It was certainly a massive project with over 60 consultants and contractors and thousands of stakeholders. The construction had a budget of about $874 million (Abel, 2003). According to (Betsky 2011, 45), the construction man hours were an expected 22 million man hours, which was between 2004 and 2008 until the finalization of the construction. The construction work began in January 2004. The tower was the tower’s engineering and architecture was done by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill Company of Chicago, both renowned personalities. Adrian Smith was the chief draughtsman and Bill Baker as the chief structural engineer. The estimated time for the construction of the building was based on unfavourable local and global economic situations in 2008. During the Dubai Shock, the construction progress halted for about four months. It was expected that it would maintain the status for a few more months. This was when the projects name changed from Burj Dubai to Burj Khalifa. The change was with significant monetary influence from the leaders of the UAE, who delayed the construction progress for about four months. There were also modifications to the original external design, which was 100 metres shorter, and interior designs. In the end, the budget was $1.5 billion. By October 2009, the building was ready, however, the grand opening was postponed to 4th January 2010. Major investors in the project affected the delay. They wished the grand-opening be on the fourth anniversary of the prime minister and the vice-president’s of the country as the ruler of Dubai-Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum. The Emaar chairman stated, “We decided to inaugurate the world’s highest tower building during an anniversary that is dear to hearts of everyone.” (Conway, 2010) Project management Belleza (2010) defines project management as a set tools, knowledge and techniques applied to achieve the main constraints of scope, time and cost. According to this definition, with the analysis of the project, it mostly lies towards the unsuccessful side. Even though the projects goals were achieved, the ways in which they were achieved and the relation between the constraints (cost, time and scope) were not up to standard. The following were some of the supporting ideas denoting the unsatisfactory project-management of Burj Khalifa. Firstly, the planning stage of the project was not carried out effectively and efficiently with several ambiguities in the project. The proposed project budget at the beginning of the project was not maintained. The estimated budget was $875 million, much less compared to the $1.5 that was spent instead. The factors for this were external factors including weather, economic, and market situation. In efficiency and ineffectiveness did not remain throughout the project, however, they affected the project throughout. The project completed almost six to seven months later than the projected time. The project construction timeline This is the timeline of the Burj Khalifa construction. The project took long, but sure the outcome was a magnificent piece of architecture. In January 2004, the excavation process commenced the project. On 2004, the piling began. On 21st September 2004, the Emaar contractors begun their construction. The structure of the Burj Khalifa began rising in March 2005. The building then hit the 50th floor mark in June 2006. In March 2007, the project surpasses the Sears tower as the building with the most number of floors. On 13th May 2007, the project set the record for vertical vertical pumping of concrete on any building at 452 metres, beating the 449.2 meters which concrete was pumped during the Taipei 101 construction while Burj Khalifa pumped to the 130th floor. 21st July 2007, Burj Khalifa surpasses Taipei 101’s height (509 m), which made it the highest building in the world. On June 2008, Emmar announces that the building hit the 636 m mark and the final height would not be revealed until the building was complete. On 1st September, 2008, they reached a height of 688 m, making it the tallest man-made structure. On January 17th, 2009, Emaar announced that the external part of the building was complete. On 4th January 2010, the building was opened. Burj Khalifa official ceremony was held. Burj Dubai was named in honour of the president of United Arab Emirates, and ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan. Architecture and Design The Burj Khalifa term is derived from the patterning systems embodied in Islamic architecture. According to the projects engineer, Bill Baker of the SOM Company, the building was designed to represent cultural and historical elements particular to the region. The Y-shape plan is ideal for hotel and residential usage. The wings allow outward views and inward neutral light. The chief design architect, Adrian Smith, claimed that the Hymenocallis flower inspired the triple lobed footprint of the building. (Eisele & Kloft, 2003, 23). According to Dr. N. Subramanian, a construction consultant from Maryland, USA, the tower is composed of three elements arranged in the core. As the tower rises from its broad flat base, offsets occur at each element in an upward spiral pattern. The cross-section of the tower decreases as it reaches the top. Burj Khalifa has 27 terraces. At the top, a central core emerges and is sculpted to form a finishing spire. The view from the building of the Persian Gulf is maximized by the Y-shape cross section. An aerial view or from the base evokes the onion domes of Islamic Culture. At the highest point, the building sways a maximum of 1.5 meters. According to Huxtable (1993), Dr. Subramanian stated in his report that the engineers came up with a new structural system that would support the project’s unprecedented height. The system was called the buttressed core. It consists of a hexagonal core reinforced by three Y shaped buttresses. This structural system enables the building to gain lateral support and stops it from twisting. The spire of the Brj Khalifa is comprised of more than 4000 tons of steel. The central pinnacle, which weighs about 350 tons, was constructed from the inside and jacked to full height of above 200 meters using a strand jack system. The spire also contains communication equipment. More than 1000 pieces of art adorn the interiors of Burj Khalifa. The plan was to display the work of Jaume Plensa in the residential lobby. It would feature 196 bronze and brass alloy cymbals to represent the 196countris of the world. The exterior cladding of the Burj Khalifa consists 142,000 square metres of aluminium, textured steel spandrel panels with vertical tubular fins, and reflective glazing. The covering system is meant to shield the building from the extreme temperatures. Additionally, the top of the building is 6 degrees Celsius cooler than at the base. Over 26,000 glass panels consist the exterior cladding. According to Dovey (2008, 56), over 300 cladding specialist came in from China to work on the tower. Construction Highlights According to Emaar (2009) report pertaining to the materials used, 45, 000 cubic meters of concrete weighing about 110,000 tons were used to construct the steel and concrete foundation. It features 192 piles buried more than 50 meters deep. Burj Khalifa has used 330,000 cubic meters of concrete, 390,000 tons of steel rebar, and the construction took 22million man hours. The exterior cladding of the Burj Khalifa begun in May 2007 and finished in September 2009. The project took more than 380 skilled personnel. Initially, the ream progressed at the rate of about 20 to 30 panels a day. Eventually, they achieved 175 panels a day. The mega structure accomplished a record of the highest of the highest aluminium installation and glass facade at 512 metres. In November 2007, reinforced concrete core walls were pumped using 80MPa form the base. This was at the height of 601 meters. This, as earlier mentioned, surpassed the 532 meters record of the Taipei 101 tower. They used an extension of the Riva del Garda Hydroelectric Power Plant in 1994. The project took 31,400 metric tons laid end to end. Burj Khalifa as an Iconic Building What is an iconic building? Pawley (2007, 67) defines an iconic building as one that makes us have a unique feeling, one that other buildings do not. The Burj Khalifa has made its way to the headlines mainly due to the controversies. One of them is that its height was not revealed until the inauguration of the building. There were speculations about the project right from the beginning. This included the mistreatment of workers, which lead caused them to protest in 2006, when 2500 of them protested King (2004, 45). This got the Burj Khalifa into the outrage column, which perhaps is a constituent of the iconic characteristics. Another definition of an iconic building is one that has the likeness, similitude, and image. This expanded that an icon gives visual connotation or a reduction to a striking image. To expand the definition, the iconic building has a brand image. Norberg-Schulz (1990, 35) supports this by arguing that iconic buildings are landmarks that are a national identity. They thus become a brand for a city or a nation. The government built the building to get the international attention, which would bring income to the country as a tourist attraction. It is also a centre of international trade. The Burj Khalifa id targeted by marketing agencies to promote Dubai products, which is a form of marketing strategies. It is a marketing technique for tourism. These examples show a strong link between the building and the country it resides in, making it an iconic building (Conway, 1977, 26). Sudjic (2006), defines an iconic building as one that gains publicity it gets. Media, a lot of publicity is facilitated by the media. Such buildings are termed as "media icons." Such buildings’ status is elevated through advertisements, newspapers, and articles and other such media. This is assured by the building featuring in numerous advertisements. A further evidence of this is that the building featured in the hit movie Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. Tom Cruise, the leading actor, can be seen exhibiting stunts such as jumping out of the building’s windows. This has qualified the building as a “Media Icon.” For a building to be iconic, Thiel-Siling and Bachmann (1998), argues that it has to have an extraordinary budget. Perhaps this can be classified as a side effect of the iconic definition which is linked with competition and hunger to break records. This supports Bedell, (2010), definition that an iconic building represents a jealous emotion, arrogance and a competitive steak. The $1.5 billion budget that erected the Burj Khalifa places it in this category. Therefore, it can be classified as an iconic building due to the huge budget and it also holds 17 world records. The environment and Sustainability One of the issues of great concern that comes to mind when thinking of the tallest building in the world is the number of people that live within the building. The population is growing and building designs are changing to sustain more population. The Burj Khlaifa holds up to 30,000 people. This is a positive effect given that individual houses would take up more space. The Burj Khalifa uses solar power. This is another reason the Burj Khalifa is more sustainable than other buildings. The usage of solar power saves up to 3,200 kilowatts of energy. Another effect of the building is it helps to change the focus of Dubai as an oil rich economy to a tourist attraction country. This building certainly has a positive impact on the economy. Success of the Project The success of a project, as earlier stated, depends on three factors: cost, time and performance. These are known as the Iron Triangle for project management. While measuring the project’s success, the objectives of all the stakeholders, including the clients, suppliers, customer sponsors and many others have to be considered. To start the analysis, the term cost comes first. From the essay, it is clear that the budget went up $1.5 billion. It was an over budget. There is also another detail, the name Burj Khalifa came up on the inauguration day. Before it was known as the Burj Dubai. The building happened to be called after the Abu Dhabi leader, who just happened to give $10 billion to Dubai to bail them out of their debt. The name change can be taken as a cost to the project. Secondly, the projects success can be defined in terms of time. On June 2009, Emaar properties declared that the construction would be delayed by upgraded finishes. With the examination of time and cost, the Burj Khalifa has not done well. However, according to Goldberger (2010), projects that operate under high end technology are likely to experience an over budget as well as over time. The Burj Khlaifa was of course a high-tech project. The overtime and over budget could be tolerated. To analyse the quality aspect of the project, several things should be mentioned. Firstly, the Burj Khalifa was the recipient of the 2010 best tall building in the Middle East and Africa. Secondly, the Burj Khalifa is the tallest building. Third, the building has attracted thousands of customers. From these, certainly the stakeholders of the project achieved their original goal. According to Currey (2005), the failure of project management does not necessarily mean project success or failure. This means that if a project fails in project management, may be successful in achieving its long term goals. Recommendations and Conclusion Several things can be learnt from the essay. Firstly, it is very important plan a project thoroughly before commencement. The investors for this mega structure had not been prepared for the project adequately. If they were, they in all probability would not have had an over budget. However, it can also be learnt that the socioeconomic environment changes rapidly. For instance, the stakeholders had not anticipated the Dubai Shock. We also learn that in projects, political influence is bound to occur. According to Belleza (2010), projects risks are factors that are bound to delay the project or make exceed the stipulated budget. In order to elevate the project outcome, there needs to be efficient risk management. This will require adequate understanding of the social and economic dynamics of the environment. With the proper understanding of the risks, the financial problems could have been realized and avoided. Risk factors should be determined at the beginning of every phase, and they have to manage until the project is terminated. A good manager is also able to avoid damages by risks by executing the right countermeasures. Political influence should not interfere with the construction process. An agreement should be in order be the construction begins. This agreed plan should be seen through to the end of the project. This will avoid any inconveniences and also save time. From the analysis, it is clear that Burj Khalifa is a success in terms of project success study. However, it is true that the project management was not as successful as the project itself. From the Burj Khalifa project, it is clear that the unsuccessful management does not necessarily lead to an unsuccessful project. The Burj Khalifa project seems to have achieved its goals. Nevertheless, we should note that good management often leads to a successful project. The Burj Khalifa exhibited parts of failure in terms of cost and time. Despite the setbacks that the project incurred, the outcome was a magnificent piece of art. Reference List Barr, J., Mizrach, B. & Mundra, K., 2011. Skyscraper Height and the Business Cycle: International Time Series Evidence. Divecha, D., 2012. At the Top, Construction Week Online: Middle East Architect,Issue 441. Hope, G., July 2012. Top of the World, Construction Week Online: Middle East Architect, Issue 426. Abel, C. 2003. Sky High: Vertical Architecture. London: Royal Academy of Arts. Betsky, A., 2002. Landscrapers: Building with the Land. New York, NY: Thames & Hudson. Conway, D.,2007. Human Response to Tall Buildings. 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