BUILDING A SUPERSCRAPER
Stretching into the sky, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai is by far the tallest human-made structure ever built, and its design will enable us to build even higher
WORDSALEX DALE
“Its stable tripod design means it was able to be built using less concrete and steel than conventional buildings”
S kyscrapers need to be designed to withstand two forces: the vertical force of gravity and the horizontal force of wind. When you’re attempting to build the world’s tallest building in an area lashed by fierce desert winds, a certain amount of engineering ingenuity is required. This was the challenge facing design architect Adrian Smith and structural engineer Bill Baker of US urban planning firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill when they were tasked with designing the Burj Dubai in the United Arab Emirates – later renamed the Burj Khalifa. They found inspiration in an unlikely source – a low-lying desert plant called the spider lily.