Who designed the Burj Khalifa?

Adrian Smith at SOM

Adrian Smith, born in Chicago in 1944, joined Skidmore, Owings & Merrill in 1967. He was a design partner from 1980 to 2003 and a consulting design partner from 2003 to 2006, according to Wikipedia. At SOM he also designed Jin Mao Tower in Shanghai, completed in 1998, and Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago, completed in 2009. SOM lists 2006 as the year the Burj Khalifa design was finished. That same year Smith left to found Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture in Chicago, the firm that designed Jeddah Tower in Saudi Arabia, which is planned to be taller than the Burj Khalifa. See our comparison with Jeddah Tower.

The Y-shaped plan and desert flower

From above, the tower is shaped like a Y with three wings. SOM says the Y-shaped floor plan maximises views of the Arabian Gulf and that the design is inspired by the geometries of a regional desert flower and the patterning systems of Islamic architecture. Wikipedia names the flower as the Hymenocallis, a spider lily, and also links the style to Islamic forms such as the spiral minaret of the Great Mosque of Samarra. As the tower rises, its wings step back 27 times in a spiral, so it narrows toward the spire. SOM says the stepped shape helps to "confuse the wind", which reduces sway.

• Plan — Y-shaped, three wings around a central core
• Inspiration — A desert flower (Hymenocallis) and Islamic architecture
• Setbacks — 27, in an upward spiral

Structural engineering (Bill Baker)

William F. Baker, a structural engineering partner in SOM's Chicago office, was the tower's chief structural engineer. Wikipedia describes the system he developed: a hexagonal core reinforced by three buttresses that form the Y. The core and wings brace each other against wind and twisting forces, avoid the need to transfer columns between floors, and carry loads in a smooth path from the spire to the foundations. The structure is reinforced concrete up to the spire, which is steel. At its peak the tower sways about 1.5 m, according to Wikipedia. Baker received the Institution of Structural Engineers' Gold Medal in 2010. Read how Burj Khalifa was built for the construction story.

The wider team and the interiors

A tower this size needed many firms beyond the architects. Wikipedia lists Hyder Consulting as supervising engineer, NORR for architectural supervision and GHD for independent testing. Samsung C&T, BESIX and Arabtec were the main contractors, Turner was project manager, and Far East Aluminium supplied the cladding of glass, aluminium and stainless steel. Inside, SOM's interiors team designed the lobbies, amenities and offices, and SOM says the building holds more than 500 works of art. The best known is Jaume Plensa's "World Voices" installation, with 196 cymbals. Around the base, an 11-hectare park by SWA Group repeats the desert-flower theme. Our Burj Khalifa facts page collects more numbers.