Dubai’s Burj Khalifa contains 163 above-ground floors.
Designed by Adrian Smith of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the tower rises from Dubai’s Downtown district in a stepped, Y-shaped plan inspired partly by the Hymenocallis flower. Its 163 occupied levels include residences, offices, hotel space, mechanical areas, and observation facilities.
The floor count is different from the building’s official height, which is 828 metres, and from its highest occupied floor, located below the architectural pinnacle. This distinction explains why references may give several numbers when describing the same tower.
The Burj Khalifa became the world’s tallest building when it officially opened in 2010. Its structure uses a reinforced-concrete buttressed core, while the narrowing setbacks reduce wind effects as the tower rises. The building was developed by Emaar Properties as the centerpiece of a major mixed-use district.