Dubai's Burj Khalifa officially opened in 2010.
The grand opening took place on 4 January 2010 in Downtown Dubai. The tower had originally been known as Burj Dubai, but its name was changed to Burj Khalifa in honour of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, then president of the United Arab Emirates.
Construction began in 2004, and the building was developed by Emaar Properties. Its design came from the Chicago-based firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, with Adrian Smith serving as the chief architect. The tower's Y-shaped plan was inspired partly by the geometry of a desert flower.
The opening date is separate from the building's height records. Burj Khalifa became the world's tallest building during construction and still holds that title. It also contains residences, offices, the Armani Hotel Dubai and observation areas, making it a mixed-use skyscraper rather than a single-purpose office tower.