Burj Khalifa has been the world’s tallest building since its completion in Dubai in 2010.
The skyscraper rises 828 metres (2,717 feet) above ground and contains more than 160 occupied stories. It was designed by the Chicago-based architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, with Adrian Smith serving as the lead architect. Construction began in 2004, and the building opened officially on January 4, 2010.
The project was originally known as Burj Dubai. It was renamed Burj Khalifa in honor of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the president of the United Arab Emirates at the time of the opening. The tower anchors the Downtown Dubai development, a major mixed-use real-estate district.
Height records can be confused because organizations measure buildings differently, and some structures compete in categories such as roof height or architectural height. Burj Khalifa’s widely cited record refers to architectural height, including its spire.