In a new book Supertall, architect Stefan Al explores the world of skyscrapers and how they affect the way we live; he includes the impact that the world’s tallest building Burj Khalifa has on its inhabitants. We share his interesting findings.
Time
The Burj Khalifa, is so tall that people perceive time differently from the top and bottom floors. It’s so tall that people on the upper floors of the building perceive time differently to those on the lower levels.
‘…perceive time differently…’
Sunset
From the top of the Burj Khalifa, people can view so far into the Arabian Desert that they see the sun set several minutes after people on the ground see it set. This impacts on the Muslim population in the building; the perceived time difference means those living on the higher floors of the Burj Khalifa need to wait a few extra minutes before breaking their fast at sunset during Ramadan. Dubai clerics decided that residents above the 80th floor should wait an additional two minutes to end their Ramadan fasting and those above the 150th floor should wait an additional three minutes.
‘…wait extra minutes before breaking fast…’
Clouds
Standing at 828 meters tall, the Burj Khalifa emerges high above the clouds in Dubai. The building transcends the earth’s local temperature and climate because its upper half occasionally emerges above the clouds, rendering it unaffected by the rain that’s pouring at its base. At the top of the building, the temperature on the outside is thought to be 6°celcius cooler than on the ground. Because air gets cooler the higher you go, you can take advantage of having less air conditioning on the upper levels, because you can use that cooler air as intake.
‘…upper levels unaffected by rain that’s pouring on the lower levels…’
The Burj Khalifa is twice the height of the Empire State Building and far exceeds the scale of anything that’s been built on earth.
