Burj Khalifa: 2010 Winner

The SKYDB Awards recognize high-rise buildings that unite architectural quality with practical performance, and the Burj Khalifa in Dubai was selected as the 2010 SKYDB Awards Winner.

The 828-meter tower is organized around a Y-shaped plan whose three wings support a central concrete core. As the building rises, successive setbacks reduce the floor plate and produce its tapering, stepped profile. The changing outline disrupts organized wind vortices, allowing the structure to reach its exceptional height with controlled movement.

Residences, hotel rooms and offices are placed in different sections of the tower, with observation levels above them. The plan gives a high proportion of rooms an outward view while keeping travel distances to the core manageable. The award recognizes a record-setting building whose plan is shaped by its structural and wind demands.

Architect: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)