Burj Khalifa was designed by Adrian Smith, then of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM),

whose firm designed the Willis Tower and ONE WORLD TRADE. The design of Burj Khalifa is
derived from patterning systems embodied in Islamic architecture, incorporating cultural and
historical elements particular to the region, such as in the Great Mosque of Samarra. The Yshaped plan is designed for residential and hotel usage. A buttressed core structural system is
used to support the height of the building, and the cladding system is designed to withstand
Dubai's summer temperatures. A total of 57 elevators and 8 escalators are installed with a
capacity of 12 to 14 passengers per Cabin Burj Khalifa was designed to be the centerpiece of a
large-scale, mixed-use development that would include 30,000 homes, nine hotels. It was
renamed in honor of the ruler of Abu Dhabi and president of the United Arab Emirates, Khalifa
bin Zayed Al Nahyan; Abu Dhabi and the federal government of UAE lent Dubai tens of billions of
USD so that Dubai could pay its debts Dubai borrowed at least $80 billion for construction
projects.[17] In 2000s, Dubai started diversifying its economy but it suffered from an economic
crisis in 20072010, leaving large scale projects already in construction abandonedConstruction
began on 6 January 2004, with the exterior of the structure completed on 1 October 2009. The
building officially opened on 4 January 2010,[2][10] and is part of the new 2 km2 (490-acre)

development called Downtown Dubai at the 'First Interchange' along Sheikh Zayed Road, near
Dubai's main business district. The tower's architecture and engineering were performed
by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill of Chicago, with Adrian Smith as chief architect, and Bill
Baker as chief structural engineer.[11][12] The primary contractor was Samsung C&T of South
Korea.[13] The tower's construction was done by the construction division of Al Ghurair
Investment group. Dubai's Media Office said the fire began on a 20th floor terrace.[12] Explosions
of unknown origin[12] were heard as the fire spread to other parts of the building. Then debris fell
from the building and dark plumes of smoke were seen emanating from the skyscraper.
Commenting on the speed with which the fire spread, Jonathan Gilliam, a CNN law-enforcement
analyst, said, "This is looking absolutely horrific. This is spreading very rapidly." [13]
A representative of Dubai Civil Defence said four teams of firefighters had fought the blaze.
[11]

Once the fire was contained, the plan was to ensure that the fire did not spread by

implementing cooling procedures, and to search for any stranded individuals, according to Dubai
Police Chief, Major-General Khamis Mattar Al Mazeina.[14]
According to the Dubai Media Office, 14 people were slightly injured and one was moderately
injured.[15][16] One person had a heart attack during the evacuation.[16][17] The Times of India reported
that a photographer, who asked not to be named, was setting up to photograph the Dubai
fireworks when he became trapped on a balcony on the 48th floor of the hotel, 10 meters away
from the blaze. He sent text messages alerting the authorities to his emergency, and he tied a
rope around himself to a nearby window-cleaning platform and hung off a balcony before being
rescued.[18]

Those who sustained smoke inhalation and minor injuries were treated by 20 doctors and 50
nurses from the Dubai Health Authority at the site, according to Al Mazeina. [14] Director-General of
Dubai Civil Defence, Major General Rashid Thani Rashid Al Matroushi, said that all of the hotel
residents were evacuated, none of the injured were children, [14] and that fire "broke out only in the
external interface and the majority of the fire did not make it to the inside." [15][a] Several people at
the site complained that neither the fire alarm nor the sprinkler system activated during the fire. [19]
It was reported that the hotel was likely to have been packed with guests due to its clear view of
the New Year's fireworks display atJumeirah Beach (including Burj Al Arab) and Burj Khalifa. The
show still went on as planned; by midnight, authorities had deemed the fire to be 90 percent
contained.[20] The following day, smoke continued to rise from the building.[21] The cause of the fire
was not known as of early 2016.[21] However, criticism was levelled towards the high amount

of claddinglayers of material that are fixed to the outside of buildings for insulation
implemented into the building's design; it was reported that this cladding may have contributed to
the fire's spread.[22]