Burj Khalifa Spire ((install)) 🎁

Next time you see a photo of that golden tip glinting in the Dubai sun, don't just see an antenna. See a 4,000-ton skyscraper balancing a 200-meter steel spear on its head, defying gravity and physics.

While we call it a spire, it is functionally a 200-meter communications mast. It houses over a dozen TV, radio, and mobile network transmitters. Without it, your cell phone would drop the call the moment you walked into downtown Dubai. The View From Hell You might think the observation deck (At The Top) is high enough. That sits at 555 meters. The spire starts above that. burj khalifa spire

The Burj gets struck by lightning roughly 10 to 15 times a year. The spire is clad in a specific alloy designed to act as a giant Faraday cage. It takes the millions of volts of electricity from a lightning strike and channels it safely down the core of the building to the ground, keeping the electronics and residents safe. Next time you see a photo of that

When you look at a picture of the Burj Khalifa, your eye naturally travels up the sleek, stepped façade until it pierces the clouds. We all know the number: 828 meters (2,717 feet) . But here is a truth that surprises most people: without its spire, the Burj Khalifa would barely be taller than the Empire State Building. It houses over a dozen TV, radio, and

Dubai gets high winds. Without a spire, the top of the Burj would sway violently. Inside the spire’s base is a massive tuned mass damper. It acts like a giant pendulum, swinging in the opposite direction of the wind to cancel out the motion. The spire is the building’s anchor .

The Burj’s spire is technically a sitting on top of the concrete core.