How the world’s tallest skyscraper was built - Alex Gendler

Discover the engineering innovations that made building Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest skyscraper, possible.

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In 2004, construction began on a new building in Dubai, promising a revolutionary design that would dwarf the rest of the world’s skyscrapers. Five years later, the 828-meter Burj Khalifa was complete, surpassing the previous record-holder by over 60%. What innovations allowed for such a huge leap in height? Alex Gendler digs into the architecture of this unprecedented project.

Lesson by Alex Gendler, directed by WOW-HOW Studio.

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Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Karl Laius, JY Kang, Heidi Stolt, Alexis Hevia, Christina Salvatore, Karlee Finch, Michael Goldberg, Denise A Pitts, Doug Henry, Kristiyan Bonev, Keven Webb, Mihai Sandu, Deepak Iyer, Javid Gozalov, Kyanta Yap, Rebecca Reineke, William Biersdorf, Patricia Alves Panagides, Valeria Sloan Vasquez, Yvette Mocete, Cyrus Garay, Samuel Barbas, Brighteagle, LadyGeek, Curtis Light, Dwight Schrute, Dianne Palomar, Marin Kovachev, Fahad Nasser Chowdhury, Penelope Misquitta, Hans Peng, Gaurav Mathur, Erik Biemans, Tony, Michelle, Katie and Josh Pedretti, Sunny Patel, Hoai Nam Tran, Stina Boberg, Kack-Kyun Kim, Michael Braun-Boghos, Ken, zjweele13, Jurjen Geleijn, Anna-Pitschna Kunz, Edla Paniguel, Elena Crescia, Thomas Mungavan, Jaron Blackburn, Venkat Venkatakrishnan, ReuniteKorea and Aaron Henson.

[anuarkul-mukhammed]

Really glad they mentioned the workers lives lost in the process, many people like to ignore that part

[MrHazz]

Growing up in Dubai, my school bus would pass through the building site everyday, so I got a five year long montage of it being built from the ground up.

[tan_dayo]

Knew there would have to be sacrifices behind these ambitions. Thank you for not ignoring what people have been through before that tower was made.

[msujonbd]

Good to see Fazlur Rahman Khan getting mentioned for his pioneering work in architectural design. 🇧🇩 🇺🇸

[mrhasans]

As i was watching the video i was hoping they would mention the legendary Bangladeshi-American engineer Fazlur Rahman Khan and his contribution to the structural engineering. The moment narrator said his name i felt proud as a fellow Bangladeshi. Thanks Ted-Ed.

[u.g.]

"Hopefully, future projects will prioritize the individuals behind these engineering marvels over the buildings themselves"

Me: Doubt (X)

[adarshsingh]

I can't express how much we would owe to Ted-Ed to make a better world in future!

[descipher]

I love how Ted makes difficult topics so easy to understand. Archicturue explained at it finest.

[TheBM]

Wait, have we been saying Burj Khalifa wrong this whole time?

[imjody]

I absolutely loved this. Wish this was a 1 hour special. Wish it never ended. Thanks for putting this together with such beautiful illustrations!

[هشامعوض-زش]

Fun fact :
Burj khalifa is so tall that you can watch the sunset from one floor 🌇 and then go to a higher one and watch it again .
Thanks for reading my TED-(comment)

[fooforce]

Most architects: "How can we build something new? We ran out of ideas!"
Fazlur Khan: *My powers are beyond the rest of you mortals understanding*

[namitpandit]

As someone who’s been in Dubai his entire life, this is an incredibly fascinating video.

[dexternunez]

What I appreciate is the detail about the workers' concern. Before any advancdment, we need to be humane first.

[samh]

Burn Khalifa the tallest building? Phineas and Ferb build their tower to the moon in one day

[helenadasilva]

You guys needs to do more videos about architecture or urban planning! <3
Like History vs. Le Corbusier, The urban Revolution thanks to Jane Jacobs or The Bauhaus Movement.

[Austrian_Painter]

Ahhhh!!!
Fazrul Rahman Khan ❤️🇧🇩
The man who made Bangladesh proud!He is a hero and inspiration to me.

[biologyburst]

POV: you probably never actually questioned how it was built but it's a Ted-Ed video and you instantly clicked.

[keen]

Imagine putting the Burj khalifa on mt. Everest

[quantumdr]

Burj Khalifa is a incredibly sophisticated building. Thank you Ted-Ed for reviewing it.