How the Burj Khalifa's Foundation Holds Up a 500,000-Tonne Tower

The Burj Khalifa stands on some of the worst foundation soil engineers had ever built on: loose sand over weak, gypsum-riddled sandstone, with highly saline groundwater close to the surface. Here is how a combined raft-and-pile foundation, a buttressed core design from Bill Baker at SOM, and 40+ wind tunnel tests let the tower reach 828 meters without the ground giving way. Timestamps and topics covered: Why the site's soil was considered some of the worst in the world for a supertall foundation The 3.7m-thick reinforced concrete raft and 194 bored piles reaching 43m deep The 36-hour continuous concrete pour and how the mix was engineered for Dubai heat Corrosion protection: waterproofing membranes and cathodic protection against saline groundwater The buttressed core structural system and why the tower spirals as it rises Pumping concrete over 600 meters up, a world record at the time The workforce: Samsung C&T, Besix, and Arabtec, and Putzmeister's custom high-pressure pumps Why the same buttressed-core principle has since been used in supertall towers worldwide #BurjKhalifa #Engineering #Construction #Skyscraper #StructuralEngineering