Burj Khalifa vs Wells Fargo Plaza

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The Burj Khalifa (Arabic: ??? ?????, Arabic pronunciation: [b?rd?? xa?li?fa]; pronounced English: ), known as the Burj Dubai prior to its inauguration in 2010, is a skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. With a total height of 829.8 m (2,722 feet, just over half a mile) and a roof height (excluding antenna, but such as a 244 m spire) of 828 m (2,717 feet ), the Burj Khalifa has been the tallest structure and building in the world since its topping out in 2009 (preceded by Taipei 101).Construction of the Burj Khalifa began in 2004, with the exterior finished five decades later in 2009. The principal structure is reinforced concrete. The building was opened in 2010 as part of a new development called Downtown Dubai. It is designed to be the centrepiece of large-scale, mixed-use development. The decision to construct the building relies on the government's decision to diversify from an oil-based economy, and for Dubai to obtain international recognition. The building was originally named Burj Dubai but was renamed in honour of the ruler of Abu Dhabi and president of the United Arab Emirates, Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan; Abu Dhabi and the UAE government lent Dubai money to pay its debts. The building broke numerous height records, including its designation as the tallest building in the world. Burj Khalifa was designed by Adrian Smith, of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, whose firm designed the Willis Tower and One World Trade Center. Hyder Consulting was selected to be the supervising engineer with NORR Group Consultants International Limited selected to supervise the architecture of this project. The design is derived from the Islamic architecture of the region, such as in the Great Mosque of Samarra.

The Y-shaped tripartite floor geometry is designed to optimize residential and hotel room. A buttressed central core and wings are utilised to support the elevation of the building. Although this design was derived from Tower Palace III, the Burj Khalifa's central center homes all vertical transport with the exception of egress stairs within each of the wings. The structure also offers a cladding system which is designed to withstand Dubai's hot summer temperatures. It comprises a total of 57 elevators and 8 escalators. At a particular stage in the architectural and engineering process, the original Emaar programmers experienced financial problems, and required more money and financial funding. Sheikh Khalifa, the ruler of the United Arab Emirates, granted monetary aid and financing, hence resulting in the changing of the name to'Burj Khalifa'. The concept of profitability derived from creating high density developments and malls around the landmark have proven effective. Its surrounding malls, hotels and condos in Downtown Dubai have generated the most revenue from the project as a whole, while the Burj Khalifa itself made little or no profit.Critical reception to Burj Khalifa has been generally positive, and the building has received many awards. However, there were numerous complaints regarding migrant workers from South Asia who were the key building labor force. These centered on low wages and the practice of confiscating passports until duties were complete. Several suicides were reported.

Source: Wikipedia

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The Wells Fargo Plaza, formerly the Allied Bank Plaza and First Interstate Bank Plaza, is a skyscraper located at 1000 Louisiana Street in Downtown Houston, Texas in the United States.

This building is currently the 20th-tallest Construction in the USA, the second tallest building in Texas and Houston, after Houston's JPMorgan Chase Tower, and the tallest all-glass construction in the Western Hemisphere. It is the tallest building named for Wells Fargo.From street level, the construction is 302.4 meters (992 ft) tall and contains 71 floors. It extends four stories below street level. Only the Wells Fargo Plaza offers direct access from the road to the Houston tunnel system (a set of underground paths linking many of downtown Houston's office towers); differently, entry points are out of street-level stairs, escalators, and elevators located inside buildings that are connected to the tunnel.Wells Fargo Plaza features a wide variety of fine amenities for its tenants such as The Houstonian Lite Health Club located on the 14th floor. Sky lobbies on the 34/35th and 58/59th floors are publicly accessible and offer views of Downtown Houston. These sky lobbies are served by double-decker elevators and primarily serve as transport floors to local elevators. The entrance of the skyscraper appears in the final scene of 1989 American thriller film Cohen and Tate (also called'Cohen & Tate')

Source: Wikipedia