Spire [hot]: Burj Khalifa

Let’s climb to the top—virtually, of course—and look at the unsung hero of the skyline: The "Fake" Floor? First, let’s bust a myth. People often claim the spire is "cheating" because it isn't a habitable floor. While it’s true you can’t rent an apartment inside the spire, calling it an antenna is like calling a Formula 1 car a lawnmower because it has an engine.

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 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. burj khalifa spire

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.

That’s not cheating. That’s genius. How tall do you think a building can actually get before a steel spire isn't enough? Let me know in the comments below. Let’s climb to the top—virtually, of course—and look

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.

The top of the spire (the very tip) is not accessible to tourists. It is accessible only to a handful of climbers per decade for maintenance. To get there, you have to climb a series of vertical ladders bolted to the inside of the steel structure. At the very top, there is a tiny service hatch. While it’s true you can’t rent an apartment

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.