Burj Dubai the heights and high winds dangling

The tower is designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, which also designed the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois and 1 World Trade Center in New York City, among numerous other famous high-rises. The building resembles the bundled tube form of the Willis Tower, but is not a tube structure. Its design is reminiscent of Frank Lloyd Wright's vision for The Illinois, a mile high skyscraper designed for Chicago.

According to Marshall Strabala, an SOM architect who worked on the building's design team, Burj Dubai was designed based on the 73-floor Tower Palace Three, an all-residential building in Seoul, South Korea. In its early planning, Burj Dubai was intended to be entirely residential.[26]

Emaar Properties has also engaged GHD,[30] an international multidisciplinary consulting firm, to assist with the design, review and assessment involved in the construction process.

The design of Burj Dubai is derived from patterning systems[clarification needed] embodied in Islamic architecture. The design architect Adrian Smith has said the triple-lobed footprint of the building was inspired by the flower Hymenocallis.[31][32] The tower is composed of three elements arranged around a central core. As the tower rises from the flat desert base, setbacks occur at each element in an upward spiralling pattern, decreasing the cross section of the tower as it reaches toward the sky. There are 26 terraces in Burj Dubai. At the top, the central core emerges and is sculpted to form a finishing spire. A Y-shaped floor plan maximizes views of the Persian Gulf. Viewed from above or from the base, the form also evokes the onion domes of Islamic architecture. During the design process, engineers rotated the building 120 degrees from its original layout to reduce stress from prevailing winds. At its tallest point, the tower sways a total of 1.5 m (4.9 ft).[33]

To wash the 162 floors of habitable space of Burj Dubai, a horizontal track has been installed on the exterior of Burj Dubai at three levels 40, 73 and 109. Each track holds a 1,500 tonne bucket machine which moves horizontally and then vertically using heavy cables. The first of the 18 buckets is being tested on the south side of the Burj Dubai at level 40. The top of the spire, however, is reserved for specialist window cleaners, who brave the heights and high winds dangling by ropes to clean the top panels.[34]

More than 1,000 pieces of art will adorn the interiors of Burj Dubai, while the lobby of Burj Dubai will have the artwork of 196 bronze and brass alloy cymbals representing the 196 countries of the world. The visitors in the lobby will be able to hear a distinct timbre as the cymbals, plated with 18-carat gold, are struck by dripping water, intended to mimic the sound of water falling on leaves.[35]

A total of 24,348 pieces of cladding have been installed, with the last piece, spanning six metres in length, yet to be installed.[35]

The exterior cladding of Burj Dubai consists of 142,000 m2 (1,528,000 sq ft) of reflective glazing, and aluminium and textured stainless steel spandrel panels with vertical tubular fins. The cladding system is designed to withstand Dubai's extreme summer temperatures. Additionally, at its projected height the exterior temperature at the top of the building will be 6 °C (11 °F) cooler than at its base.[36]

The interior will be decorated by Giorgio Armani. An Armani Hotel, the first of four by Armani, will occupy the lower 37 floors.[37] Floors 45 through 108 will have 700 private apartments on 64 floors (which, according to the developer, sold out within eight hours of being on the market). An outdoor zero-entry swimming pool will be located on the 78th floor of the tower. Corporate offices and suites will fill most of the remaining floors, except for a 123rd floor lobby and 124th floor (about 440 m (1,444 ft)) indoor/outdoor observation deck. The spire, itself over 200 m (700 ft) tall, will hold communications equipment.[citation needed]. Burj Dubai is expected to hold up to 35,000 people at any one time.[38] A total of 56 elevators will be installed, the fastest rising and descending at up to 10 m/s (33 ft/s).[39] Engineers had considered installing the world's first triple-deck elevators, but the final design calls for double-deck elevators.[1]

The graphic design identity work for the Burj Dubai is the responsibility of Brash Brands, who are based in Dubai. Design of the global launch events, communications, and visitors centers[40] for the Burj Dubai have also been created by Brash Brands as well as the roadshow exhibition for the Armani Residences, which are part of the Armani Hotel within the Burj Dubai, which toured Milan, London, Jeddah, Moscow and Delhi.