Burj Khalifa’s First Ever Digital Art Experience

The region’s most visited star-attraction, Burj Khalifa, has gotten bigger and better with its new digital makeover. In a bid to enhance the visitor experience, the new At The Top, Burj Khalifa has been digitised using state-of-the-art technology and visitors are able to become part of the installations by just their presence and body movement.

The Burj Khalifa in all its glory

At the Top, Burj Khalifa, one of Dubai’s most popular attractions has launched a series of immersive technology experience to make the visitors journey to the top, an unforgettable one. The reception area of At the Top, Burj Khalifa, located in the lower ground floor of The Dubai Mall has undergone a major makeover with multiple technological attractions awaiting to capture the visitor’s’ imagination. At the Top, Burj Khalifa expanded its front area by three times its original size to host hundreds of visitors conveniently at any point in time.The reception in the lower ground floor of The Dubai Mall has undergone an aesthetic facelift. Visitors now step into the spacious lobby with several ticketing counters.

As the guests set to start the At the Top, Burj Khalifa journey, the ambience changes, white gradient glass walls provide an illusion of clouds, highlighting the heights they will scale soon and giving a first glimpse of a 4-metre illuminated model of Burj. The screen uses three different themes like seawater, desert rocks and mosaic motifs to interact with the audiences. These dynamic, free-flowing art pieces will be much-loved by children and adults alike. Here, a giant video wall creates a spellbinding ‘movement art’ of all visitors. Sensors gather the presence of every individual visitor, their location and movement, and turn them into real-time digital art.

Visitors walking by the giant video wall inside the tower.

There are ceiling connects and sensors that are triggered by motion and get interactive. As you walk closer to the screen at a certain diameter the ceiling connects and sensors sense your presence, this then converts into a computer code or algorithm that transfers your presence to a digital form of art. With people passing back and forth you create different themes which cannot be predicted and every visitor’s movement will create a unique digital art a unique Burj Khalifa experience. This allows the visitors to create their own digital art.

Visitors having a look at the Replica of the tower

A replica of Burj Khalifa comes to life with digital projections in four different themes like cloud, water, sand and glass providing visitors a feel of the vastness and height of the tower. The next step in the tour is the must-watch replica of Burj Khalifa. It comes to life with digital projections in four different themes namely cloud, water, sand and glass. It provides visitors with a feel of the vastness and height of the tower.

Visitors using the GSM technology inside the tower

Visitors can also witness a 24-hour time-lapse shot of Downtown Dubai, the 500-acre mega-development. The base of the model also features interesting facts about the tower as well as inspiring quotes. The view of the Burj Khalifa model is hidden from the central reception area by magic glass, a cutting edge technological application that enables visitors on the outside to get just a glimpse of the model as if looking through early morning clouds.

As the visitors continue the journey, an inspiring message of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President & Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, greets them. They then pass by the ‘Dubai Then & Now’ digital tunnel, which provides an audio-visual narration of five key eras of Dubai’s history. It starts with eternal Dubai that celebrates the emirate’s glorious heritage though the city’s transition phase from 1840 to 1890; the trading era of 1890 to 1950; the modern era from 1950 to 2000, and Dubai today, providing a powerful picture of the achievements of the city. Ahmad Al Falasi, Executive Director, Group Operations at Emaar Properties told Al Arabiya English that this new interactive experience will ensure that visitors of all ages carry home a memorable and unique experience featured in this technologically advanced additions to the magnificent structure and awe inspiring Burj Khalifa.

The tower in all its glory

He added at the launching event, Thursday that Emaar has leveraged the latest advancements in digital technology to ensure that every visit, every time, by anyone will assure them delightful surprises. The spacious, aesthetic and digitally enhanced reception will significantly add to the convenience of our visitors from across the world.
The new enhancements form part of a seamless journey before visitors take high-speed elevators to At the Top, Burj Khalifa SKY and/or At the Top, Burj Khalifa. The At the Top, Burj Khalifa SKY journey spans levels 124, 125 and 148, which is the crowning glory at 555 metres high and holds the Guinness World Record for the Highest Observation Deck. At the Top, Burj Khalifa, on the other hand, takes visitors to Level 124. At 828 metres the 200-plus-storey Burj Khalifa has 160 habitable levels, the most of any building in the world.

A dedicated application has also been launched, available for free download from App Store for iPhones, and Google Play for Android devices. With the app, in addition to gaining an overview of the attraction, users can plan and book the journey, explore the various facets and even create their own shareable ‘video story’ with a 15-second short film from atop the global icon.