The world's tallest building has 1,000-year-old air conditioning
Burj Khalifa's beautiful secret is revealed in the new book, Hidden in Plain Sight. Sublime science hides in plain sight at the world’s tallest building. Tourists swarm Burj Khalifa’s observation decks to absorb startling views across Dubai’s skyline, and the sandy coast of the United Arab Emirates. Laid out beneath them is a space-age city which showcases the burgeoning wealth of the Middle East. Above their heads, meanwhile, is a testament to ancient Arab ingenuity. Covering the ceiling of the 125th floor deck are mesmerizing geometric patterns engaged in a millennia-old battle with Mother Nature. Called mashrabiya, this Arab latticework is so old that its origins are murky. What is undisputed, however, is that it was a brilliant architectural innovation which both blocked sunlight, and funneled breezes into homes here in the sun-scorched Middle East. In this way, mashrabiya was simultaneously high art, and one of the world’s earliest forms of air conditioning. It waned in popularity over the 1900s, as modern home cooling technology took over. Now, however, mashrabiya is resurgent, as revealed in the new book, Hidden in Plain Sight, in which journalist and photography Ronan O'Connell visited 23 countries to uncover the mysteries of our planet's top landmarks. Intricate latticework is being used to decorate many extraordinary new buildings across the Middle East as a celebration of Arab cultural heritage. Including in the region’s most-visited destination, Dubai. With a population of 3.7 million people, it is the largest city in the United Arab Emirates. This oil-rich Middle Eastern nation sits on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula, between Iran to its north, Saudi Arabia to it west and Oman to its east. Its strategic location, midway between Europe and East Asia, has made the UAE a global air travel hub and tourist hotspot. Although the UAE has deep, intriguing history, having been inhabited for more than 6,000 years, most tourists are drawn by attractions which didn’t exist three decades ago. Before vast oil reserves were tapped in the 1960s, Dubai was a petite port city. It wasn’t until the 2000s it embarked on a building boom which aimed, in part, to make it magnetic to tourists. Before then, sand filled many of the sites now occupied by gleaming structures, including Burj Khalifa. Now Dubai’s parched land is studded by avant-garde skyscrapers, goliath shopping malls, world-class museums, five-star hotels, and cutting-edge theme parks. Some of which sit on unique, man-made archipelagos flanking the city’s coast. All these recent additions have helped Dubai become one of the planet’s top 10 most visited cities. At some point during their stay here, most travelers at least glimpse Burj Khalifa, which looms above a metropolis spiked by more than 250 other skyscrapers. Even people who’ve never visited the UAE likely recognize this steel-and-glass wonder, images of which abound on social media. The greatest tourist landmarks encapsulate a destination. For example, the Colosseum underscores Rome’s deep history, the Eiffel Tower symbolizes Paris’ timeless elegance, and the Statue of Liberty signifies New York’s unrivalled multiculturalism. Burj Khalifa is equally effective in defining Dubai’s appeal to visitors. Ostentatious, innovative, hyper-modern and record-breaking. Dubai strives to build the biggest, the best, the boldest of everything. Given this fierce ambition, it was natural this city would aim to reach further into the sky than any civilization before it. Previously, the evolution of the world’s tallest building had long been slow and steady. New York’s Empire State Building (381m high) was eclipsed by the nearby World Trade Center (417m), Followed by Chicago’s Sears Tower (443m), Kuala Lumpur’s Petronas Towers (452m) and Taiwan’s Taipei 101 (509m). Then Dubai entered the race. Rather than merely taking the crown, it made its competitors look like toys. Standing 830m, Burj Khalia Is so tall that, every so often, its crest just disappears, obscured by fog. It was designed not just as a monument to Dubai’s wealth, but as a source of pride for the Arab World, which hadn’t boasted the world’s tallest structure since Egypt’s Great Pyramid of Giza was overtaken 700 years ago. As with any massive manmade construction, which isn’t a hospital or school, there was debate about Burj Khalifa’s necessity, utility, and sustainability. Those arguments persist. But what’s clear is that this goliath has been a boon for tourism. Some 17 million people visited Burj Khalifa in 2023. It is part of a cluster of tourist-friendly sites, adjoined by grassy Burj Park, turquoise Burj Khalifa Lake, glass-laden Dubai Opera House, and gargantuan Dubai Mall. The latter brims with more than 1,200 shops. As well as dozens of cafes and restaurants, and family-friendly attractions like Dubai Aquarium, Sega Republic theme park, an ice rink, virtual reality zone and kids play centers. Dubai Mall is also the gateway to Burj Khalifa. Perhaps the defining tourist experience of this city, Burj Khalifa’s At the Top sends visitors into the clouds. These tours offer access to three observation decks, on floors 148, 125 and 124. First is a ride in one of the world’s fastest elevators. Reaching the initial deck takes about 60 seconds, during which tourists learn remarkable facts about Burj Khalifa via a digital display. Some 22 million man hours were required to build this skyscraper. It consists of 330,000 cubic meters of concrete, 39,000 tons of steel reinforcement, 103,000 sqm of glass, and 15,500 sqm of embossed stainless steel. Of its 200 floors, 160 are inhabitable. Once guests exit the elevator, they walk a loop of each enclosed deck. This provides a 360-degree perspective of Dubai through soaring windows. Should they wish to spike their pulse further, they can tread onto the 125th level’s eerie glass floor attraction, which simulates cracking beneath their feet, as if set to collapse. Those who’d prefer to calm down may descend to level 122. Amid a luxurious setting rich with dark leather and red velvet they can savor a 13-course tasting menu at fine dining establishment At.mosphere. Or absorb the dizzying views with a cocktail in hand at the adjoining Champagne and Oyster Bar. In doing so, they’ll have had a modern experience of the Middle East. For an appreciation of its proud past, tourists to Burj Khalifa should research those mesmeric patterns on its 125th level. They will learn mashrabiya was created to fulfil many purposes at once. It beautified a building’s façade, offered privacy, softened natural light, dullened outside noise, and allowed for airflow which reduced both heat and humidity. Less certain than the value of mashrabiya are its origins. Some historical accounts trace it as far back as the 12th century, to Egypt. Others suggest it may have originated in Iraq and its capital Baghdad, then one of the world’s largest, most sophisticated cities. Dozens of homes in the ancient Iraqi city of Basra still feature mashrabiya. By night, these abodes are spectacular, due to the mashrabiya latticework which frames their stained glass windows. So once darkness falls, and house lights take effect, a kaleidoscope of patterns is beamed onto the Basra streetside. Historic examples of mashrabiya also still grace homes or mosques in Muslim nations like Tunisia, Turkey, Morocco, Syria, Palestine, Sudan, Lebanon, Iran, Pakistan, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. Some utilize the Iraqi style of wooden mashrabiya screens, which enclose windows or balconies. Others are latticework carved into stone. That form of mashrabiya, which has different names from country to country, is particularly common in mosques and mausoleums. Including India’s Taj Mahal, built using Mughal architecture, a style which blends Islamic and Indian designs. Modern versions of mashrabiya also proliferate. Architects in the Middle East and beyond are increasingly blending it into new constructions. Tourists walking east from Paris’ famed Notre Dame Cathedral may pass hundreds of interlocking mashrabiya motifs on the towering glass façade of the Arab World Institute. In the UAE, meanwhile, travelers encounter such patterns in both of its key cities, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The latter has perhaps the world’s most stunning use of mashrabiya. Covering the 180m-wide dome of the Louvre Abu Dhabi museum, it beams shards of light through hundreds of perforations. A spectacle which is almost matched by the gigantic mashrabiya windows of nearby Imam Al-Tayeb Mosque. Such geometric flourishes also punctuate downtown Dubai. Dubai Mall employs mashrabiya both on wall features, to cloak a pedestrian footbridge and embellish its Apple Store. Chances are, then, that many tourists glimpse this Islamic design feature before they ascend Burj Khalifa. Once they do, and reach its 125th floor, most will fixate on the futuristic view before them. All the while, in their periphery, mashrabiya sits as a marker of Arab innovation which flourished long before the Middle East began to build toward the clouds. An ancient decoration camouflaged on a modern icon, as revealed by the new book, Hidden in Plain Sight.
Ronan O'Connell·Jun 9, 2026
