Comparison of Shard and Burj Khalifa Skyscraper Construction Projects

The Shard in London and the Burj Khalifa in Dubai are two of the most famous landmark structures in the world. Below is a comparison and study of these two skyscraper construction projects.

The Shard, which is located on the south bank of the River Thames, is a 306m structure that is one of the highest in Western Europe. The goal of this project was to create a stunning vertical city that included shopping, residences, hotels, offices, and restaurants.

The Burj Khalifa is recognised for being the world's tallest skyscraper and one of the most popular tourist destinations. This skyscraper, which stands over 828 metres tall and has more than 160 floors, was designed as a multi-use complex with a hotel, observation deck, restaurants, clubs, and corporate offices. The goal was not simply to construct the world's tallest structure, but to help the government accomplish its goal of diversifying the country's economy from one dependent on oil to one focused on service and tourism.

Both of these projects are large-scale, requiring a significant number of contractors and suppliers. These projects were managed using a multi-organizational matrix. A balanced matrix structure was used for the Burj Khalifa project, in which functional and project managers were chosen for their competence and had equal authority over the project. The Shard, on the other hand, had a weaker matrix in which the project manager coordinated the entire project and reported back to the functional managers who had more control over the operations.

Waterfall methodology was the project management methodology followed by both these projects. This method was chosen because it helps to break down stages and allows requirements to be specified early on. It is critical to select the appropriate approach at the planning stage, especially when working on complex construction projects.

Because both projects were on a large scale, it was impossible to correctly estimate the project costs. The likelihood of real costs surpassing original projections is always much higher. Cost increases on these projects were caused by a variety of economic factors. The building of the Burj Khalifa was projected to cost $876 million but ended up costing $1.5 billion, whereas the Shard project cost £435 million, which was more than the initial fixed price contract price of £350 million.

Burj Khalifa's construction approach was bottom up which is a linear process. All of the operations are carried out in a sequential manner, for example, if excavation is not completed, the next activity could not be carried out. A delay in one activity, such as a labour strike, caused the time for the next task to be pushed back, causing the entire project to be postponed. The project was supposed to be finished by September 2008, however it fell behind schedule.

In comparison to the Burj Khalifa, the Shard takes a different strategy to construction. Several independent activities were carried out at the same time, despite the fact that the path was primarily linear. For the first time ever a top-down construction approach was taken. The first 23 storeys of the 72-story concrete core, as well as most of the surrounding tower, were erected before the basement was entirely dug. The benefit of this method is that any delays in the separate job will only affect the task itself, rather than the entire project schedule. This also helped the team save four months overall on the construction project.

Due to its height, the Burj Khalifa faced several challenges, yet it had enough environmental space to carry out construction and logistical manoeuvres. Due to its position on London Bridge Station a very busy area of the city, The Shard has been dubbed one of the most difficult project management endeavours. The project had a lot of logistical problems such as delivery of construction materials because of the limited working environment. Another challenging aspect of the Shard project was maintaining the safety of people around the construction site.

Risk management is an essential component of every large project. It is described as a method of systematically examining areas of risk and determining how each should be handled. This risk and uncertainty management tool seeks to identify sources of risk and uncertainty, assess their effect, and design suitable management solutions. In order to meet the project's objectives in terms of cost, time, quality, safety, and environmental sustainability, risk factors must be managed throughout the pre-construction phase.

Overall, despite the fact that the Burj Khalifa building took longer and cost more money than anticipated, the project's primary goals were fulfilled. As a result, the project can be considered as a successfully completed project. Similarly, the Shard project has met its goal of constructing a vertical city. This project was completed on time and on budget, meeting the client's needs.