The Khalifa Tower is a magnificent creation. Six hundred years in the making, it rises to more than 1,500 feet and is the second-largest freestanding tower in the world, topped only by the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. With 13 freestanding elevators, it’s the world’s largest free-standing building. “It’s awe-inspiring,” says Lutoff-Perlo. “You feel like you are in a real-life Arabian Nights fairy tale.” And it’s a display of architecture that couldn’t have been built even a decade ago, but now that it is, visitors and locals can’t get enough. “It has been the most incredibly successful project that we’ve ever done,” she says. In 2004, the Khalifa’s development project wrapped up, and now the tower has over 2.5 million visitors per year. advertisement The building is a technological marvel, boasting some of the best technology available, including an advanced sunshade system that blocks heat and sunlight–and an under-cabinet lighting system that illuminates the aquarium-themed floor. But with all this tech, the project also reflects