Aiming high in Dubai

 

Dubai in the United Arab Emirates has one of the fastest-growing construction industries in the world. Vast palm-shaped artificial islands, the world’s tallest building, the biggest shopping mall of them all, and a revolving skyscraper, each structure boldly designed, makes Dubai’s selection of future buildings the most interesting in the world.

 

 

One newly announced multi-million dollar project is the iPad, a design based on Apple’s MP3 player. The 23-storey building will be perched on a docking station and will sit at an angle of six degrees. The project is due to open in 2009 and will house more than 200 offices and apartments.   

 

 

Dubai has already constructed The World, a series of artificial islands that portray a map of the globe. Dubai has two more artificial island groups under construction, Palm Jebel Ali and Palm Jumeirah. Dubai’s ‘Palm Islands’ will be visible from the moon and comprise palm tree-shaped island groups surrounded by protective barrier reefs that extend 5 kilometres into the Persian Gulf. On this land reclaimed from the sea 2,000 villas, roughly 40 luxury hotels, shopping complexes, and a Marine Park, the first in the Middle East, will be built. The islands will be connected to the mainland by 300-metre bridges, whose main causeway will have a monorail.

 

This 80,000-ton, 30-storey building with 200 apartments will sit on a giant bearing 30 yards in diameter, coated with a nearly frictionless polymer. Twenty small electric engines will turn the building a few degrees each hour, a slow rotation that turns it full circle once a week. These electric motors will be solar-powered at least in part. The rotating skyscraper is the first of its kind in the world.  

 

This mall will cover the equivalent of 50 football pitches and will be the largest shopping complex in the world, with 16,000 underground car parking spaces. The Burj Dubai Boulevard pedestrian pavement passing through the mall will be three kilometres long and will open at intervals into four main piazzas – named Water, Wind, Fire, and Earth. This pathway will lead to Tower Park, a 15-hectare area of land containing water cascades, lawns, and exotic plant terraces.

 

The outside of the Mall will resemble an ocean liner and the interior will accommodate over 1,000 individual shops located in distinct areas like the traditional souks in the Middle East, including the world’s largest gold market. The main centerpiece called Waterworld will incorporate a water terrace, fountains, and an aquarium, which will be three storeys high and feature glass ‘walk-through’ tunnels.

 

 

The exact height of the Burj Tower when it is completed still isn’t known for sure, but estimates range from 810 metres to 1011metres. Either figure is enough to make this tower the tallest in the world. The interior of the tower will be decorated by Giorgio Armani, indeed an Armani hotel, the world’s first, will occupy the first 37 floors. 700 private apartments will occupy floors 45 to 108, and the rest of the floors will be used by corporations as offices and suites. The tower will have the fastest elevators in the world travelling at 40mph. A sophisticated water system will supply an average of 950,000 litres of water per day.

 

All these buildings will complement the existing splendour of the sail-shaped hotel, the Burj, the world’s only 7-star hotel. Visitors have to spend 60 Euros to even take a look around this hotel that is the height of luxury.