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Lauded as one of the “must-see” highlights at this year’s Expo 2020 Dubai, the entry from the United Kingdom stands above the crowd thanks to a unique collaborative design from London-based artist and designer Es Devlin. Photo © Alin Constantin PhotographyThe 20-meter (65.5-foot)... View full entry
With temperatures in Dubai regularly surpassing 115 degrees Fahrenheit, the government has decided to take control of the scorching weather. Scientists in the United Arab Emirates are making it rain — artificially — using electrical charges from drones to manipulate the weather and force rainfall across the desert nation. Meteorological officials released video footage this week showing a downpour over Ras al Khaimah, as well as several other regions. — CBS News
View this post on Instagram A post shared by المركز الوطني للأرصاد (@officialuaeweather) Called cloud seeding, this is a weather-modification technique that aims to change the amount or type of precipitation that falls from clouds by artificially adding substances, called... View full entry
Dubai largest listed developer Emaar Properties has halted new building work after a construction boom in recent years led to oversupply in the Gulf city, its chairman said on Monday.
Dubai’s real estate market, where supply has outstripped demand for much of the past decade, has come under additional pressure this year from the coronavirus crisis.
— Reuters
"We as a group have stopped supply," said Mohamed Alabbar, Chairman of Dubai's largest developer Emaar Properties, after denying similar claims back in April. The suspension includes work on the new Dubai Creek Harbour mega-development and its centerpiece, the Santiago Calatrava-designed Dubai... View full entry
It's official: Expo 2020 Dubai will be postponed by one year. After the UAE government asked for a delay last month, a majority of the Bureau International des Expositions member states now voted in favor of the proposal, officially confirming the new start date of October 1, 2021 and end date of... View full entry
Zaha Hadid Architects just released spectacular photographs of the new ME Dubai hotel at the Opus, a high-rise steel and glass cube the studio designed with a dramatic 8-story void seemingly punched right through it. The building, centrally located in the Burj Khalifa district near Downtown Dubai... View full entry
The UAE has officially proposed that the World Expo 2020 Dubai be moved. They have put forward a potential start date of October 1, 2021, in light of the coronavirus pandemic.
The request was made in a letter addressed to Dimitri S. Kerkentzes, secretary general of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE).
— Esquire Middle East
After hinting at a potential one-year delay of the Expo 2020 Dubai last week in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the UAE government has now reportedly proposed the new start date of October 1, 2021 and end date of March 31, 2022. The Bureau International des Expositions confirmed that it... View full entry
London-based Asif Khan as designed the Expo Entry Portals for Expo 2020 Dubai. Drawing inspiration from the latticework present in the traditional "mashrabiya" among Arabic dwellings, the three portals are crafted entirely from intertwined lightweight carbon fiber composite and sit defiantly upon... View full entry
Located at the Dubai International Financial Center stands an eye-catching pavilion designed by the Middle East Architecture Network (MEAN). Known for their evocative designs using computational design and digital fabrication techniques, their most recent project, Deciduous, highlights the... View full entry
3D printing equipment manufacturer Apis Cor recently built a two-story administrative office building for a Dubai government agency using one mobile printer. Standing at 31 feet tall with an area of 6,889 square feet, the building's walls were printed while the insulation, roof, foundation and windows were installed using traditional building methods... — Smart Cities Dive
According to Smart Cities Dive, "the company's proprietary printing mixture consists of off-the-shelf materials like sand, cement, gypsum, and other proprietary components..." The challenge ultimately becomes creating the right blend of materials in relation to the local climate. The... View full entry
This is by far the busiest road in Dubai, the site of frequent, epic traffic jams that are infamous among commuters...But an ambitious new proposal would see a stretch of Sheikh Zayed Road transformed into an "urban living room" with fumes and congestion giving way to a green, pedestrianized oasis. — CNN
The project, titled X-Space was designed by architects Mouaz Abouzaid and Dima Faraj, and recently won the World Architecture Festival's (WAF) top prize in the Smart Cities category, reports CNN. The two-level project seeks to expand area for pedestrians while reducing area for... View full entry
During Dubai Design Week, architect and professor Dr. Georges Kachaamy presented an eye catching project that questions architecture's need for the ground. Through his project, "Rising Oases," Kachaamy proposes a future where individual buildings are no longer tied to their "daily restraints,"... View full entry
The Palm Jumeirah has been Dubai’s most enduring work in progress for two decades.
Now developer Nakheel is adding the finishing touches.
Several major additions to the world’s biggest man-made island are approaching completion as it transitions from a near-perpetual construction site to a near-finished community—with hundreds of shops and restaurants set to open in the year ahead.
— Mansion Global
"Among the latest additions are a shopping mall and a tower that will form the centerpiece of the island, located close to the site originally earmarked for a 48-story Trump Tower," reports Mansion Global. Palm Jumeirah in 2012. Photo: Richard Schneider/Wikipedia.Meanwhile next door, the... View full entry
Across Dubai myriad construction projects are underway in the lead up to World Expo 2020. But it turns out there's always room for one more. State-owned investment firm Dubai Holding has released details of a huge post-expo construction mega-project, which will include a 1,804 feet (550-meter) high tower -- taller than One World Trade Center in New York.
The tower, called Burj Jumeira, is situated in the Al Sufouh area of Dubai close to the Burj Al Arab.
— CNN
Image: Dubai HoldingIt's been a few weeks since the last announcement of another megaproject in Dubai, so here's finally a new one: Burj Jumeira is envisioned to become an oval-shaped, 1,804 ft/550 m supertall skyscraper with a flamboyant facade that is covered in a digital display, enabling it to... View full entry
Now, Dubai has taken a step further along the road to making such dreams a reality by announcing that 25% of the city-state’s new buildings will be made using 3D printers by 2025.
The move is part of an ambitious 3D-printing strategy announced in 2016 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice-president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and the ruler of Dubai.
— weforum.org
According to the Dubai Future Foundation the city aims to reduce labor by 70% and cut overall costs by 90% with their 3D-printed construction plan. The strategy not only aims at addressing the UN's projected density for urban areas in the future, but also holds potential to solve Dubai's severe... View full entry
Concrete placement work for Dubai Creek Tower's pile cap has been completed two months ahead of schedule.
A 20m-thick, multi-layered pile cap has been developed for the $1bn (AED3.67bn) Dubai Creek Tower, which is part of the 6km2 Dubai Creek Harbour master development.
The pile covers and transfers the load to the foundation barrettes.
— constructionweekonline.com
Image: Emaar Properties. Up to 16,000 tons of steel reinforcement, reportedly twice the weight of the Eiffel Tower, have been buried in the sandy Dubai ground to support (what has been promised to become) the world's tallest tower at a yet to be disclosed height: the Dubai Creek Tower designed by... View full entry