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The ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, has announced intentions to build a “miniature city” on Mars within the next 100 years, reports Arabian Business. Sheikh Mohammed, who also serves as the Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, launched the project at the World... View full entry
With 16 projects currently in the works in the Middle East-North Africa region, it's not really a surprise that Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) has just opened an office in the Dubai Design District. As stated in the press release, the firm has 30 years worth of experience working in the region."A... View full entry
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid on Monday "broke ground" on the world’s tallest tower – a structure that will define Expo 2020 as the Eiffel Tower defined Paris for its 1889 World Fair.
"The new tower sets another challenge in the history of human architecture – a race the UAE deserves to lead," said Sheikh Mohammed [...].
The futuristic design, chosen by Sheikh Mohammed, was by Spanish-Swiss architect Santiago Calatrava Valls [...].
— thenational.ae
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Dubai's ruler, laying the foundation stone for the 'The Tower at Dubai Creek Harbour' project on Monday. (Image: WAM) The structure's final height has not yet been revealed — the 1km-high Kingdom Tower, currently under construction in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, is also... View full entry
[...] has completed advanced wind tunnel tests on The Tower at Dubai Creek Harbour, which is set to be 100 metres taller than the 828-metre Burj Khalifa when complete.
Emaar said the wind tests were crucial in defining the final height and design aspects, while the project’s Spanish-Swiss architect Santiago Calatrava Valls added that they "were an important component in the structural design stage, and we have deployed innovative engineering techniques to confirm the strength of the new icon".
— thenational.ae
The Tower at Dubai Creek Harbour project previously in the Archinect news: "A notch taller" than Burj Khalifa: check out these new renderings of Santiago Calatrava's megatall Dubai towerSantiago Calatrava to design a seemingly supertall observation tower in Dubai View full entry
The UAE is currently in the first stage of a man-made mountain development project as the country mulls different approaches to maximising rainfall.
Experts from the US-based University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), which manages the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) are in the “detailed modelling study” phase, as per NCAR scientist and lead researcher Roelof Bruintjes.
— Abu Dhabi 2
For more attempts to geoengineer our way out of eco-trouble, check out some past articles:New satellite images show progress in China's island-building projectScientists Propose Using Lasers to Fight Global WarmingCan cloud-seeding clear Singapore's skies?Could scientists engineer... View full entry
Back in February, Santiago Calatrava was announced the winner of the competition to design an observation tower for the massive Dubai Creek Harbor development: a showstopping (it's Dubai after all) megatall and superslender observation tower, soon to be "as great as the Burj Khalifa and the... View full entry
Dubai's desire to become a (tasteful) global cultural center is gaining further traction with an OMA-designed events and project space for local art-scene hub Alserkal Avenue. The 1,000 square meter gallery features four movable walls which can either rotate or slide within a flexible floor plan... View full entry
Masdar City, when it was first conceived a decade ago, was intended to revolutionise thinking about cities and the built environment.
Now the world’s first planned sustainable city – the marquee project of the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) plan to diversify the economy from fossil fuels - could well be the world’s first green ghost town.
As of this year [...] managers have given up on the original goal of building the world’s first planned zero-carbon city.
— theguardian.com
Masdar City previously in the Archinect news: Get a drone's eye view of Foster + Partners' Masdar City in Abu DhabiFully Charged visits Foster-designed Masdar CityInside Masdar City: a modern mirage View full entry
Santiago Calatrava won the competition to design an observation tower for the Dubai Creek Harbor development in the city...Calatrava's winning design was met with approval this past weekend from Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President and Prime Minister of the [UAE] and Ruler of Dubai. 'This architectural wonder will be as great as the Burj Khalifa and the Eiffel Tower,' he commented on Calatrava's proposal. — Bustler
Thoughts? You can also find more images of the project on Bustler. View full entry
An 80-storey ‘Dynamic Tower’ will be standing in Dubai by 2020 is everything goes to plan, architectural firm Dynamic Group has told us. When built it will be the world’s first skyscraper consisting of separate rotating floors attached to a central column, and inside there will be luxury apartments (natch).
If you’re wondering what a rotating skyscraper actually is, it’s very much as the name suggests. [...] control the rotation speed and direction of their apartment through voice activation.
— whatson.ae
"Proposed back in 2008 by architect David Fisher, the tower aims to be 420m tall, which would make it the second tallest building in Dubai, as well as the second tallest residential tower in the world behind New York’s 432 Park Avenue (which stands at 425.5m)."Related stories in the Archinect... View full entry
Dubai, the city of superlatives, is set to get a new tower on Sheikh Zayed Road that will have an artificial beach and a rainforest-like landscape development on top of the tower's podium. [...]
The project consists of two towers, 47 storeys high with a combined five-storey podium and two basement levels, that will house the facilities. [...]
Kieferle & Partner is the architect.
— emirates247.com
A few images of the two-tower development via ZAS Group's website, the lead consultant on the project:Related on Archinect:First design of Burj 2020 unveiled, Dubai's shiny, new supertall tower by Adrian Smith + Gordon GillLuxury Anthropocene: Dubai gets its first private floating islandsRace to... View full entry
A masterplan has been unveiled for the Burj 2020 District, an upcoming megaproject set to include a skyscraper dubbed ‘the diamond of Dubai’ [...]
The centerpiece of the district, the Burj 2020 tower, will be designed by Adrian Smith and Gordin Gill (AS + GG), the architects behind the Kingdom Tower in Saudi Arabia.
— meconstructionnews.com
"The demand that will be registering will dictate the exact height of the tower, but at the highest, it might go 700 plus," the Executive Chairman of the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre, Ahmed Bin Sulayem, was quoted saying. "We are looking at a supertall tower, and we are looking at having one... View full entry
...From seemingly out of nowhere, a large quad-rotor drone drops out the cloudless sky over Dubai Internet City, hovering insect-like just above the heads of the men, watching them with camera-eyes.
Before they can even notice, a squad of policemen – wearing helmets, body armour, and carrying assault rifles – rush them...
Welcome to Dubai, and to one of the more awkward moments of an already odd competition called Drones For Good. We’re here to watch teams compete for a million-dollar prize...
— the BBC
Migrant workers building branches of the Guggenheim Museum, the Louvre and the Zayed National Museum on Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi continue to face crushing debt, substandard wages and harsh working conditions despite recent efforts to improve treatment, according to a report published this week by Gulf Labor, a coalition of artists and activists.
[...] the researchers found that “underpayment is far and away the primary concern” for the workers themselves.
— theartnewspaper.com
This issue of labor rights in the greater gulf region previously on Archinect:An updated look at the conditions for Abu Dhabi's migrant workersBBC journalists arrested for reporting on Qatar's World Cup laborersLabor violations affirmed in latest report of NYU Abu Dhabi constructionWorld Cup... View full entry
Tall buildings specialist Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture (AS + GG) has been chosen by the master developer of Dubai’s Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT) district to design the Burj 2020 tower - set to be the world’s tallest commercial tower. [...]
The Council for Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat ranks New York’s One World Trade Center as the world’s tallest commercial tower, at 541 metres. The height of Burj 2020 is yet to be revealed.
— thenational.ae