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

...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

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

Dubai is home to the iconic 828-metre high Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest tower, but companies here are now vying to claim second place on the list of tallest towers in the emirate.

[...] the trend of building 'megatall' towers — those which reach more than 600 metres high – is likely to increase, particularly in the Middle East. [...]

Currently, Dubai has 917 high-rises and 465 skyscrapers, states Emporis, which collates data on building worldwide. — emirates247.com

[Rem Koolhaas] addressed a packed auditorium at the American University of Sharjah on Tuesday..."Dubai has escaped from its architectural caricatures,” Mr Koolhaas said... [He] had a positive outlook on the region despite recent upheaval and said that it provided the opportunity for the dawn of something new. He also praised the involvement of the country’s rulers and the freedom they have given to designers to transform the landscape of the region. — thenational.ae

With all the cultural, sports and real-estate projects launched throughout the United Arab Emirates, there have been persistent protests about the working and living conditions [...] ”Serious concerns about workers’ rights have not been resolved”, claims the advocacy group, asking for a commitment for ”more serious protection” from these institutions and Saadiyat Island’s developers. [...] appears to have made a serious effort to address the concern expressed by Western museums and architects. — theartnewspaper.com

“You know how Ford said you can have any car you like as long as it’s black? In the UAE they can make whatever you want, as long as it’s a building. They can’t make free speech or human rights” — Vice.com author Molly Crabapple

Dubai is already home to the biggest shopping mall in the world, but that apparently isn't enough.

The emirate is planning an even bigger mall, one so massive it's already being described as a temperature-controlled city. It's going to be called Mall of the World, and will stretch for 48 million square feet.

The plan may seem curious to Americans watching their neighborhood shopping malls start to fade. — cbsnews.com

If liberal cultural and educational institutions are to operate with any integrity in that environment, they must insist on a change of the rules: abolish the recruitment debt system, pay a living wage, allow workers to change employers at will and legalize the right to collective bargaining. Otherwise, their gulf paymasters will go on cherry-picking from the globalization menu [...] while spurning the social contract that protects basic human rights. — nytimes.com

Dubai won the bid to host the World Expo 2020, being the first Middle Eastern city selected in the Expo's 160-year history. HOK, in partnership with Populous and Arup, led the design team that developed the master plan, themed "Connecting Minds, Creating the Future." Their proposal won against those from Brazil, Russia, and Turkey.

The 1,082-acre (438-hectare) Expo site is equidistant from Abu Dhabi and Dubai, next to the new Al Maktoum International Airport and near the Jebel Ali Port. — bustler.net

One expert in the UAE has estimated that 70% of the high-rise buildings there have panel facade cladding made of a combustible thermoplastic core held between two sheets of aluminium. — BBC News

Real Madrid Resort Island will be a major tourist and sporting centre of great dimensions and the highest level. This extraordinary complex will attract millions of people looking for quality leisure services. — The Guardian