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But the building has proven controversial for other reasons. The 50-storey portal may be the tallest picture frame in the world, but its architect wants to add another title to the stats: for him, it is the biggest stolen building of all time.
“They took my project, changed the design and built it without me,” says Fernando Donis, the Mexican architect whose frame proposal won an international competition in 2008 for a “tall emblem structure to promote the new face of Dubai”.
— The Guardian
The controversial Dubai Frame opened to the public yesterday, finally offering tourists a 360-degree view of the city. While construction only began in 2013, the new 150 meter landmark has been a decade in the making, blighted by controversy surrounding its stolen design. Beginning with a... View full entry
The Dubai Frame is quickly taking shape in the heart of the city, providing breathtaking views of 'old' and 'new' Dubai.
A Dubai Municipality delegation on Thursday has given residents a sneak peek into one of the upcoming iconic structures in the city. [...]
The work has already started on the frame's glass bridge, and the cladding is expected to be completed by the end of this year, a top senior Dubai Municipality official had told Khaleej Times earlier this year.
— Khaleej Times
Construction work on Dubai's latest gilded landmark appears to be making progress as the Dubai Municipality documented today in a new social media video of a city government delegation visiting the site. The design of the 150-meter-tall Dubai Frame structure isn't without controversy: the concept... View full entry
Raised as a monument to Dubai’s aspirations as a center of international commerce, the Frame is now a physical manifestation of the crude system that erected it. — The New York Times
Considering the already controversial nature of the Dubai Frame, The New York Times recently published a piece on the project in relation to the city's “entrenched system [that notoriously] leaves outsiders vulnerable to mistreatment — from professionals sketching blueprints to construction... View full entry
Whatever you think of the initial "Tall Emblematic Structure in Dubai" prompt, there's no doubt that some fairly significant changes were made to Fernando Donis' winning design for the Dubai Frame and the actual monument as it is being constructed. As Archinect commenter Donna Sink noted, "The... View full entry
“The project is being transformed from being non-figurative architecture to an overscale figurative photo-frame. That is, from being a modern, public monument to a postmodern pastiche,” [competition-winning architect Fernando] Donis wrote in an open letter. — Design Mena
Described by an internet commenter as "the St. Louis Arch minus the beauty or finesse," the Dubai Frame project is scheduled to open this month to the public. The somewhat controversial monument, which has not only attracted a scathing load of public commentary but an objecting open letter from... View full entry
Lootah said the project is a complete glass, transparent structure resembling a huge window frame intended to highlight the attractions of the city so visitors can view the skyscrapers on Shaikh Zayed Road from one side — symbolising modern Dubai — while the other side of the frame will show the old Dubai landmarks of Deira, Umm Hurair and Karama.
“The electrical panoramic elevators will help visitors move through its facilities as if they are moving in the sky inside the glass frame,”
— khaleejtimes.com
As some of you may remember, when the winner of the ThyssenKrupp Elevator Award was announced 3 years ago, there was quite a bit of controversy surrounding the selected winner. The winning entry, "Dubai Frame" by Fernando Donis of the Netherlands, was a 150m tall structure designed as a literal... View full entry
