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Architects Unveil Radical Designs in Dubai
Architects Unveil Radical Designs in Dubai The emirate of Dubai has been undergoing an unprecedented construction boom for over seven years. Located on the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula, the rich country has sought to redesign itself as a tourist Mecca and is using modern architecture to accentuate the effort. The building push was initiated by Dubai multibillionaire leader Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktum, or as the locals affectionately calls him – “Sheik Mo.” Sheik Mo was thinking of the future of his country with the construction push – where analysts say the oil will run dry in 20 years.
Completed projects include the Burj al Arab, a sail-shaped hotel that professes itself to be the “world’s only seven-star hotel” and the entirely man-made Jumeirah Palm Island and the World Islands. The Burj Dubai tower is due to be completed soon and will become the tallest building in the world. The Mall of the Emirates, including an indoor ski resort, will also be completed soon. The sky is definitely the limit in Dubai.
Among the more recent design creations is Waterfront City, to be built on an artificial island only 172 hectares in size. Once finished, the island will be transformed into densely packed skyscrapers, much like those found in New York City’s Manhattan. A spherical-shaped building covered in mirrors and a spiraling tower will be dominating aspects of Waterfront City’s skyline. Plans call for 400,000 to live and work in Waterfront City upon its completion; part of a larger development area, known as the Dubai Waterfront, which will house 1.5 million people. Ground has been broken on the huge project with completion of the larger effort expected to last decades. Waterfront City will be composed of five separate precincts that all have their distinctive purposes. At the center will be a thriving office and urban residential area surrounded by the “Boulevard” that will ring the island with high-rise skyscrapers. The other three districts include a traditional Arabic setting, a resort area, and a marina. The futuristic city is to be built by Dubai-based developer Nakheel with designs submitted by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas’ Office for Metropolitan Architecture, based in Rotterdam. Koolhaas had been conceptualizing the Waterfront City concept for years in an idea he called the “generic city.” However, from the radical designs that are to permeate the development, the final product will be anything but generic. Also recently unveiled are plans to build a “shape-shifting” skyscraper 420 meters in height. Fittingly dubbed the Dynamic Tower, and described as the “world’s first building in motion” the construction will also be the first to be completely built from prefabricated units, according to David Fisher, an architect based in New York.
The Dynamic Tower will have 80 stories, each of which can rotate independently with power provided by wind turbines. “You can adjust the shape the way you like every given moment,” said Fisher. “It’s not a piece of architecture somebody designed today and that’s it. It remains forever. It’s designed by life, shaped by time.”
Apartment units will be sold in the building at about £1500 per square foot with the total price for each unit ranging from around £2 million to £20 million. The tower is set to be completed by 2010. Using prefabricated parts will allow each floor to be built in a week, creating more environmentally-friendly construction methods. According to Fisher, only 80 technicians will be needed at the construction site and 600 people at the assembly site compared to 2000 workers needed at a typical construction project of this scale.
Fisher believes he is radically transforming 4000-year-old “brick on brick” construction methods. “It is unbelievable that real estate and construction, which is the leading sector of the world economy, is also the most primitive,” stated Fisher on his firm’s website. “Most workers throughout the world still regularly use trowels that was first used by the Egyptians and then by the Romans. Buildings should not be different than any other product, and from now on they will be manufactured at production facility.” Dubai’s construction boom has no signs of slowing down. The two main factors fueling the long-running boom are record-high oil prices and the demographics of the area. Dubai has one of the fastest-growing populations on the planet that is pushing construction ever-forward. www.wikitecture.net
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This intel was contributed by MegaDaz
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May, 2012
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