The beautiful madness of the Dubai building boom

I've found this site through a thread over on P.ie.

It has a collection of pictures of the breath-taking pace of building projects being completed and instigated there. Our building boom of 2003-06 is a damp squib in comparison. Dubai is doing it bigger and madder than anywhere else, and that includes you China!

Enter, and be amazed.

Ard-Taoiseach wrote:

I've found this site through a thread over on P.ie.

It has a collection of pictures of the breath-taking pace of building projects being completed and instigated there. Our building boom of 2003-06 is a damp squib in comparison. Dubai is doing it bigger and madder than anywhere else, and that includes you China!

Enter, and be amazed.

Nuts indeed - indoor skiing in the desert. They are doing it with the last of their oil revenue. They will need a solar bank the size of the Sahara to get the generators going for that. Something about it makes me think of Ozymandias's feet.

cactus flower wrote:

Ard-Taoiseach wrote:

I've found this site through a thread over on P.ie.

It has a collection of pictures of the breath-taking pace of building projects being completed and instigated there. Our building boom of 2003-06 is a damp squib in comparison. Dubai is doing it bigger and madder than anywhere else, and that includes you China!

Enter, and be amazed.

Nuts indeed - indoor skiing in the desert. They are doing it with the last of their oil revenue. They will need a solar bank the size of the Sahara to get the generators going for that. Something about it makes me think of Ozymandias's feet.

I like Dubai, there's a refreshing zaniness about the place which is a relief from the utter lack of architectural vision on the part of our authorities.

Spectacular. I can't believe how futuristic it looks. It's like something out of Gene Rodenberry's head.

Here's a snap (enhanced) of the Palm Island that I took on the way back
from India one day. I'd say I was a couple of hundred miles north of
Dubai.

The UAE has around 96 billion barrels of proven reserves, it's also blessed with some of the best quality oil in the region (lighter and in need of less processing) which brings in higher revenue than other oils on the region. They have around 90 years production left at current levels and around 60-65 years when they increase production over the next few years as they plan to do. While they are a hugely energy dependent economy (along with Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi) the UAE's energy comsumption has less than doubled since the mid 80s while their population (currently at 4.1m) and exploded (was 1.9m in 1991) so their are not as energy hungry as one would believe. Also running the highrise buildings (aircon bills aside) is less expensive than masses and masses of sprawling lowrise houses. But Dubai is funny because while it's home to the most spectacular of the UAE's buildings it doesn't have anywhere near a fraction of the wealth that's in Abu Dhabi (has 20 times more oil that Dubai and is home to the UAE's international banking and finance centres). But I love it. I don't know what exactly it is about the place (from afar at least) that makes it special. There is an amazing sense of limitless potential, that there is nothing they can't and won't do or build. Imagination soars. And alot of it is down to Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. While Kuwait is is half the size, much less populus and much more wealthy the don't seem to have had the same architectural explosion the UAE and Dubai in particular has had. Of all the buildings in the Gulf my favourite is a gem in the often suprising KSA, Burj Al Mamlakah... 

I think it's truly amazing looking. 

My second would be the Islamic Cuntural Centre in Doha. Much less reserved and much smaller but it's just lovely to look at. I do love the Gulf states. 

That said I would disagree with AT about China. The tiger is just out of hibernation and he's going to roar and when he does it will blow us all away, already they have some amazing looking building on the way. Not so much about the height as in Dubai but they make no less of an impact.

The Shanghai World Financial centre. Opening this year.


The Central China Television building, also this year.


What China is doing that Dubai is yet to embrace is sustainable buildings. My favourite of them being Beijing's Linked Hybrid development.




Also the National Grand Theater in Beijing. 


Also another Gulf building that needs a mention, The Aspire Tower, Doha. 

Not only because I think it looks super, but aslo because it's a symbol of a tiny nation's boundless plans. To transform itself from a lazy oil rich nation to a nation of heros. 
Also it reminds me of happy times sitting of a balmy balcony, ice cold beer in hand watching the blinking lights though the dusty haze listing to the Adhan being belted out from all directions.  

Why has formatting decided to abandon my posts? 

As you say, the aircon is a problem. Perhaps there is a technical solution.

I'm sure I've seen a TV program about this one. Fantastic.

cactus flower wrote:

As you say, the aircon is a problem. Perhaps there is a technical solution.

There is, the barjeel, as seen in an awful lot of Mosques, many of the older ones in Iran.
or some modern variation thereof.

I give up! 

I like cities I can walk around, places that have life and interest, the bookshop or cafe. A lot of these places leave me cold. It is Architecture with the people as an after thought. As for Dubai ceche, Disney Land on steroids.

cookiemonster wrote:

I give up!

Cookie, that link is not a picture, its a link to a server script which returns a picture.

When that link is clicked, the server executes the script (image.php) and gets the info (number 854 in this case) and returns it to you on a webpage.

These sort of links don't usually work on forums. Yet I'd be interested to know if the same link works on P.ie.

Why does cookie have problems inserting images here? Is there anything we can do?

cactus flower wrote:

Why does cookie have problems inserting images here? Is there anything we can do?

Could it be to do with the settings and preferences he has on his profile page? Perhaps if cookiemonster has a look at those, the source of his trouble should (hopefully) emerge.

Dubai is certainly bad taste, but it also gives the impression that Europe is not the prevailing economy anymore.

Personnally I think all those rules about preserving landscapes and styles are becoming an impediment to creative architecture. For example, many Chinese couples are now coming to France for their wedding, because they want old backgrounds for their photographs.

So they build a lot at home, and they buy our services for maintaining old stones...

Squire wrote:

I like cities I can walk around, places that have life and interest, the bookshop or cafe. A lot of these places leave me cold. It is Architecture with the people as an after thought. As for Dubai ceche, Disney Land on steroids.

You can walk around Dubai, though Abu Dhabi is better for walking around. There is culture there it's just one doesn't see it from the outside because one tends to be dazzled by the bright lights and tall buildings. The Souks for example could take your hours and hours to explore and while some of it is tourist based they are still working and living markets used by everybody every day. They've done some great work restoring Souk Waqif in Doha...





When I was there about 4 years ago they were in the process of restoring it, the pathways and streets were torn up, trenches 6ft wide and just as deep all the way along the narrow streets with nothing but a few planks thrown across it and just as many people using it then as there are now. I got to see the finished article when I was back late last year and it's a really lovely place now, great atmosphere.

The Gulf Arabs are also coming to the realisation that it's not all about the new and are starting to use their wealth to show their amazingly rich and lengthy history with new meuseums popping up all over the place.

I did it again...

Go google Souk Waqif if you want to see it.

I hate architecture for architecture's sake. Or for the architect's sake more like. God they have big egos, some of them.

905 wrote:

I hate architecture for architecture's sake. Or for the architect's sake more like. God they have big egos, some of them.

Sanity at last.

Squire wrote:

905 wrote:

I hate architecture for architecture's sake. Or for the architect's sake more like. God they have big egos, some of them.

Sanity at last.

I was watching Newsnight about a month ago and there was an architect group planning to protest about regulations on their trade. Apparantly good taste, safety and common sense should'nt be allowed to get in the way of their art form.

905 wrote:

I hate architecture for architecture's sake. Or for the architect's sake more like. God they have big egos, some of them.

You must love Sir Norman.

*twitch*

905 wrote:

Squire wrote:

905 wrote:

I hate architecture for architecture's sake. Or for the architect's sake more like. God they have big egos, some of them.

Sanity at last.

I was watching Newsnight about a month ago and there was an architect group planning to protest about regulations on their trade. Apparently good taste, safety and common sense should'nt be allowed to get in the way of their art form.

I think on that I would have some sympathy with them. They are seriously over regulated and often by people who are a lot less expert than they are. The problem is that common sense and legislation are not necessarily the same thing. Not all Architects are of the egotist type I have found most very capable and practical people. I mention the UK CO2 nonsense somewhere, utterly daft and creates a whole unproductive industry. You should also read some of the design for disabled legislation. It has serious cost implications in some schemes.

Squire wrote:

905 wrote:

Squire wrote:

905 wrote:

I hate architecture for architecture's sake. Or for the architect's sake more like. God they have big egos, some of them.

Sanity at last.

I was watching Newsnight about a month ago and there was an architect group planning to protest about regulations on their trade. Apparently good taste, safety and common sense should'nt be allowed to get in the way of their art form.

I think on that I would have some sympathy with them. They are seriously over regulated and often by people who are a lot less expert than they are. The problem is that common sense and legislation are not necessarily the same thing. Not all Architects are of the egotist type I have found most very capable and practical people. I mention the UK CO2 nonsense somewhere, utterly daft and creates a whole unproductive industry. You should also read some of the design for disabled legislation. It has serious cost implications in some schemes.

Can you elaborate on your thoughts on design for disabled legislation, Squire ? Thanks.

My last job was writing a report on green building. I finally advised the constructor not to aim at a prestigious ecolabel (like BREEAM), because:

1) The certification process is tedious and adds an extra cost to the extra cost of green building

2) The survey is so intense that you de facto lose the intellectual sovereignty of what you're doing.

The French architects federation recently broke away from the ecolabel trust too. They called it "castrating".

There is a european Directive on energy rating of buildings and building regulations are generally getting tighter and tighter. There are some inconsistencies and illogicalities in the ratings but overall they mean cutting carbon fuel consumption.

Last year all this looked very costly, but with oil and gas prices going the way they are that is less the case. Government should invest in a good grant system for people on low incomes and should upgrade the social housing stock. Its a no brainer investment for a country like Ireland with no oil even without the climate change issue. One thing we should look at in a postive way is that finally real substantial investment is going into improving the technology of renewables and into better construction.