Dubai is fast becoming a land of wonders and we are hearing and seeing things out of Dubai that a few years ago we couldn’t even have dreamed of, in fact, many of us still cannot dream them. Many of these are pure engineering master pieces and tourists from around the world flock to see them. With 25 percent of all construction cranes in the world currently in Dubai, you get a picture of the change that is happening over there. Dubai is changing the way people look at the world and is the perfect creative playground for engineers and architects.
The Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, also known as the Dubai tower, officially opened in January 2010. It is 162 stories high and 828 meters tail, and engineering masterpiece and a focal point for the Dubai skyline.
Dubai is also famous for their construction of islands off their coast like the Palm Islands and the World Island. The creation of the Palm Jumeirah began in June 2001. Shortly after, the Palm Jebel Ali was announced and reclamation work began. The Palm Deira, which is planned to have a surface area of 46.35 square kilometres, was announced for development in October 2004. Construction was originally planned to take 10–15 years, but that was before the impact of the global credit crunch hit Dubai. It will see commercial and residential buildings across the islands with hotels, entertainment blocks and all of this is attracting many celebrities. The World Island has been put on hold because of the financial crisis but is set to continue soon. The concept of the world is genius as people may ‘live’ in their parts of the world, i.e – if you are living in the African area of the World Island then your home and surrounding area will be themed as such. The engineering behind this is amazing, not only are they creating paradise, but the rocks used are creating new reefs that are seeing tropical fish and sea life that Dubai as never experienced before.
Hydropolis, still in the development stages, but the Hydropolis will be a hotel constructed completely under water, and would be the world’s first underwater luxury resort. It was planned to be situated 66-foot (20 m) below the surface of the Persian Gulf, just off Jumeira Beach in Dubai, and projected to cost $300 million to construct. Imagine looking out your window and seeing tropical fish, moving an entire hotel to the Ocean floor would take some serious engineering genius, but if it is possible anywhere, then it has to be Dubai.
Dubai Sports City for a place that is not known for its sport, the question is raised – why would Dubai spend billions to build a Dubai Sports City that is going to contain a world-class 60,000-seat stadium, 25,000-seat cricket grounds, a 10,000-seat indoor arena, a 5,000-seat field hockey stadium and an 18-hole golf course designed by none other than Ernie Els thrown in for good measure. The answer is because, they can. Dubai is clearly the place of dreams and we can see why designers, architect s and engineers are flocking there.
Dubailand the name says it all and clearly shows Dubai’s aim of making tourism the completely sustainable solution to the areas declining oil production. Dubailand, when completed, is going to be the largest theme park on the planet. It will consist of seven fully themed worlds with a staggering 45 mega projects. Not to mention a massive indoor snow park (in the middle of the desert) and 200 smaller hub projects. Dubailand will be more than double the size of Disney World, and is expecting to bring in 40 000 visitors a day.
Whoever you are, if you travel to Dubai, I promise you that you will be amazed at what is going on there. Already there are marvels to wow the senses, including a underwater restaurant, indoor ski slope and a seven star hotel, but it is what is planned that will blow away our wildest dreams. It is a testament to engineering that mankind can achieve such heights, and it is amazing what an endless supply of money can achieve. The trailer manufacturers must have been happy with all this construction…
