by the al maktoum dynasty since 1833 and has existed in its modern state since 1971. the current ruler is
mohammed bin rashid al maktoum, who is also the prime minister and vice president of the united arab emirates.
the rather small city has a population of 1.6 million people and a 37 billion USD economy based largely on trade,
manufacturing and financial services. contrary to popular belief petrol and natural gas only make up a small
percentage of revenues.
the city has gained world-wide attention in the past few years because of its booming economy and ambitious
architectural projects. with a focus on business and tourism, the city is ramping up construction on an
unprecedented level. in fact, dubai is said to be home to 15% to 25% of the world's 125,000 construction cranes.
don't think that the architectural expansion is over, because a slew of new project are on the table and in
the works as we speak.
here is only a small portion of the buildings that are being proposed, constructed or developed in dubai
and its surrounding region.
the 'burj dubai' is a supertall skyscraper currently under construction in dubai. when completed in 2009
it will be the tallest man made structure in the world. it was designed by adrian smith who worked
with the building's architecture and engineering firm skidmore, owings and merrill until 2006.
as of march 1, 2008 the building measured 611.3m tall. on september 12, 2007, it passed toronto's
cn tower to become the world's tallest freestanding structure.
'the cloud' is a speculative design for a resort city elevated 300 metres in the air above dubai
and supported on slanting legs resembling rain. it is designed by nadim karam of lebanese architect
atelier hapsitus. it is a horizontal presence on an elevated platform, an antithesis to the sum of
skyscrapers spreading over the entire region.
'dubai hub one' is a design proposal for a cultural hub, serving the UAE. designed by studio nova, the
space has been created to work in much the same way as a shopping mall, except for the
consumption of culture instead of goods. its forms have been generated using algorithms and special
programing scripts creating a dense structure of spaces.
zaha hadid' dancing towers are planned to be located in dubai's business bay development
area. the plan consists of three buildings which rise up from the ground bending and
intertwining with each other to create fluid animation of the forms.
"opus' is another dubai building designed by british architect zaha hadid. the 235 million GBP
development was designed for the business bay for omniyat properties. it stands at 20 stories located
next to the towering burj dubai. hadid's concept was to have the building open onto the city,
framing the views. it is currently underdevelopment and is planned to be completed by 2010.
'dubai renaissance' was designed by architects rem koolhaas and fernando donis of OMA for the
business bay development competition. their entry lost to hadid's dancing towers.
'0-14 tower' was designed by resier and umemoto and rur architecture pc along with dubai developer,
shahab lutfi. the building was designed for dubai's business bay and features 22 floors covered in
a double skin facade that's outermost skin is constructed from 40c, thick perforated concrete.
the one meter space between the skins creates a chimney effect, cooling the building.
the 'eta hotel' is a 68-room boutique hotel complete with restaurant, bar and roof top pool
located in a high density commercial neighborhood in dubai. the structure was designed by
sanjay puri & mimish shah, an indian firm.
'duabi pearl' was originally conceived by the omnix grop in 2002 but has since been taken over by
a consortium of investors led by the al fahim group. the 3 billion USD project overlooks the pal jumeriah
and covers 1.4 million square metres of the dubai media and technology free zone.
'dubai grand pyramid' obviously derives its form from the egyptian pyramids, with a modern twist.
this pyramid will be a multi-use space and will be flanked by two smaller pyramids housing the
developer falconcity's offices and commercial space for a theme park.
'the 'arabian blade' is a mixed-use tower designed by claudio catalano. the building
was inspired by plant forms and combines several volumes into one unit. it will
contain residences, a hotel and commercial space.
'dubai towers' is the centerpiece for the large 'lagoons' development. the buildings and the
development were all conceived of by TVS. the four towers range in size from 54 to 97 floors
and were inspired by the flames and movement of candlelight.
rmjm architects have designed this building for abu dhabi convention centre. the structure features an
organically shaped office tower, which blends seamlessly into the horizontal convention space below.
architect david fisher is the designer of the 'da vinci rotating tower', one of the most innovative an
unique buildings to be built in dubai. the 250 meter tower will allow each floor to rotate freely allowing
the building to shift its shape. in between each floor horizontal wind turbines will allow the building to
produce energy.
