Designboom has an excellent round up of the urban developments that are taking place in Dubai City. With an estimated 15% to 25% of the world’s 125,000 construction cranes building many of the world’s leading architects dreams, Dubai is going to look fantastic in the true sense of the word (although we’re not too sure what it will be like to live there??).
The article features amazing projects including the Cloud (pictured) - a resort city designed by Nadim Karam elevated 300 meters in the air above Dubai, supported on slanting legs that resemble rain. Designboom describes it as “an antithesis to the sum of skyscrapers spreading over the entire region”.
dubai architecture: new buildings in the united arab emirates
Does anyone else have a problem with all this oohing and ahhing over a country that has some very serious problems when it comes to human rights? The construction workers on these projects are crammed a dozen to a room and treated like slaves. I’m sure there is a great argument for separating design and politics but it seems to me that Dubai is getting a free pass on slavery, torture, and human rights abuses due to their everlasting checkbooks.
March 6th, 2008 at 6:48 am
This is just one of the amazing projects being lined up in Dubai…
Check out http://www.slideshare.net/jassim/dubai-and-uae-architecture
for more info on the other projects
March 6th, 2008 at 8:19 am
All things in life have elements of benevolence and malevolence. I agree that the human rights abuses are abhorrent, but I’m at a loss about how to change the minds of a ruling family which has been in power since the mid 19th century.
March 6th, 2008 at 6:26 pm