The Top 10 Architectural Wonders of Dubai
By Mike Payne
It is one of history’s most rapidly developing urban centers. It boasts the world’s “largest”, “tallest”, and “most expensive” architectural works in the world. The city of Dubai has transformed itself from a humble port city into a sprawling metropolis fueled by immeasurable wealth. To celebrate its achievements, here are the 10 greatest architectural wonders of Dubai.
10. The Emirates Towers
The earliest completed structure on this list was, for a time, a primary symbol of the Dubai landscape. The Emirates Towers are comprised of two individual structures, the Emirates Office Tower and the Jumeirah Emirates Towers Hotel. The Emirates Office Tower reaches a full 1,163 feet into the sky, while the Jumeirah Emirates Hotel is a bit shorter at 1,014 feet– making these the 12th and 29th tallest buildings in the world, respectively. The Emirates Towers complex is joined by a two story, 100,000 sq. ft. retail mall set on a 42 sq. acre development of gardens, waterfalls and public seating areas. A room at the Jumeirah Emirates Hotel this holiday season starts at $420/night– and climbs quickly from there.
9. The Dubai Marina
Upon its completion, the Dubai Marina will be the world’s largest man-made marina. While only its first phase of development is complete, it is on its way to unseating Marina Del Ray, California, as the world’s greatest. This marina will hold over 200 high-rise buildings and complexes including the Dubai Internet City, Dubai Media City and the American University in Dubai. Unlike other areas in Dubai, this marina is publicly accessible for boats via foreshoreways and ocean inlets that connect it with the sea-going world.
8. Business Bay
In hopes to become the financial epicenter of the Middle East and later the world, Business Bay is set as the heart of Dubai’s commercial district. The future home to 230 buildings both commercial and residential, Busines Bay will be Dubai’s answer to Manhattan, NY and Ginza, Tokyo. Business Bay is built on 64 million square feet of space, including a waterway to be dredged from an existing creek.
7. Mall of Arabia
To be constructed in the City of Arabia section of Dubailand, the Mall of Arabia will become the world’s largest mall– overtaking the South China Mall in Dongguan, China. This 10,000,000 square foot behemoth will feature two levels of shopping and entertainment, rooftop hotels and relaxation spots– as well as the world’s largest Starbucks cafe.
6. Burj Al Arab
(image courtesy: eric_swist)
Among Dubai’s greatest completed works of architecture, the Burj Al Arab Hotel is one of the most recognizable in the world. The Burj Al Arab is the tallest active hotel in the world, reaching 1,053 feet from its base on an artificial island on Dubai’s coast. The price of a suite in the Burj Al Arab starts at $1,000/night, climbing to $28,000/night for the royal suite. Designed as a symbol of Dubai’s urban revival, the appearance of a sail taking wind, has been both hailed and hated by critics of architecture throughout the world.
5. Hydropolis
To be built not far from the site of the Burj Al Arab, Hydropolis will be the world’s first underwater luxury resort. It will be constructed 66 feet below the surface of the Persian Gulf, constructed of reinforced steel, concrete and plexiglass. The resort will provide 2,200 underwater suites to its guests and will cost over $1 billion to build. Construction has been delayed, cancelled, re-scheduled and delayed again, so it might be safe to assume the Hydropolis may not be built until later this century, if at all.
4. The World Islands
Among the world’s largest man-made archipelagos, The World Islands off the Dubai coast combine for 144 miles of shoreline. Designed as a scaled map of the world broken into over 300 individual islands, The World Islands are among Dubai’s most expensive pieces of residential real estate– selling for between $15 million and $50 million each. It had been rumored that actors Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie purchased the Ethiopia island, a rumor that was later proven false.
3. Dubailand
At present, Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida is the largest theme park in the world. When the Dubailand theme park in Dubai is completed, it will be twice the size of Disney World, setting the bar practically out of reach for future developers. This 107 square mile superpark includes 45 “mega projects” and 200 sub projects, including projects from Dreamworks, Six Flags, Marvel and others. $6 Billion in private capital has been raised to fund the park’s development, with completion on its final phase slated for 2015.
2. The Palm Islands
(image courtesy: twocentsworth)
Arguably the most recognizable man-made island on the planet, the Palm Islands Jumeirah is a palm frond peninsula fanning out from the Dubai coast. Construction on the first of three Palm Islands began in July of 2001, with residents moving into their homes on Jumeira in 2006. The other two Palm Islands remain under construction and not-yet-liveable, but the existing island, the Jumeira, is deep into residential development. Real estate magnate Donald Trump himself is currently building on the island, constructing the Palm Trump International Hotel and Tower. When residential and commercial projects are complete, the Palm Jumeira will feature a monorail transit system, 4,000 residences and 32 hotels, making it a virtual city unto itself.
1. Burj Dubai
(image courtesy: burjdubaiskyscraper.com)
The crowning achievement of the Dubai skyline is its highest reaching tower, the Burj Dubai. Upon completion in the coming year, the Burj Dubai will be the world’s tallest building at 2,684 feet. At present, it has already outstretched the Taipei 101 as the world’s tallest, having reached 2,320 feet on September 26th of this year. Slated for completion in mid-2009, the Burj Dubai will open its doors to occupants in September of 2009. Want to claim some of that space for yourself? Office space prices has reached $4,000/sq. ft., while residential prices are available for just $3,500/sq. ft. Those prices make Manhattan look cheap…
Thanks for reading, StyleCravers, Diggers, Stumblers and otherwise. What do you think about this top 10? Are these works justified in today’s failing world economy? Is there another Dubai building you think should have been included here? Share your thoughts in the comments. Also, please share this article with your friends, and be sure to vote it up on your favorite social media site. Thanks for reading!
(main image courtesy: get_down)
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Wednesday, December 17, 2008 7:44AM
blooming hippies
Wednesday, December 17, 2008 7:47AM
The picture for the marina is not Dubai. Its Singapore.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008 7:49AM
That is going to be the most amazing ghost town on Earth in a few years!
Wednesday, December 17, 2008 1:23PM
[...] http://stylecrave.com/2008-12-16/the-top-10-architectural-wonders-of-dubai/ [...]
Friday, December 19, 2008 4:31PM
[...] Here we are, at the end of yet another week on StyleCrave. This 30 minute retrospective before we end our week is always a high point. Its a chance to take a step back and take in our favorite topics of the week, but the hardest part is narrowing those favorites into a list. That said, here were this week’s top stories– enjoy reading ‘em, we had a blast writing them! We suggest you start with our top feature of the week, the 10 Architectural Wonders of Dubai. [...]
Tuesday, January 6, 2009 8:58AM
Stunning. Though I agree with stuart that Dubai seems to be struggling for all that building and innovation
Monday, January 12, 2009 3:10AM
There is an old saying in Middle east it goes like "When Arab has lots of oil to use, they rub it on their asses" (well, that's a bad translation)… Which means, when Arab has lots of "anything" to use they do stupid things just to use it. Which we see 10 examples above.
- we can solve most of the Africa 's problem for 20 billion $
- ohh, but how about a nonsense gold hotels in the middle of a desert just for extremely rich people, whom happens to be the 1% of the world.
Monday, January 12, 2009 3:10AM
this proves capitalism works
Monday, January 12, 2009 3:10AM
The 1% is nessecary part of the 99% needed to make the world go round. Let them eat cake.
Monday, January 12, 2009 3:10AM
they build it to ensure their financial stability when oil runs out..2020?……..sigh…..such ignorance….
Monday, January 12, 2009 3:10AM
Well, there's a saying in the west it goes like "If you've got it, flaunt it!"
Monday, January 12, 2009 3:10AM
Let Africa solve it's own problems with all the gold they can get from, that is what Arabs did by finding oil.
Monday, January 12, 2009 3:10AM
oh, i thought i was the only one to feel that way. There is a lot of mis-directed money in this world.
Monday, January 12, 2009 3:10AM
Building a huge hotel is one thing. What upsets me is that this new theme park will put people out of work in Orlando. For what? Just to say they have a bigger one? It's nice to see how the billions of dollars are spent from people that have to buy gas produced from oil.
Monday, January 12, 2009 3:10AM
People that write articles like this obviously have never been to Dubai. The quality of life in Dubai is very low. They import 100% of their food. The traffic is some of the worst traffic in the world. The parking even worse than the traffic. The price of real estate is completely unstable, as prices have increased 20 times in 3 years. Dubai has a huge slave population that is kept outside of the city. I have seen many "bait and switch" schemes in Dubai. There is no integration of foreigners to UAE or Dubai. Either you are Emirati or you are not. When times get tough, the foreigners in Dubai will get screwed.
Monday, January 12, 2009 3:10AM
I do not know what to make of Dubai, from a design point of view, is it just kitch or is the good architecture involved?
From a publicity point of view, it is great. At leat this blog has had the guts to have a list, I will do something on the interiors of Dubai.
But money does not buy good taste.
Monday, January 12, 2009 3:10AM
Dubai is an interesting place, but after thinking about it, long-term, it seems that quite a bit of money will be lost, after it loses it's buzz.
If everything is unaffordable, they will eventually start to lose money. Everyday will afford fully booked $28k rooms.
I wonder if all of these "BIG" places that have tons of ex-patriots in them will become targets of terrorism. I wonder. I wonder. I wonder.
Monday, January 12, 2009 3:10AM
dubai marina looks strangely like singapore
Monday, January 12, 2009 3:10AM
Not to mention that, from an ecological standpoint, building islands off of a coast is completely ruining the current ocean ecosystem in and around Dubai. Why is it that we humans feels the need to destroy the natural beauty just to have a legacy past death?
Monday, January 12, 2009 3:10AM
Good point. These these are creative and beautiful, but the money spent definitely could have been put to better use.
Monday, January 12, 2009 3:10AM
Wow! I did not know that Dubai is working on becoming a financial epicenter of the Middle East. They do have the funds! Plus, I had no idea they were building a "Dubailand" theme park. I would like to visit the country; I'm sure it would be a trip!
Monday, January 12, 2009 3:10AM
WELL, lets set the record straight. Half of these projects which are still in construction have been shelved or delayed because of the recent credit squeeze. Dubai itself is leveraged vehicle, leveraged 148% of the GDP!!! Interestingly they will manage a total collapse by selling all the best assets to its neighbors – Abu Dhabi. So much for all the marketing gimmicks. Oh, BTW, there are some breathtaking visuals you still havent captured – Sonapur – the place where all the constructions workers are DUMPED and treated like animals.
Monday, January 12, 2009 3:10AM
@Pastafarian
bullshit, $20B wont do shit for africa. You are a blatant liar and ignorant for spreading false rumors
http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/25/7/34783829.pdf.Every year since 2001 the total official development assistance to Africa has been over $20B, and clearly africa still has many many problems
the UAE (which dubai is part of) has sent considerable aid over the years to humanitarian and relief assistance to needy people throughout the world
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-16645921.html
Dubai knows their oil wealth is temporary and are spending that considerable wealth towards creating a sustainable world class economy, and as much as you might think some of their projects are financial excess, they are nevertheless profitable and sustainable. I respect them for their achievements
Monday, January 12, 2009 3:10AM
Dubai is bankrupt – and those man-made islands (4ft above sea-level) – they'll get washed away soon enough…
Nothing there before and nothing there now… who'd want to go there` more than once?
Monday, January 12, 2009 3:10AM
just amazing, thanks for the story
Monday, January 12, 2009 3:10AM
its all that simple huh?
Tuesday, January 20, 2009 12:46PM
Don't see any hospitals or schools..ho hum
Wednesday, January 21, 2009 2:34PM
Hello, NUMBER 8 IS SINGAPORE! (PICTURE!)
Saturday, March 28, 2009 2:39AM
exciting
Wednesday, April 1, 2009 6:32PM
Look at the Mall of Arabia concept art. Why are there Velociraptors in it?!? Dubai is cloning dinosaurs now?!?