A (very brief) Guide to Dubai
Short a construction crane for a building project? Blame it on Dubai. It’s estimated that this architecture capital has 25% of the world’s cranes working around the clock. Although Chicago gave birth to the skyscraper, in recent years Dubai has been the city to master constructing these tall and extravagant buildings.
Dubai’s economy was initially built on oil, but its oil reserves have already been significantly depleted and only account for a small percentage of the economy. So the government recently decided to reinvent its image as a major international hub of commerce.
Predominat Architecture:
Want a peek at the future? Here’s the place.
Places to See:
Hydropolis: The world’s first underwater hotel
Burj Dubai: The world’s tallest building,
Burj Al Arab: This luxury hotel is the only self-proclaimed seven-star hotel in the world. The building exterior is meant to represent Dubai’s transformation and resembles a sail.
Dubailand: A Walt Disney-style amusement park expected to crush Disney as the biggest and best thing in the world.
Burj Khalifa: As of 2010, this skyscraper is the tallest man-made building ever built. The $150 billion building has 160 floors and stands at 2,717 feet high.
The World: This archipelago of 300 man-made islands was constructed with sand dredged from the sea. The islands are meant to look like a map of the Earth and can be seen from space.
