Monday, January 30, 2006

A look into the future

Check this link out. It features some technical drawings of some of the most mind-boggling projects planned for Dubai. Some of the stuff is quite simply unbelievable! Some of these projects have already been started.

9 comments:

nzm said...

Sigh!

Would love to know who wrote the copy for those pages!

Dubai Sunshine said...

I know! Horrible isn't it? Most of the phrases don't make sense. I am assuming it's a francophone person, just because of the way Dubai is written as "Dubaï", with an "ï". But maybe I'm wrong....

Anonymous said...

My guess is someone used the "google" language tool(http://www.google.com/language_tools?hl=fr)or something of the kind. You can get hilarious and incomprehensible results when translating with those.

Never the less, those projects are huge and interesting on an architectural and engineering stand point. I wonder, though, how environmentally friendly they are

It seems that the Dubai Emirate is quite into flashing its money instead of using it to better the workings of its society (justice system, work force, infrastructure, and so on - as you often refer in your blog). It feels very "nouveau riche" and tacky at times. One day i'll come over and check it out for myself and give a real opinion!

nzm said...

It's Las Vegas - but it's real!

LOL

Dubai Sunshine said...

Not so sure about the environmentally friendly part Chazoo...There have been some stories about the Palm islands harming sea life for example. And you should see the smog here....clear days are a rarity.

I don't know if tacky is the word...Superficial might describe it better. You touched upon a very important point. After 8 or so months here, I can frankly say that although Dubai is aiming to compete with large cities like New York and London, it's missing one essential ingredient: charm.

moryarti said...

and warmth (i am not talking about the weather)

nzm said...

And the history of the place is being buried or bulldozed - confined to museums and the odd fort that they wish to preserve/restore.

As far as the environment - well, little worry there. (she says sarcastically)

Nakheel made a big hoohaa over the fact that when they (and the Japanese contractor) built the tunnel over to the outer palm barrier, they saved so many hammour and other fish. I doubt that many self-respecting hammour were in the palm environs anyway.

The sand dredge ships, that on a rare clear day you can see spraying sand onto the World, (and the Palm in the early days of reconstruction), are literally scooping the sand off the bottom of the Gulf - taking with it the breeding and feeding grounds of the fish, as well as any shell and snail life that are important to the marine life cycle/food chain.

We refuse to dive on this side of the UAE anymore - you can't see more than 2m on a good day. At 10m, you've lost any daylight - it's crap. And the diveboat has a good chance of being swamped by the dredges as they sweep past sucking up another load of about-to-be-island sand and muck. Not to mention the danger to the divers underneath.

Rumour also has it that there is now a bad smell out on the palm because the water is not recirculating in the inner parts of the branches - the tidal flow is not enough to renew the water.

Seabee said...

Not only are some of the projects started, some are up and running. The Ski Slope for example.

Dubai Sunshine said...

The Ski Dome that's shown in the drawing is the Dubailand Ski Dome, which, to my knowledge, has not been started yet. It's not the same as the Mall of the Emirates Ski Slope.