Is Dubai the Centre of the World’s Leading Construction?

Dubai, one of the seven United Arab Emirates, is engaged in a construction building boom of epic proportions, and generating widespread attention from around the world because of the amazing architecture and design of existing and forthcoming constructions.

By the beginning of the next decade, Dubai, which is a relatively tiny in terms of area, will be home to an incredible collection of superlative architectural projects. These will include the world’s tallest skyscraper, the first luxury underwater hotel, and a man-made archipelago of private islands that will look like a map of the world when viewed from above.

Burj Dubai, the world’s tallest building is still under construction, and will reach approximately 800 metres into the skyline of Dubai when complete, towering over the Taipei 101 by a staggering 292 metres. Construction of this super tall skyscraper began on September 21 2004 and in January 2009 is reached 818 metres. The final height is not being revealed until it is completed.

The primary structural system of Burj Dubai is reinforced concrete. When completed Burj Dubai’s construction will have used 330,000 m3 of concrete and 39,000 tonnes of steel rebar, (enough to extend over a quarter of the way around the world when laid end to end).

Not satisfied with being the tallest structure in the world, outside at ground level, there is going to be a record-setting fountain, which will be illuminated by 6,600 lights and 50 coloured projectors, it will be 275 metres long and will shoot water 150 metres into the air, accompanied by music.

Hydropolis, also currently under construction in Dubai, will be the world’s first luxury underwater hotel. It will include a land station, where guests will be welcomed, a connecting tunnel, through which a train will run, transporting guests to the main area of the hotel, and 220 suites within the underwater leisure complex. It will be about the size of London’s Hyde Park and will be one of the largest contemporary construction projects in the world, 20 metres below the surface of the Persian Gulf. This complex will house a number of extraordinary construction features and its completion is awaited with great interest from around the world.

Then there is The World, Dubai a man-made archipelago of 300 islands constructed in the shape of a world map and located four kilometeres off the coast of Dubai. Dredging began in September 2003 and the final stone on the breakwater was laid in January 2008. And there is more to come, next is The Universe, a set of islands clustered in the shape of the solar system.

Dubai along with China (http://images.businessweek.com/ss/05/12/china_wonders/index_01.htm) is certainly leading the way in the construction of some of the world’s most ambitious projects attracting extraordinary architects and engineers from around the world to design and develop these magnificent structures.