Dynamic Architecture (Dubai)

Dynamic Architecture rotating floors - rotating tower in Dubai. LINK: Youtube

Sky

Sky from Philip Bloom on Vimeo.

Best to view this HD time lapse in full screen. Filmmaker Philip Bloom shot this in Dubai over five days and nights, capturing the luminous grandeur of the city; music is “Xibalba” from The Fountain by Clint Mansell.

Philip’s blog is a great resource for HD-DSLR aficionados. Via: Neatorama

World’s Largest LED Project Completed in Abu Dhabi

"If you think your neighbor’s holiday lighting spectacle is an exercise in excess, wait till you see the world’s largest LED project, recently completed in Abu Dhabi. Created by Asymptote Architecture with lighting design by Arup, The Yas Hotel is a wrapped with a sparkling shell composed of more than 5,300 diamond-shaped panels bristling with over 5,000 LED fixtures. The curvilinear field of lights is capable of running color-changing light sequences and can even display low-res three-dimensional videos.” LINK

Marvel Theme Park Concept Art

While the reality of a Marvel Superheroes theme park in Dubai is tentative (now projected to open in 2012), Chimera Design has produced a series of illustrations depicting the concepts and general look of the park.

Most of Marvel super-heroes will have their own attractions including the Fantastic Four, Hulk, Iron Man, X-Men, Silver Surfer and of course Spiderman in what will be probably a different ride than the Spiderman ride at Universal Islands of Adventure. Also, according to a a recent post of Brady Mac Donald of the L.A Times “Off-site testing has already begun on three of the planned attractions: “Flying with Spidey”, “Fantasticar” and “X-Men: Danger Room”.

Take a peek at Stark Laboratories, the City of Superheroes, Crater Lake, and other rides depicted.

Link. Image: Chimera Design, Via: Neatorama

On the top of Burj Dubai's spire

This video taken from the top of the Burj Dubai, the tallest man-made point on earth. The shaking? That's because the tower's wobbling.

[YouTube, Via: Skyscraper Forums, Via: Mahoney's Playground, Via: Gizmodo]

Cleaning windows on the Burj Dubai

Rather them than me. LINK, Via: Youtube

Renault F1 Dubai Autodrome Crash

Team Renault F1 Roadshow comes to Dubai Autodrome and, after hours trying to get the car sorted, it finally gets on the track....... for a few seconds....... LINK: Youtube

3D Art Exhibition

“A 3D art exhibition by Patrick Hughes in Dubai." LINK

Modern Architecture - Seawater Vertical Farm: Dubai

To deal with the lack of fresh water in Dubai and other Arabian nations, Italian architectural firm Studiomobile created the Seawater Vertical Farm to cool and humidify greenhouses. This innovative concept produces adequate humidity to convert seawater into fresh water, necessary for irrigation. LINK

Inside the Spectacular Burj Al Arab, Dubai.

Rising from the Arabian Gulf on an island 919 ft from the shores of Jumeirah beach and the opulent city of Dubai, stands the iconic Burj Al Arab, a masterpiece of contemporary architecture and what claims to be the most luxurious hotel in the world. Designed to resemble the graceful sails of an Arabian vessel, Burj Al Arab is known as the symbolize of Dubai's urban transformation.

Architect Tom Wright said "The client wanted a building that would become an iconic or symbolic statement for Dubai; this is very similar to Sydney with its Opera House, or Paris with the Eiffel Tower. It needed to be a building that would become synonymous with the name of the country."

The hotel cost $650 million to build. It has 202 bedroom suites that range in size from 1,819 sq ft to 8,396 sq ft. It is one of the most expensive hotels in the world costing between $1,000 to $28,000 per night.

The Burj Al Arab is dressed in vibrant colours and lavish materials. Chairs and sofas are upholstered in flame-reds and yellows while white Tuscan columns, spiral staircase covered in marble and wrought-iron gold leaf railing give the hotel a lavish feel. LINK

Dubai Artificial Island City Mixes Mythic Past and Future With a Death Star 3D Neighborhood for Kicks

From afar, Dubai is the most exciting place on earth, almost every day shaping up to be more like the utopic sci-fi fantasy city we had in our heads growing up. Its latest architectural stuntwork/masterpiece is the 1.5-billion-square-foot Waterfront City designed by Rem Koolhaas, an entire self-contained city resting atop an artificial island that mixes inspirations from ninth-century mosques to Koolhaas's own ideas about the THX 1138-esque generic city.
The island will be divided into 25 identical blocks, which will be populated by a mix of tall and squat towers punctuated by more fantastic buildings, like a spiraling 82-story tower, and a 44-story sphere (trendy now, no?) that will be its own mini-city within a mini-city complete with a sprawling network of escalator tubes (pictured in the gallery). There's also traditional parks and stuff inside to keep it a little more earthly, but every new gargantuan development like this makes us wonder just how far Dubai will push it next. LINK

Dubai to Build the World's Largest Arch Bridge in 2012

If any real city on our planet can claim an active stake in creating the urban landscape of the future, it's probably Dubai. Artificial islands arranged in the shape of the world? Check. The world's only seven-star hotel? Check. And in 2012, it will also become home to the largest, tallest arch bridge ever.
Here's some info on the bridge as envisioned by New York architecture firm Fxfowle:

- It's one mile long and 670 feet tall.
- It will have 12 lanes for traffic.
- It will cost 817 million dollars.
- The design has Sheikh Mohammed's official stamp of approval.
- The bridge will carry more than 2,000 vehicles per hour in each direction.
- A metro line will run across the middle.
- Construction begins in March, with a slated completion date of 2012. Images by Fxfowle. LINK

"Dubai World Islands"

Dubai is home to an increasingly infamous set of awe-inspiring man-made islands, by far the largest in the world. One would almost have to be living on an island oneself to have not seen or heard of this first item on this amazing islands list. These islands, in the shape of everything from a palm to the world itself, constitute the most massive land-moving operation of all time. Dubai has recognized that oil, its original source of wealth, will only last for so long. With islands like these and a thriving tourist industry around them there is no doubt that Dubai will outlast its oil supplies. Via: Youtube