amazing building

Dubai's World-Beating Buildings

A building boom in the emirate has led to a whole host of chart breakers, in categories including highest apartment, biggest mall, and one of the world's most unique resorts

By Reena Jana

Dubai has been grabbing headlines lately -- for more reasons than one. First on everyone's minds is the current controversy over Dubai Ports World's acquisition of Britain's Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co., making the Middle Eastern company the possible operator of shipping terminals at major U.S. ports.

Another reason this United Arab Emirate is gaining widespread global attention: Dubai is experiencing a construction boom, with new buildings going up at a pace that rivals China's development -- albeit on the scale of an emirate roughly the size of Yosemite National Park, and with a population of only 1.4 million.

Dubai's crown prince, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, has set a national goal of attracting 15 million tourists in 2010. Interestingly, that's the same year that Dubai's known oil reserves will most likely be tapped out, according to The Economist. Here's a look at 10 wonders of the quickly changing cityscape. Many promise to be the world's largest, tallest, or first-of-their-kind projects.

Burj Dubai

Skidmore, Owings, & Merrill

The Burj Dubai will be the world's tallest building when it opens in 2009. Its shape is inspired by the indigenous desert flowers that often appear as decorative patterns in Islamic architecture, but it also has an engineering purpose: The swirl shape ensures that the mass of the structure lessens as it reaches the top, making the structure steadier. A mixed-use building developed by Dubai's Emaar Properties, the Burj Dubai will house shops, offices, residences, and entertainment venues.

Hydropolis

Joachim Hauser

This hotel, the world's first underwater luxury resort, brings new meaning to the "ocean-view room." Situated 66 feet below the surface of the Persian Gulf, Hydropolis will feature 220 guest suites. Reinforced by concrete and steel, its Plexiglas walls and bubble-shaped dome ceilings offer sights of fish and other sea creatures. It's scheduled to open in late 2007.

The Palm Islands

Al Nakheel Properties

The three artificial islands that make up the Palm (comprising the Palm Jumeirah, the Palm Jebel Ali, and the Palm Deira) are the world's biggest man-made islands. Each was built from a staggering 1 billion cubic meters of dredged sand and stone, taken from Dubai's sea bed and configured into individual islands and surrounding breakwaters. The complex will house a variety of tourist attractions, ranging from spas and diving sites to apartments and theaters. The entire complex is designed to collectively resemble a date palm tree when seen from the sky.

The World

Al Nakheel Properties

Ever wish the world was smaller? This group of more than 250 man-made islands was designed to resemble the entire world when seen from the air. The islands, which range from 250,000 to 900,000 square feet, can be bought by individual developers or private owners -- starting at $6.85 million.

The only way to get between each island is by boat...or yacht, given the clientele. A notable engineering feat: The project incorporates two protective breakwaters to protect the islands from waves, consisting of one submerged reef (the outer breakwater) and an above-water structure (the inner breakwater).

Sports City

Dubailand LLC

A standout section of the sprawling, 3-billion-square-foot theme-park-like development known as Dubailand, Sports City will offer visitors a staggering variety of athletic venues, from elegant, gigantic stadia to state-of-the-art participatory parks for skateboarding, indoor rock climbing, and other activities. Not to mention facilities for polo, car racing, golf, and extreme sports. The stadia are designed by German architects von Gerkan, Marg & Partners, the firm behind the graceful 2004 update of Berlin's 1936 Olympic stadium.v

Eco-Tourism World

Dubailand LLC

Another sub-world of Dubailand, Eco-Tourism World promises to offer a variety of nature-themed attractions. These include a petting zoo, gardens, a desert safari, camping facilities, horse-riding center, and, as seen here in model form, biospheres in which various flora and fauna unused to an intense desert climate will thrive in controlled habitats.

One Central Park

Norman Foster and Partners

Adding to the superlatives rising on the Dubai skyline is One Central Park, a mixed-use building that will feature the world's highest apartment. A sense of loftiness is communicated in the building's design, which places the residential section of the structure above buttressed "fins" that separate the public spaces from the private ones.

The building is also eco-friendly, as it's oriented to reduce solar gain. Taking into consideration the fact that skyscrapers tend to be inefficient in terms of energy consumption, Foster & Partners gave the building a central core that absorbs heat and a sunshade system, to reduce cooling costs. Dealing with temperature is a key design challenge within a hot desert environment.

Dubai Mall

DP Architects

Thirty-five million people are expected to visit the Dubai Mall, developed by Emaar Properties, during 2006, its inaugural year. There's plenty to do, since, at more than 5 million square feet, it's the biggest mall in the world. It will house 15 sub-malls, a skating rink, an aquarium, and the planet's biggest gold souk (market).

Ski Dubai

F + A Architects

When one thinks of a vacation in Dubai, the first images that might to come to mind are sun and sand. Now add snow. Two feet of snow, topped with a daily layer of fresh powder, to be exact -- thanks to the system of 23 blast coolers and snow guns inside Ski Dubai. It might be 135 degrees Fahrenheit outdoors, but inside the 32,290 square-foot, $275 million structure, visitors ski and snowboard. The heavily insulated facility also includes the world's largest indoor snow park, offering 9,842 square feet for sledding or bobsledding.

UAE Spaceport

Space Adventures

With an estimated price tag of at least $265 million, the world's first spaceport is strategically located to serve both residents and visitors to Dubai. The UAE spaceport actually falls inside the border of a nearby emirate, Ras Al-Khaimah, but it's a quick drive from Dubai, and the developer, America's Space Adventures, is clearly targeting Dubai tourists and residents.

While there's no official opening date or final design set, early renderings indicate that the spaceport will feature a triangular runway/launchpad and domed passenger terminals.