AD Round Up: Architecture in Dubai

Maybe no other place on Earth has made more notice over the last few years than Dubai. From tall buildings to a houseboat, you can find all sort of architecture in this fantastic city. Enjoy our last Round Up of the week!

Jumeirah Gardens / SOM & Adrian Smith
It seems no one told Dubai about the financial crisis, as new projects keep being unveiled. This time, our green friends over Inhabitat tipped us on a mega development, owned by Maraas Holding: The Jumeirah Gardens. The master plan for this project was designed by SOM Chicago, and consists of a mixed-use development that incorporates low, medium, and high-density zones for business, residences (read more…)

Anara Tower by Atkins Design Studio
Well, here we have another skyscrapper in Dubai, this time in the shape of a giant wind turbine. When I saw this, i thought it had this turbine to generate eolic energy, but actually it’s a structure that holds a panoramic restaurant in the glass capsule at the top of the building, as you can see on the further images. The 2,15 feet (655m) tall tower includes a mixed use developement (read more…)

Houseboat / X-Architects
The fundamental structure of the floating home is created from two catamaran beams (for stability), stainless steel and glass. The layout of the structure, which is 20 meters by 6.7 meters, includes an upper deck containing a concealed kitchen, living room and an informal dining area. The Lower deck houses the bedrooms, bathroom and steering cabin. It also features a terrace (read more…)

The Origami / Kann Finch
This proposition reconsiders the stereotypical residential tower, in pursuit of a unique structuring of a new language, that the vertical organization of apartment living might allow. The formal constraints that the site demands are eroded to realize a rich expression of three dimensional image, surface and livability. The fundamental elements of the colonnaded street edges (read more…)

Al Rostamini Headquarters / MAD
The site for the Al Rostamini group headquarters is a long waterfront within the central business area of Dubai. Rather than creating a traditional big office block on this site, and severing the water from the public, we wanted to build something above it. Our concept is a thin slab, which hovers above the waterfront. This gives every office a view over the water, and frees up the ground level, allowing the public direct access to enjoy the waterfront (read more…)