i’m curious, what is your definition of architecture? i don’t want to be haughty, i’m just trying to understand. i mean, all of us have a different idea of architecture, also because it can mean a lot of things. for me, the burj kalifa is architecture. it is the product of a big project that considered all the main prerogatives (firmitas, utilitas and venustas). maybe we can discuss about the results. for example i’m not sure about its beauty, but in the end i’m sure that the designers thought about all the characteristics that i said before, so, for me, it is architecture. also, i think that this is even more: it represents the human genius, an engeneering goal and maybe a point of departure for something that can be more useful for people

Robi is being nice, you must have no understanding of the design that went into this building, they spent 8 months working on every aspect of this structure’s design before breaking ground. From the color of the baseboards in the bathroom to the tint of the glass that covers the building. This is so much architecture, its unbelieveable that you could even be driven to say its not.

Reply to “Proud to be from Dubai.”

1. “I’m sorry to hear that you were one of the ppl who was kicked out from this country. ya you were working here and getting your salary and making money that you will never ever make in your country but when you were here your mouth was closed cuz u r making money and when you were kicked out your mouth is open throwing wards on a city that make your life better than your country make.”

For the record I was not earning anymore money in Dubai than I was back home. So why did I go to Dubai? Because this is a property boom that will be talked about for decades to come. It’s a case study that many students will be covering for a long long time. But whats the main subject that they will be studying in relation to Dubai? It’s going to be on why Dubai failed. It’s not going to be about the buildings that were built. It’s going to be about why Dubai was trying to build 30 million houses when the current population was 1.5 million, yet 50% of that population consisted of construction workers that couldnt afford McDonalds, the population growth rate maxed out at 7% per year, 70% of developments were targeted towards millionaires yet only approximately 1.5% of the population were millionaires. There are hundreds of reasons about what lead of Dubai’s inevitable failure. So anyway, this is the reason I came to Dubai, not for money, but to learn.

So after spending 2 odd years in Dubai one thing I did learn was that much of the local population did not value the learning process. Without learning you have almost no ability to understand basic concepts such as demand and supply. When I was working at Nakheel I pleaded with another guy to not buy any real estate. When I tried to explain to him the concept of demand and supply (something that westerners learn in about grade 10) I realised that he had never learnt this concept. His reply was that god would always make property prices in Dubai increase. Now I’m not saying anything negative about his view, but had he had the opportunity to learn these basic concepts he wouldnt now be completely broke after working for 30 years. So what I’m trying to say is that the learning process is extremely important.

My argument about learning is also backed up by your inability to construct a basic sentence. The vast majority of what you’ve written makes no sense at all.

Secondly, you say “when you were here your mouth was closed cuz u r making money and when you were kicked out your mouth is open throwing wards on a city that make your life better than your country make.” Yes I agree. My mouth was definitely more closed that it normally would be. Maybe thats because you GO TO JAIL for speaking your mind in this region! Do you really think that you can go around saying that Sheikh Mohammad is completely insane? No. You’ll go to jail where you’ll be tortured regularily… and yes I do know for a fact that they torture people in Dubai jails. Sheikh Mohammed even introduced huge fines and jail time for any media outlets that said anything bad about Dubais economy. If you were allowed to speak your mind there might not have been so many lies printed in the newspapers, and internet websites wouldnt be blocked (and no I’m not talking about those naughty websites, but the blogs talking about daily life in Dubai).

2. “even if indian or pakistani they built this tower, they are like you when you came to this country looking for work to live. so they did their job and if they didnt do it well as you are saying. you also didnt do your work very well cause i guess you are one of the ppl who worked in nakheel and gets thir money ellegally!!”

Buddy you’ve really embarrassed yourself here. Just because Indians and Pakistanis came to your country to work, does not give anybody that right to treat them like animals. We are all equal. It doesnt matter if you come from the US, Ethiopia, Bahrain or India. Each person in all of those countries should be treated with the same amount of respect as you would expect anyone to treat you. Do you realise how sickening it is seeing people work 12 hour shifts, having had their passports stolen from them so that they cant see their families back home? They have to fight to get on an unairconditioned bus during 55 degree heat only to return to a shack in the middle of the desert and sleep on the ground next to someone else only inches away. Most countries would be ashamed to boast about something built by people who were forced into working with such conditions.

“you also didnt do your work very well cause i guess you are one of the ppl who worked in nakheel and gets thir money ellegally!!”" You are wrong. The only people that kept their jobs at Nakheel are the ones that sipped tea all day (yes they were not the westerners) and those people that are corrupt. Why don’t you check out this link below to hear about other peoples opinions on these corrupt people who STILL work at Nakheel. Not only have these corrupt people been allowed to keep their jobs, but they were even promoted!

http://www.eturbonews.com/5055/corruption-scandal-rocks-dubai

3.”believe me if some one will give you 10 $ you will come back and go up to burj khalifa. cause what make you come first time (MONEY) will make you come this time as well cause you are a money slave.”

No matter how much money someone has I think they’d be crazy to go up Burj Khalifa. How many buildings in Dubai have been built without enough concrete in the concrete mix? Too many. This is why so many brand new buildings have huge cracks in structural walls, why entire developments have been shut down and all the residents removed, and some new buildings have even collapsed. So at the risk of this tower collapsing, which it will one day (especially given that the footings are most likely not deep enough), no I won’t go up the tower for $10. You should go up though :-)

“you are a money slave.” Interesting. What sort of country demolishes all their oldest buildings to build new ones? You guys wanted to demolish all of your oldest buildings in Jumeirah and along the Dubai Creek. In most ethical countries, if a building has historical value it wont be demolished, regardless of how much money could be made from the property if it were demolished and a new, larger building was constructed in its place. So no, you (as being a citizen of the UAE, and someone from Dubai) are the money slave. This is the exact reason why Dubai will never be like its “dream” city, New York. As some of the other comments mention, cities are built upon history. You can’t just built a few poorly constructed, highly vacant buildings in the middle of a desert and say that its a city. Its the culture and history that make a city a city.

4. “BTW, just i want to notice this: all ppl who came to dubai between 2004-2008 they came for money but they didnt talk at that time you know why? cause they were making money but now all of them they will say bad things about dubai you know why? cause maybe they lost the money they made or the dream was not completed. so hardluck for those ppl.”

Why did you end at 2008? Oh yer, thats the year that everyone left!!! 1500 people a DAY left Dubai. Why? Because its just a desert. All those theme parks, towers… 99% of what was planned to be built in Dubai was never built. It was all based on marketing and speculation to yes – make a quick buck. Why? Because Dubai is broke! Sheikh Mohammed lost everything, all because of his “visions.” He had to sell Emirates airlines and pretty much every asset that Dubai owned. Abu Dhabi probably owns every grain of dirt in the sandpit that is Dubai. Why? Because Dubais laws are insane and everyone would have ended up in jail if they stayed there.

Anyway, yes lots of people lost money, but it was largely NOT their money. They had invested only a fraction of what was lost. The majority of money lost was by banks. This is a result of the rediculous payment plans imposed by developers. The ones affected the greatest though were the developers such as Nakheel and Emaar. They were selling something for say $1million yet had only collected 5-10% of the selling price. These developers had already spent more than what they had collected on huge infrastructure costs. So the developers had no money, hence they couldnt make their debt repayments, and this is why developers like Nakheel had to be bailed out by Abu Dhabi. Do you really think that the guys that bailed Dubai really care all that much about all the debts that they will never have to pay back? No. They’re sitting at home, watching tv and sinking beer with their friends. But Dubai can’t escape their debts. They’re just screwed no matter how much money thrown at it by Abu Dhabi. So with 99% of developments being cancelled, pretty much zero investors willing to trust corrupt Emirati locals every again, it looks like Dubais locals are the only ones whos dreams werent completed. ;-)

PS. I’m sitting here surfing my unrestricted internet, watching unrestricted tv, drinking beer, sayingwhatever I want, doing whatever I want, loving life. No this isnt a “dream” this is just my life… it’s YOUR dream though :-)))

PPS. You cant create a city by copying other cities buildings! You guys copied Paris’ La Defence building to make the DIFC, Abu Dhabis museum on Saddiyat Island is a copy of Sydneys Opera House, there are just so many buildings that have been copied.

PPPS. Why did you need to employ so many foreigners? Because none of the locals have the capacity (in terms of discipline or education) to undertake any of the projects that have been completed during Dubais last decade.