Ever wished you had superpowers and could fly through cities like Superman? Now is your chance! Well, kind of. The new XLine Dubai Marina lets you zipline at speeds up to 80 km/hr through the “City of Gold.” An upgrade from its first XLine on the Dubai Fountain, its new sequel is twice the distance, twice the time and, of course, twice the thrill, excitement, and adventure.
UAE: The Latest Architecture and News
Soar Through Dubai's Cityscape With This Extreme Zipline
Zaha Hadid Architects' Bee’ah Headquarters Tops Out in UAE
The Zaha Hadid Architects-designed Bee’ah Headquarters has topped out in Sharjah, UAE, as its structural steelwork and centerpiece concrete dome have been put in place.
With a design inspired by the form of sand dunes and oriented to optimize prevailing winds, the complex is striving for the highest standards of renewable energy and sustainable future targets, an appropriate goal for the new headquarters of the UAE's leading integrated environmental & waste management company.
Construction Breaks Ground on Calatrava's UAE Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai
Construction has begun on one of the centerpiece structures at the upcoming Expo 2020 Dubai, the Santiago Calatrava-designed UAE Pavilion.
Inspired by the shape of a flying falcon, the UAE Pavilion covers more than 15,000 square meters and four floors, including a 1,717-square-meter top-story hospitality lounge. A 588-square-meter mezzanine will house support functions, with the remaining two floors containing 12,000 square meters will of exhibition space showcasing displays that respond to the Expo theme of “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future.”
MVRDV Unveils Pixelated Mixed-Use Community Around BIG-Designed Plaza in Abu Dhabi
MVRDV has teamed up with local architects Dewan Architects + Engineers to create Pixel, a 76,000-square-meter (818,000-square-foot) mixed-use residential development that will serve as a centerpiece of Abu Dhabi’s new Makers District.
Also featuring a landscape and public realm design by BIG, Pixel will become MVRDV’s first constructed project in the United Arab Emirates upon its scheduled completion in 2020.
Critical Round-Up: The Louvre Abu Dhabi by Jean Nouvel
Earlier this month, Abu Dhabi’s much-awaited “universal museum,” the Louvre Abu Dhabi designed by Pritzker Prize-winner Jean Nouvel, was opened to the public. After several years of delays and problems including accusations of worker rights violations, revisions in economic strategies, and regional turmoil, the completion of the museum is a feat in itself. Critics, supporters, naysayers, artists, economists, and human rights agencies, have all closely followed its shaky progress, but now that it’s finally open, reviews of the building are steadily pouring in.
Read on to find out how critics have responded to Nouvel’s work so far.
See the Incredibly Complex Louvre Abu Dhabi Constructed Over 8 Years in This Timelapse
With its massive, intricate roof and man-made pools and canals, Ateliers Jean Nouvel's astonishingly complex Louvre Abu Dhabi was a project 10-years in the making before finally debuting to the public earlier this month. But even if the project missed it's original completion date, it certainly wasn't for lack of trying – and that's proven in this new video timelapse from EarthCam.
The video captures the 8-year-long construction process from groundbreaking to completion, showing the museum as it came together from a variety of perspectives, including how the roof was assembled in mid-air before being gently lowered into place, and the enormous effort of earth moving to build the unique site.
Check out the video below.
UAE Announces $140 Million BIG-Designed Mars Science City
The government of the United Arab Emirates has announced the launch of the Mars Science City project, a $140 Million USD (AED 500 million) research city that will serve as a “viable and realistic model” for the simulation of human occupation of the martian landscape. Designed by a team of Emirati scientists, engineers and designers from the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre in partnership with Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), the 1.9 million-square-foot domed structure will become the largest space simulation city ever constructed.
Louvre Abu Dhabi Announces November Grand Opening
The Ateliers Jean Nouvel-designed Louvre Abu Dhabi is ready to make its grand first appearance, as the museum announced it will open to the public on November 11th.
Opening celebrations will take advantage of the unique structure, with a series of concerts, performances and events planned for a variety of spaces beneath the building’s 180-meter geometric dome. Comprised of nearly 8,000 arabic motif stars, the steel pattern will filter sunlight into a dramatic ‘rain of light’ on the museum’s walls and floors that calls to mind shadows created by overlapping palm trees.
A Sneak Peek into Jean Nouvel's Louvre Abu Dhabi as It Prepares for Fall Opening
The long-awaited Louvre Abu Dhabi, designed by Ateliers Jean Nouvel, is getting ready for a grand opening, with images showing the metal-domed building in the final stages of construction. Officially started in 2009, work on the museum is nearly complete, with a rumored opening date scheduled for this November.
Dubai’s Torch Tower Catches Fire for Second Time in Two Years
One of the world’s tallest residential towers, Dubai’s Torch Tower, caught ablaze in the early hours of the morning, causing the evacuation of the building’s 676 units and leaving lasting damage to the building and its immediately vicinity
This is the second fire to affect the 79-story building in just two years, raising more questions about safety standards of materials used in highrise construction.
Foster + Partners to Transform Major Landfill Site Into Sustainable Innovation Hub in Sharjah
Foster + Partners have announced plans for the redevelopment of a major landfill site in Sharjah, UAE, belonging to Bee’ah – the foremost environmental energy and waste management company in the Middle East since 2007. Upon Sharjah reaching its “zero waste to landfill” target by 2020, the site is set for redundancy, sparking a proposed sustainable masterplan as an example of a circular economy and a reflection of Bee’ah’s vision of clean energy and sustainable innovation.
“We believe that this vision, as interpreted through our masterplan, represents a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate just what can be achieved at sites like this which feature in every industrialized nation on the planet,” expressed Giles Robinson, Senior Partner at Foster + Partners. “The project will also serve to further showcase Bee’ah’s waste management center as a place where innovation, environmental best practice, and good design take center stage.”
CBT Unveils Community-Oriented Phase 2 Masterplan for Masdar City
“The world’s most sustainable eco-city,” Masdar City, is preparing for its next phase of development, as unveiled in the award-winning detailed master plan (DMP) by CBT. Depicted in a comprehensive masterplan by Foster + Partners, Masdar was originally envisioned as a carbon-neutral elevated city without cars, instead featuring pod-based transportation located below the podium. As the first phase was constructed, including the Masdar Institute of Technology, a new vision for the city began to emerge, eventually leading to CBT’s pedestrian-oriented innovation community plan for Phase 2.
Metaform and The Space Factory Win Competition for Luxembourg Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai
Metaform architects and The Space Factory scenographers have won the competition for the Luxembourg Pavilion at the Expo 2020 Dubai, which is centered on the theme of “opportunity.”
Inspired by a Möbius strip, in which a twisted and folded ribbon has no beginning and no end, the winning pavilion proposal is modeled around the concept of “cradle to cradle” and the circular economy.
Dramatic Fire Breaks Out Near Burj Khalifa the World's Tallest Building
A clearer picture of this mornings fire in downtown #dubai. Lots of sirens, fire is still ongoing. Any info on this? #dubaifire pic.twitter.com/aYZ6O7Mo1A
— Anthea Ayache (@AntheaAyache) April 2, 2017
A fire has broken out at a construction site near the Dubai Mall and Burj Khalifa in the United Arab Emirates. At around 6:30 am (02:30 GMT), flames broke out in the lower levels of the Address Residences Fountain Views towers, a complex of three towers, each 60 floors in height, being built by Dubai developer Emaar Properties.
Dubai Frame Approaches Completion Amid Allegations of Stolen Intellectual Property
Dubai’s newest mega-attraction, a 150-meter-high, 93-meter-wide picture frame structure dubbed the “Dubai Frame” is approaching completion after a nearly two-year delay, and is set for opening in the second half of this year. At a cost of $43.60 million, the new building will stand as a symbol of the city’s rapid rise from modest settlement to gleaming metropolis, giving visitors a panoramic view of the boundary-pushing skyscrapers from the coast of the Persian Gulf.
It also may stand as a symbol of something far less idyllic: intellectual property theft.
Calatrava, Foster + Zaha Hadid Architects to Open Offices at Dubai Design District
Dubai Design District (d3) has announced the opening of offices by 4 of the world’s leading architecture firms – Zaha Hadid Architects, Santiago Calatrava Architects & Engineers, Foster + Partners and Benoy – marking another step towards the city’s goal of becoming a global design hub.
Since first launching in April 2013, d3 has become the region’s preeminent destination for artists, designers and creative types of all kinds to work and collaborate. So far, d3 has welcomed in over 30 architecture firms of medium to large size, including SSH and Viktor Udzenija, RMJM and Wanders Wagner.
BIG and Hyperloop One Unveil Designs for Unprecedented Autonomous Transportation System
Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) and Hyperloop One have unveiled joint designs for an autonomous transportation system and the world’s first Hyperloop pods and portals in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The designs are being presented as Hyperloop One signs a deal with the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), bringing the project one step closer to reality.