I came across these two interesting sites on Dubai (United Arab Emirates), one from the Bidoun magazine the other by Mike Davis.
http://www.bidoun.com/contents04.html#
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0714-31.htm
A lot of new construction is going on.
Forget about New York. Is Dubai the city of the 21st C?

those palm developments are insane--they seem like something you'd only see on another planet. "hmm, real estate is getting expensive. what if we just dump dirt into the sea and create new land?" that's crazy! what if all coastal cities in the developed world caught onto this? but i do love the qu'ran passages: "yeah, I live at allah #12"

Here's how the Burj Dubai (the 2x Empire State Building tower mentioned in the article) stacks up against the rest:

http://www.skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?11779292

Is effen astonishing how many repulsive buildings there are yet to be built....!

Butt Uglay.

That's just the ones under construction... if you include proposed buildings in the search, you'll see the really out-there ones...

There's another tower in Dubai, under proposal, which dwarfs the Burj Dubai -- the body of it (not the spire) goes up to 2100 ft (and the spire to 2450 ft).

well, on the bright side, it would appear that in a few years the terrorists won't have to waste their time coming to america to blow up icons of the demon western culture, they'll have plenty in their own neighborhood.

Dubai's gonna be a 19th Century city when we figure out how to get them flying hydrogen cars into production.

Also, check out-
http://www.pbase.com/bmcmorrow/dubaiprojects
for the latest photos on on megaprojects.

Hi,
I am an architect from india. i had always heard of dubai, i would like to work in such like this which is aimed at creating icons of architecture. If anyone has any weblinks to that effect kindly forward me at nikhilesh_korde@yahoo.com

icons maybe - but good icons...?

right on mystery man, or when that fusion rector cranks up in japan.

Wait 'til Ed Begley, jr's car powered by his high sense of self-esteem hits the market.

i think dubai is where all of the gansters from bombay hang out

"Futuristic Dubai presents an architect's paradise" read on:
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=53800
"...The emirate is fast becoming an architect's playground as more and more outlandish structures take it closer to its dream of being the world's most visually striking metropolis."

hey nike : dubai is great, dubai is fabulous , dubai is everything ..... but not for all ! remember there is hidden racism there ... only white blond us/eu guys are welcomed to work as architect or any high class jobs ... no place for anything! else
but your money is always welcomed !

Hi
thank you people for your comments, i hope to find something through these links.

Hi Yenafar,
If there is Raceism in Dubai there is class discrimination back here sometimes you are either not hep enough or you dont have the right contacts to get a project. So if i have to fight raceism there i guess its not major, also I am not interested in getting a project of my own i want to work with somebody to learn. For i believe that learning evolves a person and stagnation is death (death for creativity).
Thanks for the insight anyways yenafar.

Hi le bossman,
I live in bombay so does this mean that i am currently hanging out with gangster. Cause when they (gangsters) are not in bombay, they are in dubai.
Thanks anyways, if i go there i will take care.

holy shit, roy! that building looked tall enough next to all the skyscrapers in the other diagram, but in the context of dubai, it looks insane!

I agree, five.
The above residentail skyscraper is designed by SOM and it is currently under construction! I think they are just finishing foundations. Some of the flats are already sold.

interesting point puddles. so is som the real dubya hero here then? building the targets over there so ours aren't blown up over here?

"The emirate is fast becoming an architect's playground as more and more outlandish structures take it closer to its dream of being the world's most visually striking metropolis.
Architects are flocking to the city of 1.3 million where a construction boom fuelled by another surge in Gulf petrodollar wealth is changing the landscape.
Dubai has hundreds of architect offices now, employing thousands of architects and designers. We are bringing (them) from all over the world, and yet it's not enough for the work available," said Falah al-Salman, an Iraqi-Canadian architect in Dubai."

Does anybody know of any good arch. offices there for work?

Has anybody worked in Dubai recenly?
What kinda salaries for architects there?

Read "Futuristic Dubai presents an architect's paradise"
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=53800

i was thinking today about dubai.. it occurred to me that in about 20 years (maybe less?) it may very well turn in to a dead city. automobile use worldwide is growing so fast that it's going to force oil out of the market in favor of something synthetic that can be produced en masse. when that happens, poof, the "oil bubble" will pop, even worse than the dotcom pop. because when the oil's gone, there's nothing left there to attract capital. you heard it here first. i wouldn't invest long-term career plans there, or anything else for that matter. that's just me of course.
so i'm now imagining all those vacated architectural goliaths out in the the desert, juxtaposed against the sea and the sky. it may finally become a beautiful city once it turns in to a giant slum. if i have the resources, i intend to shoot a movie there when it blooms in to full decay. in fact, i'm going to start writing the story right now.

also read Mike Davis' missive on Dubai:
http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?pid=5807

GREAT article.

abra interviews 'MO', the ruler of dubai.
episode 18
Dubai is playing a big game of 'the end of oil, than what?' gamble. developing first class fantasy turism and regional open market center, a small hong kong. it has a good chance of winning out. there is a successful turism track record and related developments. in the west, we have a condesending view of arabs in general and imagining the exhodus of humanity from the desert, when the oil depletes. this is not necessarily 'their' plans. they were there before the oil and will be there after, perhaps by owning and operating, banks, factories, investment corporations etc, globaly, as they are doing now. from the headquarters they are building there, connected to the world.

heterarchy, here is a film location you might like near san bernerdino.
[url=http://archinect.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=6&pos=25lphoto[/url]

photo

Ok guys,

I'm currently working in Dubai with an international architecture firm .. and have been here for a while...

this is what i have to say for architectural possibilities here "WONDERFULL"

and this is what i have to say to the current (and proposed)architecture here "CRAP!!!!"

the architecture here does not reflect anything about the region .. blistering hot climate (sometimes.. like yesterday.. the temperature goes upto 55c) and they have buildings clothed with glass!!!! .. these rich sheikhs here have too much money .. and they spend a ton on air conditioning !!

most of the buildings here are running at a loss. The "Burj - al - arab" ( the famous iconic hotel in dubai) is running at such a major loss and they have an occupancy rate of maybe over 5% .. but of course it wont be told officially. the rest of the world hear's what the Sheikhs want them to hear.

trust me ... it's crazy out here ... but lots of money to be made and lots and lots of interesting projects. but again .. everuthing is artificial. The famous palm islands and the world islands and refered to as the slums on the sea . what they show here is different and what it actually is, is different. they are on a race to make "the biggest", "the tallest", "the smallest", "the longest", "the shortest" etc ..etc .. you get the drift right ?. anyway.. all i have to say is that it is nothing to go crazy about. A lay man might find all this wonderfull, but to an architect, it's all CRAP. Duabi is like a nice shiney balloon- it's all nice and shiney on the outside ... but inside, it's all gas !!

p.s. - about the racial issue ... sigh .. it's true .. if you're white and dont know the difference between a beam and a column, then head down to dubai .. you can make a lot of money !! I'm an Indian .. and my (white) CAD draftsman (19 yr old) makes more than me - i wont discuss this anymore already depressed about it !!!

I'm Indian too. I was seriously considering going to Dubai to make a quick buck.. but now I'm reconsidering. How many Indians on this board? I'm from and in Bangalore right now.

if the 21st century has only Dubia to offer, as per slogan, then *yawn*.

After the Novelty wears off, its boring. My sister and friend live and work there. Like other 'up'n'coming' cities in the gulf region, its all about mking money and babies.In an odd way, an evangelist would love it there, suburban urbanism to the max. Except you have to water your plants every other hour. And we come here to the most intruiging idea the Gulf has to offer: desalination.

I do find the idea of wiping desert sand off glass buildings and sweeping it off pavements rather alluring though. The desert remembers; its an everymorning game of Tag-You're It.

I heard the Vatican is thinking about buying all the Dubai island reenactments and then build churches on them. It's the only way that they can think of to make the Middle East more Catholic again.

"Mo-Pope Realtors"

Manu ... you can still make a fast buck ... but the caucasian makes more.. even if you are better than him. such is life ...


rita:- lol at the vatican's idea ... but it wont work ...

What are architect's salaries like in Dubai?

I know this is making me look like I dont give a crap about design or further education, but of late I've started to appreciate how important money is.

Architecture in Dubai can be as good or as bad as with any other commercial architecture around the globe. But it is definately more impressive.
There is very little xenophobia in Dubai: 85% of the population are expatriates, anyway. Anybody can work there, if sponsored by a company / employer.

Graduate Architects may get around US$ 2,000/month (tax free) with or without housing. Cost of living can be very. Food is very cheap.
Architects with average experience / experinced technical staff, around US$ 3,000-/month.
Senior Architects may get at least US$ 5,000/month plus (tax free, housing, travel allowances, medical etc.).

Thanks Roy.

Heterarchy- Dubai has nothing to do with oil and everything to do with trade, from what I've heard.

the point is not how this so-called 'commercial architecture' in Dubia compares with that elsewhere, but the lack of anything but. In itself, yes Dubai is interesting...as, say, the mall phenomenon is interesting. An intense anthropology of Olympian iconic blandness ...Tall,Taller,Tallest...Rich, Richer,Richest. But the interest is lost when each project is tackled on
its own.

Of course you can also choose to work on the palaces, Rita's pet obsession, reenact..say Versailles or Al-Hambra..depending on where your prince/ss has been to last. If the prince has a pet, he might ask for its own palace.


With regard to xenophobia, you are right. But there is an obvious class system with which the Gulf operates. Predominantly South Asian and African at the very bottom , passing through the Philippinos/Malaysian/Indonesian (technicians, nannies,waiters) , the Arabs (with their own hierarchy: Moroccan,Alegerian,Egyptian-Syrian,Palestinian-Lebanese) , 'course Europeans/Americans, then rich Gulf Arabs (likely to be the ultimate client or owners of company). The status quo is accepted at face value, your profession and your pay are
determined accordingly. This might not be seen as 'racist' ,perhaps, for a very simple reason. The notion of racism and its politics (pro or contra) are not as rife as in Europe or the States. For instance, many people still use the arabic word for 'slave' to denote ' black person', however the same word is also used to describe a devout worshipper of the Islamic 'Allah' and the name is a common first name in the Arab Middle East. The nauances differ and the sensitivities differ, but the class-by-race division is rather nauseating however you want to call it.

Money, yes...modern slave market. I'm hardly being smug here, I'm also a whore....for now.

Funny how reenactment is really much, much more global than merely "Rita's pet obsession."

Roy is bang on, with regards to the salary structure here ...
and it's true that the architecture here is very interesting ... but ... ( there are always buts !!! )

cellardoor w. :- racism is very dominant here, as the salary structure is based on the colour of your skin and not the ability of the person .. btw .. are you from Dubai ??

anyway .. here's an entry from one of my fav. bloggers (dubai secret dairy) from the UAE ... and this is true to the word:-

The Big and the Beautiful
Dubai cannot stop building the world's biggest things. The obsession started with The Palm, the world's largest artificial island. It's not any more though, because another two are being built, each bigger and better than the original.

Also planned is Burj Dubai, set to be the world's tallest tower if Emaar gets its way, and Al Burj, set to be the world's tallest tower if Nakheel wins out. Al Burj is also part of world's largest waterfront development project.

Not forgetting the world's biggest theme park, the world's tallest hotel, the world's longest indoor ski slope, the world's largest man-made port, and what is quite likely to end up the world's greatest capacity airport. Looking into the crystal ball, we even see the arrival of the world's largest crystal dome.

And the world's tallest wheel, like a five-star megalithic version of the London Eye. It's expected to cost US$150,000,000 and be:

"a 600-foot tall high-tech attraction that would have, upon completion, the capacity of 7,500,000 guests per year with an average individual ride ticket of $18.00. We anticipate that each Observation Wheel would consist of 30 Orbitors seating 20 passengers and making a complete revolution approximately every 27 minutes."

Best of all, Dubai is of course building the entire world, enabling the rich and powerful to take over nations and continents, rebuilding them to their own requirements, without interference from the UN and other fromage-eating-surrender monkeys.

no I am not,sporadic. Fromage-eating-surrender monkeys? Entire world? How very pointful.

reenactment is reenactment if you want it to be, Rita.
There is a fold- you have to reenact the meaning of reenactment in order to claim reenactment . And you do, always. A deliberate Don Quixote of reenactment. Doing so, you have transferred the potency of reenactment (it is no longer really of significance) to the autistic act of always pointing at it. Deliberate or not, it is your tailored autism that is its own theme, not reenactment.

Everything and anything is global, including the subject matter of pet obsessions. Tautology is not funny.

Regards

sporadic, just out of curiosity - what about women? Could a Caucasian female architect go to Dubai and hope to get a decent job/be respected by coworkers/earn beaucoup bucks? I can't imagine it would be so. I'm not considering doing it, I've just always been curious - when people describe the opportunites in developing foreign markets I often feel that it's unspoken that women are shut out of those markets.

i disagree with the people who say dubai is gonna burst... they might slow down, but the middle east needs a capital... just as New York, London Hong Kong or Toky is tho thier respective areas, Dubai is seeking the same status... right now, they are breaking thier necks trying to build up the city as quckly as possible becasue they are well aware that oil will not provide wealth forever... thier efforts are in attracting international commerce, and tourism. It is very similar to any developing city. Chicago developed as giant slaughter house, and has developed over the years into a comercial center, New york and london were important trading posts...

dubai will be a successful city, and perhaps the middle easts first internationally recognized comercial capital... i think its just a matter of time, there is too much wealth and too much power developing in the middle east and south asia for dubai to fizzle

put the bombs between the minaretes

cellardoor whore, ever count how many times Allen, Bloomer, Eisenman and Kwinter tautologically reenact Tafuri when it comes to Piranesi? And you say tautology isn't funny. You're right. It's hilarious.

"reenactment is reenactment" -- that reenacts Stein, right?
"there is a fold" -- that reenacts Deleuze, right?
"it is no longer really of significance" -- that's multiple choice, right?

Hey, let's meet up on our own little island off Dubai, and lets do some reenacting of our own.

Cellardoor.W. :- "the world " meaning the cluster of artificial islands shaped like the different continents , therefore it looks like the world map itself. Thats one of Dubai's projects. it's named "The world" islands or something like that. If I'm not mistaken, its being developed by the same guys who are doing the palm islands

Liberty bell:- There is absolutley no problem for female caucasians to get a job here. There is no sex discrimination here as I know it.

all said and done, Dubai is not like what the west thinks it is. It is one of the most radically free middle eastern countries with the "lowest crime rate" in the world (or so i've been told).

hi
i want your help regarding coming to dubai for a job.
i have got the job in dubai in some llc company.
and may be this november i will be coming to dubai.
can u please tell me if i don't like the job in two three months
and i want to chane the job to some other company in duabi
without having 6 months ban on my passpot, will that be possible.

hi
i want your help regarding coming to dubai for a job.
i have got the job in dubai in some llc company.
and may be this november i will be coming to dubai.
can u please tell me if i don't like the job in two three months
and i want to chane the job to some other company in duabi
without having 6 months ban on my passpot, will that be possible.

hi
i want your help regarding coming to dubai for a job.
i have got the job in dubai in some llc company.
and may be this november i will be coming to dubai.
can u please tell me if i don't like the job in two three months
and i want to chane the job to some other company in duabi
without having 6 months ban on my passpot, will that be possible.

http://sinkingsands.blogspot.com/
http://www.pbase.com/bmcmorrow/dubaiprojects&page=1
"Dubai thrives on newness and bigness, in an act of ongoing self-stylization and fantasy. Hence architecture is crucial, for it defines these elements. Little more than a grand-scale shopping mall, the city is comprised of “mind-zone” spaces, and of airport-like lobbies. In this theme park orientated cityscape, there is no differentiation between old and new. Everything is recent. Yet everything seems to point to the twin towers of consumerism and tourism."
from
http://www.bidoun.com/contents04.html

How is this any different than Shanghai?

Does anyone have any more information about salaries for architects in Dubai.

I have three years experience working in the USA after graduating with a Master in Architecture. Does anyone know what the range of salaries is for someone in my position.

Any info would be helpful ...

no hack mega-architecture for oil!

Thank you nicomachean

Latest photos:
http://www.pbase.com/bmcmorrow/dubaiprojects

Also,
Dubai via Archinect, Los Angeles Times and The New Yorker: or, Post-Oil Middle-East, Part III:
http://pruned.blogspot.com/2005/10/dubai-via-archinect-los-angeles-times.html

Ski Dubai
http://www.snopes.com/photos/architecture/indoorski.asp

Radical Uban Theory (Dubai)
http://www.rut.com/misc/dubai.html

movie idea: "fear and loathing in dubai"

Hum....Dabai....could be the next Butte, Montana. Once the world discovers Canada Oil Sand in Calgary.

My company has done work in Dubai and my coworkers have told me that the majority of firms they hire for projects are either British or American...seems like the rest of the world jumped on board a little later.

Does anyone know what the process is behind building an articifical island?? How do they assure that the islands' foundation itself will last and support everything they build?

Hi People,
My partner and I are from Australia. My partner works in the buliding industry- as a foreman. We've been told there's good money to be made. so were looking to move over there for 12mths.
I am looking into learning arabic but until i do- can i make do with English?
I really don't know what to expect!

No need "at all" to learn Arabic... I still dont know arabic and I get along just fine. If you are caucasian.. or for that matter since you are from Australia, then you can make a lot of money. the payscale is as per your passport and skin colour. the paler you are .. the better the money !!

Racist ? yeah I know !!

mimo... for the islands... they just blast loads of sand in the water till they get the desired height !! being a desert country, they ahave loads of sand !!

no rocket science

That is correct, sporadic.
The only problem with the Palm is that architecture is rather dull and thematic.
Zaha is rumoured to have a new project in Dubai on an island. Rem Koolhaas as well. Has anybody got any images?
Also check these out:
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=269274
http://www.studionova.org/

Sporadic Supernova, Thank you .

Dubai: the city of the 21st century ????

umm dont think so..too small in size, small population:- ( w.r.to being called a super city ) and also too consumerist and touristy.
the bubble will break soon.

and Im in splits reading Le bossman's comment abt the bombay hoods holing out in Dubai. I wonder how he knows all that !.Lol..or has it become common knowledge.

In terms of highest real estate prices.Heck Dubai doesnt even figure within the top 50 cities.

http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1708395,00.html

"Is Dubai, in fact, the fulcrum of the future global trading and financial system? Is it, in embryo, what London was to the 19th century and Manhattan to the 20th? Not the modern centre of the Arab world but, more than that, the Arab centre of the modern world."

interesting article...

sporadic supernova, Roy, others....

ive entertained the idea of moving to dubai, for a year or so, to make some dosh and hopefully pay off some of my hefty student debts...

but the whole racism thing puts me off...

i'm indian by origin, but british by birth (raised in the uk too)...

so from what you say, it wouldnt matter where i was from as my skin colour that would get in the way?

within 40 years the "first" world will move away from oil. unfortunately, not for any good reasons, just becuase it'll be too expensive and inefficient. when that happens dubai will go poof. unless sand becomes a huge commodity (which is possible). as i said, i want to be the first person to photograph and shoot a movie there when that happens, because i can imagine few things more sublime than an empty and abandoned field of towers in the middle of the desert. like capturing a stand of roses next to an emaciated oasis, just past their prime and beginning their slow tumble in to decay.

Heterarchy, you can do that now! Come to Luanda.

Meanwhile, I lucked out & got to go to 2 fire tests in Pretoria, South Africa, but the real big wigs in my project are going to Dubai for the wind-water test. I'm jealous because I really wanted to go to the 'uphill' water-park & the world's biggest indoor ski-resort!

link

i cant wait for the first gold medal for dubai in the downhill. i hope it happens before the country goes downhill...

Spiderdad,

the key is to get into a good firm ( read, corporate or european/US run). I was lucky enough to get into an international firm and so my pay is quite good compared to some of my seniors who've joined some regional (arab/ subcontinental) firms.they get just a tad more than the errand boy !!

British passport should do fine tho ... though you'll have a tough time trying to convince these arabs as to why you look indian, but hold a british passport.

heterarchy,

lets get this out of the way.... "dubai has very very minimal amount of oil" it would probably run out tommorow. the bulk of the oil is in Abu Dhabi ( the capital of UAE )which has around 10% of the worlds oil reserves. they are currently pumping out millions of barrels a day and they are supposed to have enough oil to last them another 150 years. whats more ?? .. they've just discovered shit loads of gas reserves as well ... so any thoughts of uae running out of oil in the near future, is better rested now.. :)

it is for the same reason that dubai is investing so much in buildings and tourist oriented constructions .. i mean you gotta live here to understand... every other day theres a new mall coming up. its shopping shopping everywhere !!

the one thing dubai is good at is trying to get its name up with the other melting pots of the world. but it has a long way to go, since its not a natural stance, but an artificial one !!

oh and Zaha's designed a bridge in Abudhabi... looks very cool.

but i spoke with the guy doing the stuctures and he sez that it's not structurally very sound. spending thrice the amount of money required.

but whats that to abudhabi .. they'll just pump an extra million barrels a day !!

150 years huh guess i'll go ahead and order this...

ski resort in dubai..great

what next? An arabian santa claus wearing white ?

thats just synthetic architecture..nothing to be excited about except ali rahim's new buildings :)

Here's a link to a really interesting video showing a bunch of current developments in Dubai. It was put together by a Skyscrapercity.com forumer. The sheer # of projects is just unbelievable. Be warned, it's about 400mb and about 20 minutes long.

http://files.filefront.com/dubaimix3mpg/;4736071;;/fileinfo.html

sure sandra ... no probs

btw .. is ee that you're a motorbike instructor ... interesting !!

thats a nice link metwo ...

i see most of those projects, built or proposed .. on a regular basis.
it's good to see a documentation of all the projects ..

there are some really ridiculous projects that are coming up.. i'll talk about them eventually !!

I am ashamed to say........... I worked on the ski Dubai project a couple years ago with a firm in Los Angeles.... It was a million sq. ft. project with absolutely no budget.
http://www.snopes.com/photos/architecture/indoorski.asp

I am ashamed to say........... I worked on the ski Dubai project a couple years ago with a firm in Los Angeles.... It was a million sq. ft. project with absolutely no budget.
http://www.snopes.com/photos/architecture/indoorski.asp

A Dream of Dubai
Half fantasy, half reality, Dubai is re-writing the book on urbanism
—By Nick Rose, Utne.com

A series of interetsting articles on Dubai's sudden rise to fame:
http://www.utne.com/webwatch/2006_239/news/12025-1.html

Just thought I'd share this.. I thought I'd seen these somewhere before... (this is Chernikov)



(compare with >this<.)

But, at least they were inspired by the best!

interesting right ? .. imagine seeing it everyday !!

well actually most of them are under construction right now .. so at most times they look like a scene out of a sci-fi movie !

So, When architects do get a chance to contribute to city building with great amount of budget, they repeat the same mistakes of the previous century, ignoring today and future?

Keep this post alive!

Dubai is set to get a $30b tourism and leisure complex, the world's longest hotel strip:
http://gulfnews.com/nation/Travel_and_Tourism/10037084.html

Giant complex to add 29,200 rooms that will feature a cluster of 31 hotels, including the world's biggest, and some 100 theatres:
http://gulfnews.com/business/Hotel_and_Tourism/10037063.html

Dubai: Surreal machine / telegenic city: http://www.gridskipper.com/travel/dubai/the-surreal-machine-165651.php

So where can one find information regardiing employment in Dubai? We should all go and leave when the bubble burst

hmmm .. the best bet would be to find out which firms are operating here and send them your CV ..
another one would be to check out the appointment times in the two leading newspapers ..

www.gulfnews.com
www.khaleejtimes.com

Also try
http://www.grapeshisha.com/
for jobs, cost of living, etc.

haha .. grapeshisha ... he started out from a blog ...
he was going mad advertising his site for a long time !! ..

sporadic-

any idea on what would an average salary be for a white american out of an ivy league masters of architecture program with 1 year of work experience?

thanks

how about if your chinese with an Ivy degree

check out link . haha "closer to nature" right....

Also, anyone wanting to work in dubai as an architect, you don't get paid too much, unless your own international firm sends you there, as most of the work is done outside of dubai, only construction/project managing goes on in Dubai at decent rates.

What will happen to Dubai when all of the oil dries up??? I'm not convinced that the city will be very long-lived after that.

The reason that they are building is eactly for that reason squaresquared. They are trying to ensure tourism will become the main source of income. its ironic though, because most of the buildings they are building are not exactly conserving fuel, and it is a known fact that nobody walks in Dubai, there is no street life, everything is a self contained unit.

Plus, when oil dries up, what city is not going to be long lived...