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[Dead]

The Burj al arab in dubai, this thing is absolutely beautiful at night.

 

[Die Squirrel Die]

The best bit about it is they built it on an island just far enough away from the mainland so that it falls outside islamic gambling laws. That's a damn fine way to spend money.

 

[StoOgE]

Dubai is absolutely insane.. in the next 10 years somthing around 100 skyscrapers are planned to be built... its the best city plan I have ever seen, and they are following it to the T.

A few years from now (ok, a decade ), when the giant palm is finished I will go there..

also, arent they making an underwater hotel in Dubai?

 

[videogamer]

Oh and props to Taipei 101, the world's tallest now, even with the highest occupied floor.

^^part of shopping mall, supposed to symbolize Dragon backbone.

 

[StoOgE]

Is Tapei 101 finished yet, or is the top still being finished?

 

[videogamer]

What's even more amazing is how quickly that all was built. When I first moved there 16 years ago the WTC, the small white building, was just about the only thing on that stretch, and the tallest thing at that. When I left about 6 years ago there was a fair amount of buildings along there, but it was still about half empty. Non of those huge ones that dwarf the WTC were there.

But I suppose that's what cheap, non-unionised Pakistani and Indian labour will do for you

10 or so years ago...

 

[Dead]

also, arent they making an underwater hotel in Dubai?

yep

I found this pic:

dont know if this pic is real though.

 

[Deleted member 1235]

that picture of the "freedom tower" on that fox news site, have they just stacked a bunch of metal crap on the top to make it taller?

 

[Die Squirrel Die]

I think that's older than 10 years. There was definitely more buildings around even when I moved there (just not the sky scrapers). And in case any ones interested my house was two minutes away from the two buldings furthest away.

However the point still stands that that was the building situation along that road 10 years ago. There was a row of 4 or 5 apartment buildings on the left of the road between the furthest building and the one on its own in the middle, where the Emirates air hostesses lived but other than that that was your lot.

And now look at it.

 

[videogamer]

Is Tapei 101 finished yet, or is the top still being finished?

Final structural beam (June 2003):

 

[Dead]

I think that's older than 10 years. There was definitely more buildings around even when I moved there (just not the sky scrapers). And in case any ones interested my house was two minutes away from the two buldings furthest away.

However the point still stands that that was the building situation along that road 10 years ago. There was a row of 4 or 5 apartment buildings on the left of the road between the furthest building and the one on its own in the middle, where the Emirates air hostesses lived but other than that that was your lot.

And now look at it.

heh, at our hotel you could look behind and see a deserted area, I jokingly commented on how the next time were there it will probably already be filled with buildings and such. Funnily enough i wouldnt be surprised if it turned out so!

 

[Joe]

that picture of the "freedom tower" on that fox news site, have they just stacked a bunch of metal crap on the top to make it taller?

im sure its there to make it taller and add to the style but its also there to:

the cable structure minimizes the lateral loads imparted by the wind while maximizing the amount of wind energy reaching the turbines inside

the buildings energy will be self-sufficient.

 

[Deleted member 1235]

im sure its there to make it taller and add to the style but its also there to:

the buildings energy will be self-sufficient.

Well then, thats actually very very rad.

 

[Die Squirrel Die]

heh, at our hotel you could look behind and see a deserted area, I jokingly commented on how the next time were there it will probably already be filled with buildings and such. Funnily enough i wouldnt be surprised if it turned out so!

I wouldn't bet against it.

I really want to go back to Dubai, just to see how different things are. It's 5 years since I was last there. My aunt and uncle, who also stayed there for a couple of years went back last year I think and they were stunned by how much it'd changed, and they only left, less than a year before us, IIRC. However I have to make a lot of money, because I am determined to stay at Burj al Arab. I cannot believe I left like months before it was completed, I felt so robbed after seeing it being built, and also seeing the old Chicago Beach Hotel being demolished to make way for it (I was actually there for the demolition, it was the worst kept secret ever) and the wave hotel, not sure what it's name it though.

The wave hotel was completed when I left, and I got to look around it and boy was that thing plush, and it was supposedly only a prelude to the luxury of the main event.

 

[Dead]

yeah, the Wave Hotel is quite nice. I wanna go back

 

[Die Squirrel Die]

Did you go to the City Centre?

It only had one story when I was there. Now there's a second floor and IIRC, there's even a third.

And the Creek Golf Club. That place was nice.