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Masdar Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates | Guide Travel

>> Monday, May 3, 2010

Masdar (Arabic: مصدر‎, maṣdar, literally the source) is a project in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates. Its core is a planned city, which is being built by the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, a subsidiary of Mubadala Development Company, with the majority of seed capital provided by the government of Abu Dhabi.^[1]^[2] Designed by the British architectural firm Foster + Partners, the city will rely entirely on solar energy and other renewable energy sources, with a sustainable, zero-carbon, zero-waste ecology. The city is being constructed 17 kilometres (11 mi) east-south-east of the city of Abu Dhabi, beside Abu Dhabi International Airport.

It will host the headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Agency

Design and intent

The project is headed by the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (ADFEC). Initiated in 2006, the project is projected to cost US$22 billion and take some eight years to build, with the first phase scheduled to be complete and habitable in 2009.^[6]^[7]^[8] The city is planned to cover 6 square kilometres (2.3 sq mi) and will be home to 45,000 to 50,000 people and 1,500 businesses, primarily commercial and manufacturing facilities specialising in environmentally-friendly products, and more than 60,000 workers are expected to commute to the city daily.^[7]^[9]^[10] It will also be the location of a university, the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology (MIST), which will be assisted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).^[11]^[12] Automobiles will be banned within the city; travel will be accomplished via public mass transit and personal rapid transit systems, with existing road and railways connecting to other locations outside the city.^[9]^[13] The absence of motor vehicles coupled with Masdar's perimeter wall, designed to keep out the hot desert winds, allows for narrow and shaded streets that help funnel cooler breezes across the city.

Masdar City will be the latest of a small number of highly planned, specialized, research and technology-intensive municipalities that incorporate a living environment, similar to Novosibirsk, Russia or Tsukuba Science City, Japan.

Partners in the project through its Clean Tech Fund are Consensus Business Group, Credit Suisse and Siemens Venture Capital. Construction of the first phase of the project is being managed by CH2M HILL. Infrastructure construction for the city will be handled by the Al Jaber Group and design of the central Masdar headquarters building has been awarded to Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture.

Masdar Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates | Guide Travel

masdar hq image

foster masdar mall

abu dhab imap

foster masdar shopping center

masdar headquarters

masdar city

abu dhabi city pic

abu dhabi image gallery

Travel and Tourism - Visiting Dubai and the UAE

>> Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Tomorrow will be the grand opening of the latest addition to the skyline of Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Atlantis Palm Resort, with over 1,500 rooms, will be hosting an opening ceremony with celebrities from around the world tomorrow night. The rapid development in Dubai and across the UAE hasn't all been easy lately, as infrastructure problems (handling rising levels of waste to match massive development), and world financial struggles have slowed progress. Wealthy Dubai continues to grow though, in both land area as new islands are built, and in height as new, taller skyscrapers are planned to best the Burj Dubai, already the tallest in the world.

Camels are seen early morning on a beach in the Marina area of Dubai October 16, 2008.

An Emirati man holds a falcon during the Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition in Abu Dhabi on October 8, 2008. The annual exhibition has achieved great success both within the Gulf region and worldwide attracting international specialist exhibitors of guns, hunting vehicles, shooting, fishing, falconry, equipment and accessories.

British motorcyclist James West drives his 690 cc KTM Rally bike during preliminary super stage action in Dubai on October, 26 2008, one day before the official start of the UAE Desert Challenge Rally. More than 140 drivers took part in the five day rally.

The Queen Elizabeth 2 cruise liner enters the Firth of Clyde past Cumbrea Elbow lighthouse on October 5, 2008. The ship is making its final journey in November to Dubai to be re-fitted as a luxury floating hotel anchored off Palm Jumeirah, the world's largest man-made island.

A sculpture of an ant is seen in front of the Dubai International Financial Exchange October 7, 2008. Gulf Arab stock markets had slumped to multi-year lows as speculation intensified that a five-year property boom had come to an end and heavyweight financing firms would be forced to merge as credit conditions deteriorated.

Heavy fog rolls by high-rise constructions near the Dubai Marina in this November 21, 2007 file photo.

With a background of Sheikh Zayed highway's towers, Muslims of different nationalities perform the Eid al-Fitr prayers at Grand Musalla in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2008.

Visitors look at a model of a proposed development entitled "City of Arabia" at the opening of the Cityscape 2008 international real estate exhibition in Dubai on October 6, 2008.

A man walks close to a polluted beach in the popular Jumeirah area in the Gulf Emirate of Dubai on October 25, 2008. News of a serious sea water pollution is causing worries in Dubai, especially after the municipality closed off one of the most popular beaches in the emirate.

With the world's tallest under construction tower, Burj Dubai, background left, vehicles pass by the under construction towers at the Business Bay in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Monday, Oct. 27, 2008.

Arab clients smoke waterpipes after breaking their fast at a Ramadan tent in a five-star hotel in Dubai on September 16, 2008. Besides charity banquets for the poor during the fasting month of Ramadan, fancy tents that offer sumptuous meals at relevant prices flourish in the oil-rich Gulf emirate, attracting both locals and foreigners, Muslims and non-Muslims, many of whom exchange normal dinner outings with the sunset 'iftar' meal and late night 'suhur' snacks and waterpipes.

Burj Dubai, the tallest tower in the world, is seen in the background as labourers work at a construction site near the Dubai Mall, October 29, 2008. The Dubai Mall, one of the world's largest, has pushed back its opening on October 30 to five days later.

A handout picture made available on October 26, 2008 from the media office of Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashed al-Maktoum shows Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid al-Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Defence Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai, walking through an aisle of the second Emirates Airline A380 superjumbo at Dubai international airport. The rich Gulf Emirate received the second A380 on October 24, 2008. Emirates, which is owned by the government of Dubai, is the largest customer of the A380. It has 58 on order in a deal worth about 18.8 billion dollars based on list prices.

Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Chairman of Dubai World, talks to the audience about the Nakheel Harbour & Tower project, a more than 1 kilometer high tower in Dubai, United Arab Emirates,

A visitor to the man-made island of Palm Jumeirah in Dubai holds her baby at the sea shore on October 23, 2008.

Bulls push each other during a traditional bullfight in the Gulf emirate of Fujairah on November 7, 2008.

A couple takes an early morning walk on a beach in the Marina area of Dubai October 16, 2008.

A handout picture made available by the Dubai Desert Challenge shows Russian driver Vladimir Chagin and his co-pilots Sergy Savostin and Antoly Tahin driving their Kamaz 4911 truck through the Liwa desert, south of Abu Dhabi, during the UAE Desert challenge Competition on October 30, 2008.

The scene over Dubai Marina late November 15, 2008. Dubai property shares plunged, last week, and its biggest private developer slashed jobs as the global financial crisis tightened its grip on the tiny emirate, until now synonymous with the Gulf Arab real estate boom.

Visitors looks up as fish swim in the aquarium tunnel in Dubai Mall, which covers the area of 50 soccer fields, November 4, 2008. The Dubai Mall, which officially opened on the 4th, includes the aquarium, one of the world's largest, an Olympic-sized ice rink, a gold souq and shops covering 5.9 million sq ft.

With a background of Sheikh Zayed highway's towers, Muslim women arrive at Grand Musalla to perform the Eid al-Fitr prayers in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2008.

An Emirati man walks past helicopter models displayed at the Helishow exhibition in Dubai on November 12, 2008.

A handout picture made available by EMAAR Malls Group on October 30, 2008 shows an aerial view of Dubai Mall, one of the world�s largest shopping and entertainment destinations in the booming Gulf state.

An Emirati carries a falcon, one of the tourist attractions at the lobby of the Atlantis resort complex on the man-made Palm Jumeirah island in the Gulf emirate of Dubai on November 18, 2008.

Journalists watch a stingray swimming in the giant aquarium of the Atlantis hotel which is a part of $ 1.5 billion resort in Jumeira Palm Island in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2008.

An early evening view of the Atlantis Hotel on the Palm Jumeirah with residential construction in the foreground late November 15, 2008.

An early evening hazy view of Dubai's skyline, dominated by the Burj Dubai skyscraper, seen late November 15, 2008.

The Burj Dubai on November 7, 2008 - the tallest manmade structure in the world, despite being still incomplete. The skyscraper stands at 707 meters (2,320 ft), with 160 floors and growing, and is scheduled to be complete by September of next year.

Ice Sky on Dubai

>> Sunday, March 28, 2010

Ski Dubai Here is the complex as seen from the outside:

Ski Dubai Complex, outside image .
There are five runs, which range from beginner’s slopes to advanced. the quad chairlifts hold four persons each. Lessons from ski instructors are available. Americans say the conditions compare well with American slopes (which seem to be superior to European slopes, according to skiers who have skied on both). The complex includes three themed restaurants, one midway on the slopes. You can rent all ski equipment and ski clothing.

A Run through Trees at Ski Dubai, image
Being originally from Colorado, and having skied many times at Vail, Copper Mountain, Breckenridge, Beaver Creek, Winter Park, and Loveland, I’d say that in appearance

Sightseeing Dubai skyscrapers

>> Friday, March 26, 2010

New York, Dubai skyscrapers

Object just released a list that's as interesting as it is depressing called "15 skyscrapers on hold." There's a few on there you've probably already heard about, such as the Chicago Spire, which may never be restarted again. Its aborted construction has left a hole 76 feet deep and 110 feet wide in the middle of Chicago, and that's not the only building there to be paused.

Also on the chopping block is 58 Leonard Street, a zany skyscraper in New York City that we gave you an early look at. Dubai, the city of seemingly endless construction, also took a hit with a few of its wild and outlandish 'scrapers grinding to a halt. Check out Oobject's list to see what other towers are getting the ax.

850m Tall Tower Proposed For Dubai

It’s been a while since we first revealed the plans in Dubai for a series of megatall buildings including what at the time was labeled the AC Towers.

Since then the design has solidified along with the details about the project with it now being called One Dubai and having a height set at 850 metres, about the same as the Burj Dubai, with 201 storeys. It will be the central landmark of the planned Jumeria Gardens, yet another massive skyline to compete with the likes of Dubai Marina

Dubai Plans 1140 Metre Tall Tower

If you thought the Burj Dubai was about as high as they could ever go, the crazy property developers of that Arab city have come up with something even bigger, a skyscraper over 1 kilometre tall.

Called the Nakheel Habour & Tower it consists of four separate vertical strands arranged around a central void with numerous skybridges at various points connecting them together.

Wind And Solar Powered Dubai Skyscraper

The Burj al-Taqa (Energy Tower) to be build in Dubai will produce 100% of its electricity needs from a 60 metre diameter roof-mounted wind turbine and 15,000 square metres of PV solar panels. Another 17,000 square metres of solar panels will be located on a nearby artificial island visible from the tower. Any excess electricity generated will be used to extract hydrogen from sea water by electrolysis to be used to generate electricity at night through hydrogen fuel cells.

The tower will rise to 322 metres and have 68 storeys. Construction will cost in excess of £200 million.
Earlier this year work was completed on the Bahrain World Trade Center - a pair of skyscapers joined together by three integrated wind turbines. These wind turbines - a world first - will provide 11-15% of the energy needs of the buildings. However the Burj al-Taqa will be the first 100% renewable energy powered skyscraper in the world, and the first to have a huge wind turbine generator installed on its roof.

Burj al-Taqa

The Burj al-Taqa has been designed by German architect Eckhard Gerber from the ground up to be as energy efficient as possible. The whole building will be cylindical to reduce the surface area exposed to the sun, and a protective solar shield will wrap around two-thirds of the exterior of the building from the ground to the roof protecting the side of the building in direct sunlight to keep it out of the rooms.

The windows will be glazed with cutting edge vacuum glazing (so advanced they will only be available on the market after 2008) which will insulate the building against the scorching 50+ degree outside heat. These units will transmit 2/3 less heat than the best products on the market today and will slash the amount of electricity needed to power air conditioning units.

The air-conditioning itself will use air pre-cooled by seawater to keep the temperature of the interior of the tower to just 18 degrees Celcius. At the same time water is cooled which is pumped around the ceilings at each level to help keep the temperature down without the need to blast so much cold air out of air-condition ducts.

Mirrors installed on the roof of Burj al-Taqa will direct a cone of light through the centre of the building bathing every floor of the building in free natural light

Travel and Tourism - Travel to dubai

>> Thursday, March 25, 2010

Oh, Dubai. Sometimes we wish you success, because you’re so funny. Other times we can’t wait till you run out of oil and just turn back into a desert wasteland, because you’re so gross.

Of late, the Gulf city-state has been trending somewhere between those two courses. They’ve shut down all kinds of massive half-baked construction projects, but are pushing ahead on a select few. Most notable in the “pushing ahead” category are the world’s tallest building and the city’s new metro system (exempted on the “half-baked” count). The powers that be in Dubai have been planning a grand simultaneous unveiling of the two in September, in fact — seeing it as a perfect opportunity to get massive amounts of media attention and declare to the world, “We’re still actin’ all rich!”

Sadly, there’s a hitch. Construction on the Burj Dubai, the 206-story luxury residential and office tower–space will supposedly go for $3,500/square foot and up–is running behind schedule, and will not be complete by September. So the metro–which features a “Gold class” section for “VIPs”–will debut alone and therefor won’t get anywhere close to as much media attention.

It turns out that Dubaites (?) are pretty upset about it. Nearly half “believe the delay to the Burj Dubai is a missed opportunity to put Dubai back on the global map.” An additional 17 percent are sad because Dubai now looks like the kind of slacker place that can’t keep to a schedule when building white elephant projects.

To celebrate the synergy that might have been though, here are some fact boxes and photos of the $4 billion, 2,600-foot aluminum stalagmite and the $4 billion, 22-mile first phase of the new metro system.

Dubai Metro

Fast facts:

“In full operation, Dubai Metro is projected to carry approximately 1.2 million passengers on an average day, and 355 million passengers per year”
“Trains will be WiFi enabled”
“The 32.5 mile Red Line [which will open in September] will have 29 stations, four of which will be underground”
“Rolling stock is being supplied by Kinki Sharyo under a $456.2m contract for 385 cars”
“All stations will have platform doors to increase safety and allow a more comfortable, climate controlled environment”
“The driverless, fully automated trains are fully air-conditioned”
“The trains will offer standard ‘Silver’ class, a women and children only section plus a first class ‘Gold’ section for VIPs”
The “Gold” car will be located at front of each train and will be just for men (specifically, non-poor men). The “Silver” cars for the ladies and the rugrats and the downtrodden will follow behind.
Gold cars will feature wide leather seats, an explansive view through the train’s front window, and an “exclusive lighting design.”

Photos:

Transit construction, Dubai-style:

Like Paris, Dubai’s Metro stations will have platform doors:

.Inside a “Silver” car (i.e. for pleebs, women and children):

Inside an exclusive “Gold” car (just us rich dudes!):

A train on a viaduct:

The rolling stock (fancy talk for “train cars”) arrives from Japan:

A design rendering of a station hub:

.That station in real life:

.A rendering of a smaller station:

.A system map. Service to the crazy man-made archipelagos is still on the drawing board:

Burj Dubai tower:

Fast facts:

“The foundation is made up of 192 concrete and steel pilings more than 164 feet (50 meters) deep. They are joined by a 12-foot-thick raft upon which the skyscraper rests.”
“45,000 cubic meters of concrete was used in the foundation.”
Underground parking spaces: 16,000
“The air conditioning chillers installed on the 155th and 159th floor are so high that their design had to take into account the thinner air at that elevation.”
In 2006, 2,500 construction workers rioted because of low pay and poor treatment. They did an estimated $1 million damage.
The tower is designed Adrian Smith of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill
“The interior will be decorated by Giorgio Armani. An Armani Hotel, the first of four by Armani, will occupy the lower 37 floors”
“In keeping with Islamic custom, the hotel pool will have separate hours for women and men at the pool.”

Photos:

Scale: Those little buildings on either side are all really, really big