All I can say is "wow". I'm planning a trip with the family to Dubai this fall, and just seeing this building is a big reason why. http://www.economist.com/daily/news/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15205024&fsrc=nwl
I read an article a few years ago about how Dubai and South Korea, over the next 10-20 years will be fighting for world's tallest building. Seems pretty frivolous now that Dubai is fucked financially.
Dubai has had one of the biggest highrise booms in history but a lot of American contractors say a lot of the 'fancy' highrises are very poor quality. Shitty craftsmanship, materials, etc. 1991 2009
...by spending insane amounts of money on money losing projects, not paying back its creditors, etc? What else would it have when the oil is gone? Its a global hub? What do they have once the oil is gone? Its going to be a empty glass ghost town. It'd be good to see now, just to see them spend their way into future misery!
I hear they treat their foreign employees like shit, once you lose your job you are deported too. society is highly racist to boot.
They may be negative investments right now. However, if it becomes a global business or tourism hub because of their infrastructure or quality of life, then it's a smart bet. It's certainly better than what the Saudis are doing by pissing all their money away on hotel rooms and yachts in Europe.
The amount that they spent is insane for what their likely return is. They have to face the fact that most people don't want to vacation in the Middle Fucking East. I've never been there, it'd be cool to see some of the crazy islands, fountains in the ocean and man-made wonders...but I'm thinking without any other attraction or businesses there, it might be fucked. the only plus is its a pretty good tax haven for large corporations i suppose.
That hotel does look pretty sick though..the Burj Al-Arab or whatever it is. I just can't imagine having fun in the middle east. they seem like such a buzz kill.
Here's a view from the top: The crazy thing to me about that building is how much flat empty land you see sprawling into the distance around the city. It makes a ton of sense to build drastically upwards in a geographically confined city like Hong Kong or NYC. Or a tourist place like Vegas, because people will walk only so far. But in a place where all you have is open land, it just doesn't logically make sense to me to build a monstrously tall building when you are a few hundred yards away from tracts of bare ground. It just seems on its face a showy, bad investment. *shrug* maxie--you're the resident real estate guru around here. Am I all wet on this?
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/26/world/asia/26iht-27skyscraper-web.5879106.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1 I think this is the article I was thinking of. Makes more sense in a technological hub like South Korea where they have actual industry.
Yeah, I can see that. I just don't think a lot of people are like you and are willing to fly to Dubai just to see a building, no matter how tall and incredible it is. So I don't think it's a very effective tourist draw. (Maybe I'm weird, but after 9/11 tall buildings still kind of creep me out a little.) Seems like if you want to build a global business hub, you focus your money on other forms of infrastructure more (freeways, ports, mass transit, etc) and research universities.
Great point. I've thought for a while that a major international crossroads that decently open culturally and could attract the best and brightest could be really cool. Something like the research triangle in Texas or the College Corridor in CT/MA, writ large. There's 1.7T (yes, trillion) a year spent in R&D. But, you have to get people to want to live in Dubai.
Damn. That's a tall building. Now then, on to the inevitable. By "that area" do you mean the Middle East, or the Gulf, or UAE... or what? Millions of people from the richest country on the planet vacation in the UAE all the time. The vast majority of the day to day tourism in Dubai is from Saudi Arabia. So, while you don't think the Middle East would be "fun" (shocking), there is a ton of tourism. They have a different kind of fun. It's just different. Although, there is plenty of drinking, drugs and hookers (especially in Dubai), so it might be more close to home than you think.
yup, they had most of their money invested in the banking problems/schemes that hurt our country. They have to be much worse than we are.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/dubai/2275123/British-couple-arrested-in-Dubai-over-sex-on-the-beach.html why would you say that?
