Join date: Mar 2007
Location: Ontario, CAN
Posts: 605
Seeing is believing, so check out this video release from AP:
Preview of World's First Rotating Skyscraper
The concept really seems fascinating, wind power generation and all that. Yet the sceptic in me has a hard time believing this possible, especially since the completion date is scheduled for 2010. David Fisher is the architect and according to Wikipedia this is his first skyscraper design. Hmmm?
Then again completion of any project is possible if you throw enough money at it. Is this what our parents thought about the race to the moon?
Another fascinating aspect of this project is its global reach. Building designed by Italian-Israeli architect to be built in Dubai, Middle East to serve as a test for future developments in Moscow and New York.
Join date: Jun 2008
Location: Rhode Island, USA
Posts: 118
beebuddy wrote:
dg401 wrote:
Dubai is a really cool city. It's the Las Vegas of the Middle East.
A lot of people are talking about how "they have more money than they know what to do with" and etc.
They're not idiots, they're geniuses. The whole idea is that since oil is going to run out soon, they'll have a new way of making money: TOURISM.
And it's working pretty damn well if you ask me.
Sounds awesome... except for the part about being in Dubai.
Yeah that's a bit of a disadvantage to us...
I have a friend who worked in Saudi Arabia for six months. He said every weekend, EVERYONE goes to Dubai. Saudi law forbids the consumption of alcohol, but you can drink over in Dubai.
dg401 wrote:
Dubai is a really cool city. It's the Las Vegas of the Middle East.
A lot of people are talking about how "they have more money than they know what to do with" and etc.
They're not idiots, they're geniuses. The whole idea is that since oil is going to run out soon, they'll have a new way of making money: TOURISM.
And it's working pretty damn well if you ask me.
Yeah it is.
Have lived on and off in Dubai for the last 15 years. Great weather, great beaches, zero crime, sure the occasional shit which makes you want to whine but at the end of the day, a great place to live if you're a middle income expat. Oh yeah, and stunning beautiful women, everywhere.
So yeah, if they keep building the projects while they have the money, and make sure the projects are all tip-top....then yeah, Dubai looks like it will be a mega toursism hub in the near future. Not regional, we are talking international.
Unless we have a nuclear war or the mother of all tsunamis here in the Gulf. In which case, what with all these man made island projects, it will just be like WaterWorld, the movie.
Join date: Oct 2004
Location: Pennsylvania, USA
Posts: 18954
Aleksandr wrote:
Zap Branigan wrote:
Aleksandr wrote:
Yeah, they are going to run out of oil someday!
Isn't that the mantra of of the day.
What a waste it is, then, to develop buildings that are entirely self-powered. What they should do is build endless sprawling suburbs that are entirely dependent on cheap and plentiful oil. That's the sensible investment!
The rotation is driven by wind turbines. That does not mean the whole building is self powered.
It is. Not only will all the building's electricity come from the turbines, but excess power will be generated, and sold back to the grid. In terms of energy, this building is to be entirely self-sufficient, and then some.
Where did you read that?
The desert will reclaim the useless crap being built in this city long before the suburbs disappear. When oil fades other modes of transportation will develop.
I have no doubt that the suburbs are going to be around for a very long time, but that doesn't mean they aren't the biggest misallocation of resources in the history of our species.
If only people would do what they are told and stop misallocating resources. Shade trees and property ownership should only be for the rich.
And as for the price, there is a building going up across the street from my condo, and the units are going for about the same price as that building in Dubai. Not only is that sumbitch not self-powered, but it doesn't even move! What kind of a luxury suite doesn't move? Bollocks to that, I say!
You have $ 40 million dollar apartments?
No sir. My building is older (2004), and doesn't have the amenities to justify that sort of price tag. It doesn't even change shape, which I hear is a basic feature these days.
However, under construction now are the Shangri-La, 1 Bloor East, and Trump Tower, all of which have units in the tens of millions. This are non-transforming, externally powered units in Canada.
I googled property values in Canada and I find up to $ 1,000 to $ 1,500 /sq ft as the most expensive. This place is $ 3,000/sq ft.
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