My Phallic Symbol is Bigger than Yours

Holy crap.

So why is this skyscraper a bad thing? Taller buildings generally corresponds to greater density of population. Greater density areas can more easily have better opportunities for efficient transit options, and people in cities generally heat, cool, and light up much less space per person.

Was there more information somewhere that I missed?

"So why is this skyscraper a bad thing?"

I don't think it's necessarily entirely bad. But if it was built just to impress, that might mean there's no real demand for it. It's easy to build huge white elephants (especially with government money) when more 'normal' things would have done just as good a job at for orders of magnitude less money and energy.

And building cities in the middle of the desert, especially glass buildings, probably isn't the best idea. I'm sure they have mitigating strategies, but more locally adapted architecture would probably have been better.

When the oil runs out, I propose that these buildings might be useful as thermal concentrators for heat engines. They will be uninhabitable without air conditioning, so otherwise pretty useless.

Anthony,

I'm a big proponent of density too, but there are a couple reasons to be concerned with such mammoth buildings:
1) The mass of the structure increases exponentially with height.
2) The percent of the building that's taken up by elevators and stairwells also increases exponentially. The Empire State Building was one of the first to recognize this challenge.

Therefore, regarding life-cycle energy, there is some optimal building height that is certainly lower than that which technology allows. If I had to guess, it would probably be in the mid-rise category.

In Arizona a cactus stands out as a very phallic symbol made by nature. Although, I would hate to have it "... up ..." anywhere! Good way to get body piercing.

I guess when you have the money, one can get as high as they want. Looks great.

I don't know the Middle East, but I imagine that, without a hyper-oil economy, Dubai would be about 10 percent as dense as it is. The urban infrastructure exists to assist in moving around oil money, pretty much. If I were the Emirates, I'd invest the money in something that will make the country more habiltable when the oil runs out. Perhaps educating people in basic skills, building a low energy fishing fleet, remediating any pasture or agricultural land that has fallen into disuse because of environmental degradation, building fish farms, wind farms, seaweed farms, stuff like that.

I really am happy to see these kind of high rise buildings.
These are not just the buildings that are used for regular business. They wanted to have pride in them.

I think they deserve it. Remember dubai not only takes pride in this tower, but also in initiatives like twirling tower which is a favourite for many guys.

In 15-20 year, Roland Emmerich won't need to build a set for his next end of the world film. Dubai and surrounds will be perfect locations. Sunken man made islands, deserted mega cities with huge sand dunes built up amongst the buildings. It will be perfect.

What does mankind do with seemingly unlimited energy and money? Vegas, and now this. Huzzah!

Rob: Air conditioning doesn't require oil. It requires electricity, and you can make *that* in a hundred different ways, some of which are even sustainable over the very long term.

i'm sure everyone know that dubai's development over the last 10 years has been explicitely in an effort to hedge against their oil running out. At least they have a plan and are executing it in incredible fashion... rather than whining on a blog.

The leaders of Dubai are not stupid. They are attempting to build something that will outlast the petroleum supplies. They want to bring tourism, corporate headquarters, real estate, and manufacturing to their empty desert. In fact, Halliburton recently moved their headquarters there:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7849291

I say good riddance. However, corporations will always go where the money is.

Im with Anthony!

The UAE is building 3 nuclear reactors and investing vast sums of money in other alternative energy sources. Dubai has been building energy infrastructure to support their growing needs. This is exactly the reverse of the west where we only build to meet the needs we had 10 years ago.

Dubai is pushing architecture to ever greater hights in more ways than one. This is nothing like all the low rise so called green building that are nothing but stacked shoe boxes with no design merit what so ever. Green architects are killing design and Dubai is breathing life back into it.

Keep up the good work Dubai!

Ernie:

Air conditioning requires energy, which, if you've been reading the papers, you know is becoming scarce.

the article isn't necessarily saying it's bad, just that it's a huge prick. That's kind of hard to argue against :)

Let's hope no terrorists get any smart ideas.

People don't really see Dubai as much of a tourist destination. I wouldn't invest in it, especially after energy prices really start biting into airline business. There's nothing to do there, although the desert and beaches must certainly be neat to see.

I would certainly applaud their green initiatives, provided they actually reflect the reality that living in that region is very hard.

No, rob, energy is not becoming scarce. The cheap liquid kind is becoming increasingly hard to find, perhaps, but that big fusion reactor in the sky isn't going anywhere for another 4.5 billion years or so.

Run out of oil? We will run out of food, air or money before that happens. I don't think we can burn ALL the oil and still have an inhabitable atmosphere. Perhaps they built it so tall as to rise above the smog they've created below.

I totally don't get Dubai as a tourist destination no matter how much the sheiks wish it. Isn't it 105 degrees in the shade in Dubai? Why would anyone go there? Oh right-- to ski indoors. When the oil starts to run out, Dubai will be the last place to have some, for sure, but if the earth is getting hotter, by that time it will be 125 degrees in the shade. No thanks.

Andy,

Yeah, the sun is still there, which is WHY WE ALL WANT AIR CONDITIONING.

Energy is scarce and getting scarcer. You could only really believe differently if you were a booster of nuclear power, but the health and safety risks involved in that technology make it unacceptable.

There will never be enough solar energy to run air conditioning. I'm a strong advocate for alternative energy but reality is reality.

We can enjoy AC while we've got it, but we're gonna be waving bye-bye to it soon. Energy is a rare thing in the universe. It took a million years for the earth to make the power we burn in ONE. There is none left when its gone.

@Rob -

There will never be enough solar energy to run air conditioning.

Where are you getting statements like that?

Concentrated solar thermal power plants are current technology (though molten salt, an improved technology, is still under development) that could be implemented right now.

Nuclear is one thing (and a lot safer than you seem to think), but the entire US electricity supply could be solar. These people are smarter than I am, and they've done the math. It would require a retooling of the transmission grid, but it's entirely doable.

What does Dubai have lots of? Oh, right. Sun. Those air conditioners can keep humming indefinitely, powered by the very thing that, as you pointed out, we need them for.

*Yawn* have you heard about such companies as Nanosolar , who can produce machines that cost around $1.5 mil, each of which can print 1GW of solar panels per year? The Susquehanna nuclear reactor only has a capacity of 3GW and that cost $2.8 Bil. I know its hard for OLD people to break the shackles of conservatism, but really...

What about a more recent article Rob, http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/08/greencore-solar-powered-air-conditioning-ac-cooling.php.

As a green property developer/builder living in Australia, I am in awe of the economy UAE has at the moment. They are the FASTEST GROWING country in the world. People in Australia are starting to consider travelling there, but I would expect most Americans not to even register as usual (too arrogant once again!!??). Why do you even come to this site Rob? Its for progressively minded people, Neanderthals step off on this site

Tane,

While I don't disagree with you, I am compelled to point out that Nanosolar is not churning out anything right now except short test runs.

As for Nuclear, you are forgetting that nuclear power plants produce electricity 24/7 rain or shine and are impervious to all burt the most extreme weather conditions.

Solar is wonderful and I think wind turbines are great but none of them alone will ever be enough to meet all our needs. We must remember not to discount any source of alternative energy just because we become enamored with one in particular.

Great replies to Rob, James and Tane. I'll even let slide the monumental arrogance contained in Tane's banal but apparently obligatory "Americans are arrogant" comment with barely a whisper about unintentional irony.

However, from reading Rob's reply to me, it is pretty clear that he must be right, otherwise WHY WOULD HE HAVE STARTED SHOUTING? After all, how needs facts and logic when one can START TYPING IN ALL CAPS?

Ahem. Energy is a rare thing in the universe? Clearly, the man knows even less about astrophysics than he does about nuclear tech. Besides, I thought the point of sites like this one was to find solutions, change minds, etc. I don't consider his luddite pessimism to be helpful in the...

Actually, scratch all that. No one could be that dense. He must be putting us all on.

I just got the image in my head of a little kid pushing all the buttons on the elevator as a prank.

I'm torn... it doesn't seem like it can be environmentally friendly with 10,000 tons of cooling needed each hour ("the same as 10,000 tons of ice melting each day") What about the water? Dubai is in a desert, no?

At the same time, I think it is awesome and I'm glad they are using it for residential instead of solely office purposes. If I had money, I'd stay at the Armani Hotel there.

Tane, watch it, your comment is rather rude.

Wow, the peanut gallery speaks.

I was there 6 months ago. Giant mall. NOTHING, I repeat, NOTHING to do other than shop. Temperatures are oppressive. Camel rides and ATV tours to rip up the desert are fun for a day. SCUBA sucks.

I love the "its the fastest growing economy EVER" bullsh*t. Yea, Vegas was too, until it imploded this year, never to return.

UEA has NOTHING but money at the moment. Once oil runs out such that cheap Chinese crap can no longer be sold in that giant mall, there really will be NOTHING to do there, even if their nukes are keeping the empty buildings at 68F for ever.

Now, anyone who's actually BEEN THERE, chime in. The rest of you rif raf, STFU and go back to Atlantic City where you belong.

It sound like Willy Bio is having a little phallic symbol envy.

It's good to point this out, and show everyone where their money goes each time you fill your gas tank.

It's a beautiful achievment, but I personally would never want to live in a building more than 4 or 5 stories. The higher up you live, the less often you go outside.

You don't get it as a tourist attraction? You most likely feel that way because you're american. Dubai is already a tourist attraction for the rest of the world. Stop being so damn ethnocentric and look beyond your small world. The purpose is to position Dubai as the center of the eastern universe.

Petrodollars. petroeuro, petroyen, etc, at work. DB

I actually live in Abu Dhabi the capital of UAE I can probably chime in on a couple of things. One, I have seen the Burj up close and its massive. One of the major problems with the Burj is its being built so fast that pieces of its are actually falling off, of course the UAE government will never let you hear of that. The same goes for their new metro system, it is being pressed so hard the a section actually collapsed in July. You are correct that there really isn't much to do here other than shop/go to the beach, however I will say that it is not always extremely hot, the winter months tend to be quite pleasant. The economy is moving at light speed, 20 years ago there was nothing here but sand and now you can't look at the horizon without seeing a crane. The cell phone market is saturated, along with office space. They cannot build residential structures fast enough leaving many people with either poor living conditions or staying in hotels for months. Rent is set to triple in the next year alone. In the end I think Willy is correct, they cannot keep up the pace they are at now, eventually it will come to an end and things will collapse.

Rob,

Thanks for the backup. Its really bizarre that many people think "hyper economy=good and long term". Its almost always the exact opposite. I was going to get into the construction issues that they are encountering, but you beat me to it. Imagine, in NYC cranes are collapsing due to what it considers fast building and corner cutting. Now take it up 10 orders of magnitude and you got the UAE. A few imported and indentured laborers crushed? Who cares, nobody hears of it. A few years from now when serious structural flaws and failures present themselves? Who cares, the investment bankers got their money.

It really is sad. The UAE could have gone a much more conservative and sustainable route and might have had a long term chance. Now? Not a chance at all.

I will say that Abu Dhabi has done a good job staying away from the Dubai boom. Although they are building it quickly it is not the tourist hub that Dubai is. On top of that they sit on 80 percent of the oil in the UAE so they don't need the boost in tourism. Dubai's big problem is they do all these gigantic engineering marvels ie the palm island and then nobody uses them. We took a trip to the palm island and its silent because everyone bought them for investment purposes and no one actually lives there.
On a side note if you think the projects in Dubai are ridiculous, my wife informed me that her company is overseeing development on an outdoor ski slope in Al Ain complete with its own Bio Dome. Who knows if it will ever happen but if the Sheik gives the order then it will be up in a couple of years if not less.

Energy scarce and getting scarcer? Sorry, you are flat out plain wrong. We are consuming more energy every year because we are continuously finding new and better ways to convert our fixed supply of energy to useful form. Considering the UAE gets about twice the sunlight of the U.S. I wouldn't worry about the energy available to them in the future. As far as energy usage goes, remember this building will never require heating, and that the outside air temperature will get significantly cooler the higher up you go. I would love to go to Dubai because of this building and others that are pushing the limits. I would never go their to see a bunch of midrise cookie-cutter blahhhh buildings. For now I am confined to Google Earth. Check it out its amazing. Finally, if you think the UAE is wasting its oil money look at other oil rich countries and see what they have done.

Not a chance at all? Trends are shifting to green, not just within Dubai but within the UAE - even 'Sharjah'. Corner cutting? Right, however if the trend is going to continue and projects like Masdar are successful the UAE will be at the forefront of sustainability.

I totally don't get Dubai as a tourist destination no matter how much the sheiks wish it. Isn't it 105 degrees in the shade in Dubai? Why would anyone go there? Oh right-- to ski indoors.

I don't get it either. There's dozens of other places that offer similar amenities that aren't under Shariah law. I'll take Amsterdam or Copenhagen over Dubai any day.

Badsie,

Forefront of sustainability??? At what cost??? The embodied fossil fuel energy that is going into building these mega cities and man-made archipelago is astounding. And all for what? Giant mall, nothing more. Like I said, and you seem to have conveniently overlooked, once the cheap Chinese garbage stops flowing to the stores, there really will be NOTHING TO DO THERE. Sea levels rise as the new predictions suggest, those fake islands are going under. All that carbon emitted to create them, pumped right into the atmosphere, while the islands themselves are sequestered under the sea. BRILLIANT!!! :-/

Caro, I'd like to point out that coolants for power plants don't need to be discarded after use; they can be reused again and again. Also, water isn't the only or even the best coolant available. The key is to design and build your plants well.

Mmm, when we hit Peak Oil, large buildings like this will be forced down (taken apart) and we wont be seeing any tall buldings like it ever again.

It amazes me how so many people are ignorant about Peak Oil. We are running out. We are going to have major problems. People will not be able to drive even their small cars that run on gas for very long. We'll be converting back to bicycles, pedicabs and richshaws, walking, and carts pulled by horse/mule/donkey once again.

Even the buses will have a hard time unless most are converted to either electric and or natural gas.

The palm Islands going under wouldn't necesarilly be a bad thing, if no one actually lives there as someone said. If corals can adapt to rising sea tempuratures and acidity the palm islands would probobly become coral reefs due to thier high surface area and proximity to the surface.

To be honest Dubai has absoloutely NO oil. its Abu Dhabi - the captial of the UAE that has oil. Dubai is starting to reach its econmys peak. When oil runs dry Dubai will be affected in the way that they can't import everything like they do now but the tourisim will still be here thats how dubai makes its money. Even if oil did run dry dubai could actually be one of the place to live. Its always very windy here and sunny (i live here) they could run the city off solar wind and water energy as it is right next to the sea. If you are thinking of setting up a buisness in Dubai you should go into Eco enegy and try to consult Sheik Mohammed. If dubai went eco it will be here for years to come, simply because it has room for all the turbines and you could have "solar Farms" acres of solar panels soaking up the sun. But at the rate its going with rent and buy prices going up on everything its becoming more and more difficult to settle in the country and to go on holiday here.