As a change of pace from our usual Top Ten World Architecture series, we thought we’d celebrate the schemes that have fallen victim to the Credit Crunch and have either been put on hold or cancelled completely - and where better than Dubai, one of the fastest expanding cities in the world and home to the current tallest building in the world. Sadly, Dubai wasn’t immune to the worldwide recession, with the government at one stage having to rely on bailouts from Abu Dhabi to avoid defaulting on loans, and many of its more extreme projects were shelved due to financial restraints and lack of investment. We take a look at the best - and strangest - projects that are currently on hold or sadly may never be.1. Iris Crystal Tower
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The Iris Crystal - Left render from Iris; central and right render from Aedas
Featuring a sinuous twist to a luxury commercial tower, The Iris Crystal was designed by Aedas as an eye-catching structure that took inspiration from its location at the head of an artificial bay and based its form on cascading water. The striking double skin exterior, made up of an inner façade of glazing protected by an outer solar screen, reminiscent of Arabic sun screens, was designed to protect the tower from solar gain. The tower was to be built in the Business Bay section of Dubai – a brand new ‘city within a city’ concept that was to be developed between 2008 and 2012-15. Many projects in this area have suffered from financial difficulties of some sort, and the Iris Crystal is no exception. Despite selling 60% of the available let space by June 2008, the tower has suffered massive delays, with no superstructure in place as yet and no official announcement as to when construction will begin again. 09 more after the break..
2. Hydropolis
Left: Hydropolis Centre: Concept Room Right: Overhead view of Resort and Land Station - Renders from design build-network and Impactlab
The premise of Hydropolis – a hotel submerged 20 metres below sea level – may seem like something out of a sci-fi movie, but a joint venture between German designer Joachim Hauser and financier Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Crown Prince of Dubai almost led to underwater living becoming a reality. Visitors would reach the hotel from the land station, taking an underground train to the main resort complex situated just off Jumeira Beach. This complex has been designed with reference to the human nervous system, with restaurants, bars, meeting rooms and suites extending away from the ballroom as a central point, acting as the ‘heart’. The ballroom would not be fully submerged, with the roof retractable to allow open air events to take place – even as the view from the windows shows an underwater scene. Unfortunately, with a price tag of $300 million to construct the 220 suite resort, the project tailed off as the recession hit and has been indefinitely delayed as of 2008.
Read Full Post: Dubai's Lost Projects
Read Full Post: Dubai's Lost Projects