Qian

Knowlton Knows
Burj Dubai another act of
foolish bling-mongering

From utopian paradise islands to the bp
Butts tall a tapade?

    
 

 

 
    
     
  

He: Dubai, you can Sajeetet cakes height the
equivalent of nearly two full Eiffel Towers. :
The Burj Dubai, which unimaginatively translates te ubai
Tower,” is officially registered as the world’s tallest building.
And by a long shot, too. It surpasses Taipei 101, a sky-scraping
financial centre in Taiwan by more than 1,000 feet. It even
dwarves its only future competition, the new World Trade Center
being constructed‘in New York, by nearly 1,000 feet. It is four

times higher than the tallest building in British Columbia..

What is as amazing as its sheer height is the fact that it is
something no other world-breaking vertical construct has been: a
residency. Unlike the business centres typical skyscrapers serve
as, the Burj Dubai will actually house people. Not only house
them, in fact, but allow them to remain within the tower.

Such amenities to enable this include a gym, restaurant,
offices for work, and an indoor and outdoor swimming pool. All
with a bird’s eye view of the birds below.

It has been called, in exaggeratedly elegant prose, a
“shining accomplishment,” and “an icon of the Middle East” and
“prosperous, dynamic, and successful.”

What, what? Successful? What about this massive debt?

The Burj Dubai has more logically been labelled
“outrageous, wasteful, egotistical, and ridiculous,” and as high
as it is in the sky, it’s just as deep into debt. Dubai asked for
standstills on the debt payments for this building, as though they
hadn’t gained any foresight from their financial failure colossus
that is The World. The World is an island complex with grandeur
intentions but severe shortcomings—a utopian paradise in theory ~
but a burdening parasite in practice.

Dubai could be the world’s capital for architectural bling
and a seeker of unnecessarily magnificent methods of spending,
with the Burj Dubai at the peak (pun intended) of its growing
infamy. If Dubai could have accomplished all that it has thus far
while staying in the black, we would see it as a country fit for
kings and the ultimate aspiration for all other regions on Earth.
However, as it stands, Dubai has stretched far beyond its means,
overestimating its financial capability and now facing critical
financial backlash.

The constant strive for architectural and aesthetic supremacy
has, in effect, crippled Dubai and prevented the achievement of
its final goal, which is presumably to be considered the world’s
best. Left in the dust was functionality, sustainability, and the
virtue of patience. And now, the fragility of finances, even
for a country as lavish as Dubai, has been exposed as a major —
vulnerability that should not be taken lightly.

If anything, Dubai serves as a lesson learned. Ithas inspired
a splendour we can all wish to one day see our home countries
achieve, but we have been blessed with a wa