I know that Dubai and the Middle East has dominated my recent posts, but I felt that in touching on the senseless extravagance with which buildings are put up there, I would also touch up on some of the consequences of Dubai's current urban planning system or lack there of.Many experts, one of whom is Thom Mayne, winner of the 2005 Pritzker Award warns that Dubai will become an ecological disaster if development continues in it's current direction. The speed of construction and apparent destruction of ecosystems in turning land to sea, sea to land and desert to a habitable mainland has not been something that building developers in Dubai have concerned themselves with in recent years and many indigenous species have been endangered because of this.
Also, the urban development of Dubai has not done much to accommodate for public transportation making it much worse than cities like Los Angeles for the commuters. This means more cars on the road for longer hours and a higher release of Carbon IV Oxide (Carbon Monoxide) into the atmosphere.
Another aspect that has been overlooked is the fact that in the heat of Dubai, having buildings with so much exposed fenestration puts a huge load on the HVAC system and negates the "green" claims of the architects because there aren't any energy savings as units have to work at double capacity. Having towers with different micro-climates within the same building doesn't help matters either.
The study was done specifically for Dubai but I think that this is true for most of the emirates, Saudi Arabia especially. Not much though is being given to the impact of this rapid ,"over-the-top" construction on the environment because they have enough money to build whatever they want. Now I'm not hating really. Just pointing out that they are destroying their respective environments.
Image obtained from www.mennobars.com
For more info, check www.bdonline.co.uk
No comments:
Post a Comment