Innovative construction in the Middle East

Timon Singh

Over the past decade, areas of the Middle East such as the United Arab Emirates have defined themselves with innovative construction projects and producing some of the most distinctive buildings in the world.

With more and more money being put in to the region's infrastructure, in a bid to make it a tourism and business hub instead of completely reliant on its oil supplies, the Middle East has overtaken the likes of Asia and America by leading the world in creative building design.

Defining innovation construction

So how did the Middle East seize some of the most innovative buildings on the planet? The idea behind innovative construction is adapting buildings to the climate as opposed to the climate to the building. It's a concept that can be used in climate zones throughout the world... namely hot, humid areas such as Dubai.

Innovations include adapting buildings in order for them to use their environments to power them, such as using solar panels to generate electricity or using polyurethane insulation in the roofs of buildings to produce an energy balance.

With construction techniques like these, the Middle East has seen a plethora of zero-emission, eco-friendly buildings such as the Burj Dubai (the world's tallest building), The Pad, the Emirates Towers, The World Islands and The Palm Islands (major tourist attractions with impressive large scale, man-made islands) and Business Bay (a massive 200-tower project which will provide a multitude of commercial, retail and residential uses).

The Dubai landscape has transformed over the past 5 years with the emergence of such construction projects and, despite the recent recession hiccup, the region's economy has been growing and the construction industry with it.

And the innovation hasn't stopped...

Future projects

With more money coming into the region with each passing year, the area has some major construction projects on the go such as the City of Arabia and futuristic buildings such as the Dynamic Tower being proposed.

This project could almost define 'innovative construction' - 420 meters tall and with 80 floors, The Dynamic Tower is innovative for several reasons.

Firstly, each floor will be able to rotate independently! That's right, if you want your apartment to face west instead of east, you can rotate your apartment at a maximum rate of 6 metres per minute, allowing full rotation in 90 minutes.

It will also be the world's first prefabricated skyscraper with 40 individually-made modules being constructed for each floor. This means 90 percent of the building will be made in the factory as opposed to the building site and allowing full construction in only 22 months. It will also be powered by wind turbines and solar panels.

The emirate will also be home to the world's tallest all-residential building when the Pentominium is finished in 2011. The 2,028ft super-tall skyscraper will contain a Sky Lounge, Sky Pool, Business Centre and a private observation deck along with health clubs and a cigar lounge, squash courts, a banqueting hall and private theatre.

However, these pale to the Dubai Towers. This four tower complex will form the centrepiece of The Lagoons, an artificial island lagoon containing seven 'districts'. The tallest of these towers will top 400 meters, with each tower containing 57 to 94 stories, however the future of the towers was recently put into doubt due to funding.

Whatever happens in the future, and whatever projects go ahead or get cancelled, it is clear that innovative construction is alive and well in the Middle East.

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