Nothing says Dubai like over-the-top architecture. Between the Burj Khalifa, the sail-shaped Burj Al Arab, and the twisting Infinity Tower, the Dubai skyline is quite a spectacle to behold. In true Dubai fashion, however, it isn’t enough just to look at the skyline and snap a few picture of it. No, it needs to be framed for all to see. And what is the best way to do that? Through the construction of giant gilded picture frame, of course.
The Dubai Frame is currently under construction and consists of two 150-meter-tall towers linked at the top by an observation deck. The three pieces come together to form a large frame with an opening that spans 105 meters between towers. The building was originally designed to provide over 75,000 sf of space for art and photo galleries, a café, and the observation deck.
The design for the building comes from Fernando Donis and his firm, DONIS. Donis and the Dubai Frame proposal won a competition in 2009 held by ThyssenKrupp Elevator and the Dubai Municipality. The Dubai Frame was selected from a pool of 926 proposals. “Dubai is a city full of emblems,” the architect’s website reads. “Rather than adding another one, we propose to frame them all: to frame the city.” The building is being constructed in Za’abeel Park.
Despite Donis’s proposal being selected and the Frame moving toward completion, the project is making news for the wrong reasons. Donis has filed a lawsuit against the Dubai Municipality over copyright claims. Here are the claims as presented by the DONIS website:
The Dubai Municipality has transformed the design without the participation of its author. Article 29 of the UNESCO regulations stipulates that ‘no alterations may be made without the author’s formal consent’. Dubai Municipality is building the project, transforming it from a modern monument to a post-modern figurative photo-frame. Dubai Municipality gave DONIS no opportunity to meet with the team of consultants and/or local architect to discuss the potential of the project and jointly integrate the needs of the client. Despite of having confirmed in writing that DONIS would develop and follow up the project, the Dubai Municipality offered at the end an unreasonable contract, where we would need to sign off the UNESCO copyrights, and without being able to neither develop nor publish our project in any manner. No contract or payment has been signed, yet Dubai Municipality took the Dubai Frame project.
One of the changes to the original design that takes it from ‘a modern monument to a post-modern figurative photo-frame’ is the decision to cover the tower with a stainless steel golden façade. To this point, the Dubai Municipality has not commented on Donis’s claims. After a delay that pushed back the original 2015 completion date, the Dubai Frame is now scheduled to finish at the end of this year.
Related Stories
| Jul 1, 2013
LEGOLAND builds 12-foot replica of One World Trade Center
The LEGOLAND Discovery Center Westchester in Yonkers, N.Y., celebrated the completion of a LEGO replica of One World Trade Center by lighting the 12-foot-tall, 100-pound model.
| Jun 25, 2013
Mirvish, Gehry revise plans for triad of Toronto towers
A trio of mixed-use towers planned for an urban redevelopment project in Toronto has been redesigned by planners David Mirvish and Frank Gehry. The plan was announced last October but has recently been substantially revised.
| Jun 25, 2013
First look: Herzog & de Meuron's Jade Signature condo tower in Florida
Real estate developer Fortune International has released details of its new Jade Signature property, to be developed in Sunny Isles Beach near Miami. The luxury waterfront condo building will include 192 units in a 57-story building near high-end retail destinations and cultural venues.
| Jun 17, 2013
First look: Austin to get first high-rise since 2003
Developer Cousins Properties broke ground on the 29-story Colorado Tower in downtown Austin, Texas, the city's first high-rise building since Cousins' completed the Frost Bank Tower a decade ago.
| Jun 11, 2013
Vertical urban campus fills a tall order [2013 Building Team Award winner]
Roosevelt University builds a 32-story tower to satisfy students’ needs for housing, instruction, and recreation.
| Jun 11, 2013
Finnish elevator technology could facilitate supertall building design
KONE Corporation has announced a new elevator technology that could make it possible for supertall buildings to reach new heights by eliminating several problems of existing elevator technology. The firm's new UltraRope hoisting system uses a rope with a carbon-fiber core and high-friction coating, rather than conventional steel rope.
| Jun 4, 2013
SOM research project examines viability of timber-framed skyscraper
In a report released today, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill discussed the results of the Timber Tower Research Project: an examination of whether a viable 400-ft, 42-story building could be created with timber framing. The structural type could reduce the carbon footprint of tall buildings by up to 75%.
| May 23, 2013
Supertall 'Sky City' will house 4,400 families in Changsha, China
Broad Sustainable Building has completed a long and arduous approval process, and is starting excavation and construction on Sky City in June, 2013. The proposed "world's tallest building" will be a mixed-use project that could accommodate life and work needs of up to 30,000 people.
| May 7, 2013
First look: Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill skyscraper designed to 'confuse the wind'
The 400-meter-high, 116-story Imperial Tower in Mumbai will feature a slender, rounded form optimized to withstand the area's strong wind currents.
| May 6, 2013
7 major multifamily residential projects in the works
A $140 million redevelopment of a landmark, 45-building apartment complex in Los Angeles is among the nation's significant multifamily developments under way.
