The Dubai Media Office has released six computer-generated images of Dubai Steps, a 100-meter-high structure with 500 steps that this United Arab Emirate city is hoping will become its next iconic landmark.
The 25-story Dubai Steps was one of six projects that municipal officials announced last April. However, details about the steps since then have been scant. No construction date has been set, and officials have not made public the name of the architect or the cost of this project.
Even its location hasn’t been nailed down yet, although Gulf News and other media outlets report that possible locations include the area next to Union Square in Deira (which in recent years has been losing its importance as a commercial center), Dubai Creek, and Dubai Marina.
Time Out Dubai reports that in a story shared by Dubai Media Office from Arabic website emaratalyoum.com, the city’s Assistant Director General for Engineering and Planning at Dubai Municipality revealed it would take no more than a year to construct the 500-step tower.
Khaleej Times adds that Dubai Steps would serve as a continuation of other vertical projects like Dubai Frame, which is nearing completion in Zabeel Park.
The 100-meter-tall structure would be a continuation of Dubai's multiple vertical construction projects. Image: Dubai Media Office
The Dubai Steps would include rest stops every 100 steps for tourists on their ascent to the top. Image: Dubai Media Office.
Dubai Steps would facilitate tourism and sports, say local officials. The structure would include five dedicated rest and event areas (every 100 steps) for visitors who are making the long walk to the top platform.
Predictably, the Dubai Steps project is already getting some ribbing, including one comparison to the “Escalator to Nowhere” on “The Simpsons.”
Related Stories
| Sep 30, 2011
Design your own floor program
Program allows users to choose from a variety of flooring and line accent colors to create unique floor designs to complement any athletic facility.
| Sep 16, 2011
Largest solar installation completed at Redskins' football stadium
On game days, solar power can provide up to 20% of FedExField’s power.
| Sep 12, 2011
First phase of plan to revitalize Florida's Hialeah Park announced
This is the first project of a master plan developed to revive the historic racetrack.
| May 25, 2011
Olympic site spurs green building movement in UK
London's environmentally friendly 2012 Olympic venues are fuelling a green building movement in Britain.
| Apr 11, 2011
Wind turbines to generate power for new UNT football stadium
The University of North Texas has received a $2 million grant from the State Energy Conservation Office to install three wind turbines that will feed the electrical grid and provide power to UNT’s new football stadium.
| Apr 5, 2011
U.S. sports industry leads charge in meeting environmental challenges
The U.S. sports industry generates $414 billion annually. The amount of energy being consumed is not often thought of by fans when heading to the stadium or ballpark, but these stadiums, parks, and arenas use massive quantities of energy. Now sports leagues in North America are making a play to curb the waste and score environmental gains.
| Mar 25, 2011
Qatar World Cup may feature carbon-fiber ‘clouds’
Engineers at Qatar University’s Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering are busy developing what they believe could act as artificial “clouds,” man-made saucer-type structures suspended over a given soccer stadium, working to shield tens of thousands of spectators from suffocating summer temperatures that regularly top 115 degrees Fahrenheit.
| Mar 11, 2011
University of Oregon scores with new $227 million basketball arena
The University of Oregon’s Matthew Knight Arena opened January 13 with a men’s basketball game against USC where the Ducks beat the Trojans, 68-62. The $227 million arena, which replaces the school’s 84-year-old McArthur Court, has a seating bowl pitched at 36 degrees to replicate the close-to-the-action feel of the smaller arena it replaced, although this new one accommodates 12,364 fans.
