The words “skiing” and “desert” aren’t often used in the same sentence. But that’s changing in Dubai, which appears to be on a mission to have the “biggest” of everything, including extravagant shopping malls, towers, and, now, ski slopes.
Gulf News reports that the oil-rich country is planning a project that will cover 3.67 million sm (39.5 million sf) and include a shopping mall, civic plaza, a 4-kilometer canal, a marina with 100 boat slots, and what’s being touted as the world’s longest indoor ski slope.
The developer, Meydan City Corporation, states that this project should be completed before 2020, the year that Dubai hosts the World Expo 2020. While the developer didn’t disclose what this project might cost, The Guardian reports estimates of up to 25 billion dirhams (about $6.8 billion).
The Dubai newspaper Al-Bayan reports that this project would extend from the Meydan racetrack to Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest tower.
The shopping mall component of this project, called Meydan One Mall, alone will cover 25,000 sm (269,000 sf), and include a retractable roof measuring 150 x 80 meters. The mall will be adjacent to the 1.2-kilometer (4,922-foot) long ski slope. (The Emirate already holds the record for the largest indoor ski slope, at 400 meters long, which runs year-round inside the Mall of the Emirates, according to The Guardian.)
At the base of the ski slope will be 25,000-sm Meydan Arena, which will seat up to 8,000 people, and could be used for a variety of sporting contests and live shows.
This project also includes the construction of The Dubai One, a 711-sm-tall building that would be the tallest residential tower in the world. It will have 885 apartments and a five-star hotel with 350 rooms, as well as a conference center, a 655-meter observation deck, and skytop restaurant.
Residents and visitors will be able to avail themselves of more than 5.3 kilometers of bicycle and hogging trails, a 300-meter-long beach, and a heritage village that could house up to 78,000 people. The project will also feature a 420-meter-long “dancing” fountain, also said to be the world’s largest.
Related Stories
| Aug 26, 2013
Chicago Bears kick off season at renovated Halas Hall
An upgraded locker room, expanded weight room, and updated dining room with an outdoor patio greeted the Chicago Bears when they arrived at Halas Hall for practice this month. The improvements are part of a major expansion and renovation of the Bears’ headquarters in Lake Forest, Ill., completed by Mortenson Construction in less than seven months.
| Aug 22, 2013
Sports Facility Report [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Building Design+Construction's rankings of the nation's largest sports facility design and construction firms, as reported in the 2013 Giants 300 Report.
| Aug 22, 2013
Energy-efficient glazing technology [AIA Course]
This course discuses the latest technological advances in glazing, which make possible ever more efficient enclosures with ever greater glazed area.
| Aug 20, 2013
First look: $550 million Billie Jean King National Tennis Center renovation
The United States Tennis Association has announced its plans for a sweeping transformation of the USTABillie Jean King National Tennis Center that will include the construction of two new stadiums, as well as a retractable roof over Arthur Ashe Stadium. The transformation will be implemented in three phases to begin at the conclusion of the 2013 US Open, with the goal of overall completion by the 2018 US Open.
| Aug 14, 2013
Green Building Report [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Building Design+Construction's rankings of the nation's largest green design and construction firms.
| Aug 13, 2013
USGBC joins forces with Green Sports Alliance to promote sustainable venues
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has announced a collaboration with the Green Sports Alliance, a prominent nonprofit organization supporting the development and promotion of green building initiatives in professional and collegiate sports.
| Jul 29, 2013
2013 Giants 300 Report
The editors of Building Design+Construction magazine present the findings of the annual Giants 300 Report, which ranks the leading firms in the AEC industry.
| Jul 19, 2013
Renovation, adaptive reuse stay strong, providing fertile ground for growth [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Increasingly, owners recognize that existing buildings represent a considerable resource in embodied energy, which can often be leveraged for lower front-end costs and a faster turnaround than new construction.
| Jul 3, 2013
World's biggest freestanding building opens in China
Measuring a stout 100 meters high, 500 meters long, and 400 meters wide, the New Century Global Centre in the Tianfu New District of Chengdu, China, is officially the world's largest freestanding building.
| Jul 3, 2013
Mall of America will double in size after $2.5 billion expansion
The nation's largest indoor mall will undergo a $2.5 billion, 10-year expansion project that will add attractions like an NHL-sized skating rink and an indoor water park.
