dubai

is out of control. In a good way.

Frankie asked me a little while back if there was a Galt's Gulch somewhere on Earth. Right now, I would say that place is Dubai - a city made of capitalism, drive, and energy. Without oil reserves, the Kingdom of Dubai has still managed to become on of the great epicenters of the world economy.

And one thing they love are crazy engineering projects. While Palms and the Earth (artificial islands) are probably my favorite, it is the skyscrapers which are really wild.

Burj Dubai is the worlds tallest building, and will be far far taller than anything else when it is complete. But it will not even hold the title in Dubai for long, as the Nakheel tower will come to dwarf it sometime in the next decade. Comparison shot below.

For me, I am just glad that we are finally pushing the limits, and pushing higher. The fact that a building completed in 1931 is still on the list shows that we have not pushed as far as we should (though it also shows just how incredible the empire state building was).

The next decade will see records fall around the world, though sadly, the US seems to be unable to build a building, with the Freedom Tower a shining example of mismanagement and delay.

But that is not the end of the story. There is now a planned 1.5 mile high "vertical city." It actually incorporates six "different" buildings, and has at its core a 125mph vertical bullet train instead of elevators. Sounds too wild to be true, but it is brought to us by the folks behind Jumeirah City, which it will be a part of. That development includes the Palms, the Earth, the QE2, all kinds of world records, etc. etc. So there is a good chance this will actually happen.

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